THE PREDICATE

1. Definition:
- A term in the analysis of
GRAMMATICAL FUNCTIONS, to
refer to a major CONSTITUENT of
SENTENCE structure, traditionally
associated with a two-part analysis in
which all obligatory constituents other
than the SUBJECT are considered
together “( Crystal, 1995: 273).
- The predicate is that principal part of
the sentence which ascribes an
action, a state or a quality to the
subject.” ( Bantas, 1996: 121).
2. Classification:
A. Verbal Predicate
>Simple Verbal Predicate, expressed by verbs in a finite/
personal mood, used in a certain tense, either simple or
compound verb forms

a. Dolphins live in family groups called herds.

b. She ran onto the road.
c. Perdita was picking up more and more human words.
d. Missis had collapsed.
e. I will tear Cruella de Vil in pieces.
f. They’re playing in the garden now.
> Phraseological predicates, consist of structurally
indivisible phrases and can be replaced by a verb:
a. The Browns have dinner in the garden every
evening.( eat, serve)
b. The child got a bath in the river.
( bathe)
c. They have had a refreshing walk in the woods.
(walk)
d. Susan had a terrible cry after hearing the thunder.
(cry)
> Compound verbal predicates show both the way the action is performed and its
relation to time.
- Compound modal verbal predicates include a modal verb:
a. We must travel across the country to find them.
b. You should manage to do it in due time.
c. But no human ear could have heard the cheers.
d. I’d rather walk than take a taxi.
- Compound aspect verbal predicates include an aspectual verb:
- ingressive or inceptive, e.g. begin, start;
- egressive or terminative, e.g. stop, cease, finish;
- continuative or durative, e.g. continue, go on, keep on;
- frequentative, iterative, or repetitive, e. g. would, used to.
e. The rain started to pour in showers.
f. The chairman of the committee finished reading the report.
h. “Go on reading!” said the little girl to her Grandma.
g. There used to be a stately nut-tree in the backyard.
B. Nominal Predicates show the state or quality ascribed to the subject by the action performed by the verb.
Structure: copula/ link verb + predicative.
Copula verbs contribute formal information regarding the aspect, tense, person, number and voice:
1. Verbs of being: be, stand, feel
a. And she was very, very frightened.
b. Juliet felt extremely sad.
c. The lake stood still.
2. Verbs of seeming and appearing: seem, appear, look
a. They seemed surprised at the news.
b. The sky appeared dark and cloudy.
c. The lady looked awful in her petticoat.
3. Verbs of becoming: become, get, grow, turn, fall, run, prove
a. She has become a famous lion tamer.
b. The weather is getting warmer.
c. The tree is growing bigger and bigger.
d. Grandpa’s hair has turned out grey.
e. After a good running the boy has fallen asleep.
f. The Danube runs icy in cold winters.
g. The hypothesis proved true.
The predicative can most commonly be expressed by:
nouns, pronouns, gerunds, numerals, infinitives,
predicative clauses:
a. She was a darling to everybody.
b. It’s me. Don’t bother!
c. His favourite pastime is reading adventure
books.
d. They were seven in the group.
e. John’s quality is to understand others.
f. The truth is that you are too proud.
 THE OBJECT
1. Definition:
- The secondary part of the sentence
which completes the meaning of a verb,
an adjective or a noun.
There are three types of objects :
> direct objects
> indirect objects
> prepositional objects
1. The Direct Object

The entity (person, thing, abstraction) that receives the

action of a transitive verb.
a. Jolyon reads every afternoon. (intransitive)
a’ Jolyon reads a book every month. (transitive)
b. Mary sings so often in the bath. (intransitive)
b’ Mary sings country songs at the festival. (transitive)
c. Do you want to take pictures? No, just, watch.
(intransitive)
c’ I’m watching the movie right now.
Direct objects are expressed by the same parts of
speech as the subjects: nouns, pronouns,
substantivized adjectives or past participles, numerals,
infinitives, gerunds, clauses:
a. He then outlined his plans.
b. They won’t hurt you.
c. Pongo instantly decided he would learn to manage
bolts.
d. She saw ten, but there were many more.
e. I like shopping during week-ends.
f. I hate to clean the house all the time.
g. We should help the poor.
2. Classification:
a. Structure /form/composition:
> Simple direct objects
a. But the cat followed them all the way to
their house.
b. I shall always remember this happy walk.
c. She was wearing a tight – fitting emerald
satin dress.
d. I worship furs.
> Coordinated direct objects expressed by
two or several nouns or noun-
equivalents, in the accusative case:
a. Mrs Dearly took Pongo and Missis
across the park.
b. They had splendid heads, fine
shoulders, strong legs and straight tails.
> Compound, rendered by two or several nouns
referring to only one entity.
a. I have always liked my balcony and
garden. (the balcony is like a garden to me)
b. I have met your mother and friend.
(mother is like a friend).
> Double, expressed by the direct object proper
and the indirect object in the reversed order:
a. They asked me a lot of questions.
b. The public offered them flowers.
> Complex, rendered through constructions
made up of two inseparable parts ( the
object proper, and another part which
completes its meaning):
a. Not until we’ve found some dogs to
help us.
b. You shall not let that cruel, thoughtless
child put such a sin on your conscience.
c. He saw the bowl empty.
d. They have made money a passion.
b. Content
> Significant, bearing meaning upon the usual type of direct object.
a. Then Missis found her voice.
b. They heard the Great Dane again.
> Impersonal, which bears no meaning, being rather expressed by
the formal it.
a. Suffice it to say everything about the incident.
> Cognate, accompanying verbs which are normally intransitive ,
such as: sleep, live, smile, laugh; they are labelled cognate
because the nouns they are expressed by are related to the
verb in meaning and, generally in etymology.
a. They lived a life of duty and honour.
b. The baby slept a sound sleep.
c. She dreamed an unforgettable dream.
2. The Indirect Object
- Shows the entity whom the action of the verb affects indirectly.
- It is almost always used together with the direct object. It is canonically
built up using the preposition to as a mark of the dative but it can be
used without any preposition especially when it precedes the direct
object.
a. They gave the flowers to Doris at the party.
b. The postman delivered the letters to the butler.
c. She sent me the parcel.
d. The officer reported the general the incident.
There are verbs which obligatorily ask for the preposition to : announce ,
attribute, contribute, dedicate, describe, explain, indicate, introduce,
listen, point, propose, report, talk, suggest etc.
a. They described the journey to their kids.
b. He explained the problem to his son.
3. The Prepositional Object
- particularly discussed in English grammars in connection with verbs
with obligatory preposition or that contextually require the use of
prepositions.
- completes the meaning of a verb, a noun, an adjective, etc.
- classified into: agent/ force; instrument; means; association; relation
- its position in the sentence: final place, following the direct object
and the indirect object :
a. The houses were pulled down by the earthquake.
b. The actors were cheered by the audience.
c. He opened the door with an old key.
d. They travelled to Paris by train.
e. Joanna went to the movie with her friends.
f. I’m against coffee but in favour of some tea.
THE ADVERBIAL MODIFIER

1. Definition:
The secondary part of the sentence
which modifies or renders more
precise a verb, an adjective or
another adverb.
It is morphologically denoted by the
adverb in all its categories.
2. Classification
-Time:
a. I’ve been searching for you for years.
b. The water in the pond froze last night.
c. I have always liked watching the birds fly high up in the sky.
d. They danced until the sun rose.
- Place:
e. She has moved in the countryside.
f. He will go to the cinema after his training courses.
g. Grandpa is working in the garden.
-Manner:
h. She sings beautifully.
i. He went to his office in a hurry.
j. Jeremy behaves rudely to everybody.
-Comparison:
k. The sky is as clear as crystal.
l. Midge is not so intelligent as Fanny.
- Concession:
m. Though he was tired, he kept on working.
- Purpose:
n. She works a lot in order to get her salary
increased.
- Condition:
o. I would buy a villa if I had money.

- Cause:
p. The flight was postponed because of the thick fog.

- Result/Consequence:
r. It was too much for him to leave his native town.
q. He broke fallit as a result of his negligence.
 The Attribute
1. Definition:
- Secondary part of the sentence which determines or modifies any nominal
part of the sentence (subject, predicative,direct, indirect or prepositional
object ( Bantas, 1996: 165).
- The typical attribute in English and other languages is the adjective and
its subcategories. The other parts of speech that can function syntactically
as attributes are: nouns, pronouns, infinitives, numerals, adverbs etc.
a. Her name is Mary.
b. The student camp is full of girls.
c. His desire to help us melted our hearts.
d. The sleeping pups awoke in alarm.
e. The largest kittens in the yard looked older.
f. The bedroom upstairs looked down into the garden.
g. She liked him from the very first moment.
h. Today’s newspapers speak about inflation.
Attributes can be front or post positioned vis-a -
vis the modified word. Therefore in the
literature adjectives are divided into being used
either attributively or predicatively, or both.
a. The lonely shepherd murmurs a chant
every evening.
a.The shepherd was lonely and sick.
b. She is alone at home.
b * She alone is at home.
Modifiers in front of Nouns (General English)
Head
Determ Opinion Fact Adjectives Noun
iner /Evaluation
other size, origin mate purpo
Adjectives
shape, age, rial se
colour
three nice   black     guard dogs
a   famous   Romanian     sculptor
a     small, 19th- English   coffee table
century
a fabulous   brand new     sports car
a lovely   blue and Chinese silk   dress
green
a pair of     brown Spanish leathe riding boots
r
a     big, black       cat
and white
this   expensiv     cotton autum coat
e n
an     old,   woode fishing boat
n

my     lucky     tennis racket

a wonderful   16th- Italian     sonnet
century