4. THE PREDICATE

I. DEFINITION

P is the second main constituent of the sentence which along with the S makes up the predicative bond. It predicates features and characteristics of the S and is in concord with it. It is in most cases a verb form and may take Objects and Complements,

e.g. He had given the girl an apple.

II. TYPES OF PREDICATE 

The classification of P can be based on:                      

- Structural parameters: simple vs.compound
-Morphological parameters: verbal vs. nominal

The combination of them yields the following forms of P:

1. Simple verbal
2. Simple nominal
3. Compound verbal
4. Compound nominal

1. SIMPLE VERBAL PREDICATE – SVP 

This is a verb phrase in a simple or compound tense form, in active or passive voice,

e.g.: Somebody broke the door. The door had been broken.

The phraseological P is the subtype of the SVP. It is made up of two constituents functioning in a phrase which semantically equals one lexical unit. There are two kinds of phraseological SVP:

1.1. Finite verb with vague meaning + verb-like noun,

e.g.: to have a look, to have a walk, to have a smoke, to have a swim, to give a laugh, to give a push, to give a start /to be startled/, to take a walk, to take a look, to take a shower, to make a move.


1.2. Vague verb + abstract noun without article + preposition / usually OF/,

e.g.: to get rid of, to get hold of, to take care of, to make fun of, to make use of, to lose sight of, to catch sight of, to pay attention to.

N.B. Type 1 of phraseological SVP compensates for the lack of the distinction in English and makes it possible to express momentary actions, cf. to push – general meaning, to give a push – momentary meaning; smoke – to give a smoke.

2. SIMPLE NOMINAL PREDICATE – SNP 

This type does not contain verbal form, it is just a noun or an adjective. There are two types, according to the word order:

2.1. S – P type – usually in exclamations of absurdity,
e.g.: He, a gentleman! She, a beauty! Me, stupid!

N.B. These are not elliptical sentences with a dropped link verb because if such a “missing” verb is inserted the meaning would change radically, cf. He, a gentleman! – He is a gentleman.


2.2. P – S type – “thoughtful” remarks,
e.g.: Nice thing, beer! Splendid game, cricket!

3. COMPOUND VERBAL PREDICATE – CVP 

In this case the P contains two parts based on two different lexemes, two lexical units, one of which is notional /bears the semantic contents/ and the other one is a semi-auxiliary which has either modal or assertive meaning. The notional part is a non-finite verb form – an infinitive or –ing form. The semi-auxiliary is a finite verb which may have either modal meaning /denoting subjective attitude of the speaker/ or aspective meaning /denoting the “mode of action” – the manner in which the action is carried out/. Accordingly there are two subtypes of CVP:

3.1. The modal CVP

Here the semi-auxiliary has modal meaning and it can be realized or implemented in the following patterns:

- Modal verb + infinitive,
e.g.: can, go, may, arrive, must, come.

- Verb with modal meaning + ing form,
e.g.: want to go, intend to find, wish, long, yearn, expect, desire.

- Be/have + infinitive,
e.g.: He has to come. He is to arrive tomorrow.

- Be/going + infinitive,
e.g.: He is going to leave. Here belong phrases like: had better, had best, would rather: I would rather stay but I had better go.

3.2. The aspective SVP

Here the semi-auxiliary has aspective meaning of beginning, duration, continuation, ending, stopping etc. Such verbs are: to begin, to continue, to stop, to cease, to keep. Here belong the phrases WOULD + inf. and USED TO + inf. which express habitual actions in the past,

e.g.: That summer he would get up early and would go to the beach.

4. THE COMPOUND NOMINAL PREDICATE – CNP – S - / V link – Cs/. 

CNP consist of Vlink + Predicative /subject complement/, where Vlink is a “bridge” /link between the S and its features, expressed by the Cs/. Thus the Cs bears the notional content of the CNP and the true Vlink is just a connection and is normally void of lexical meaning. The most typical Vlink are: be, become,

e.g.: Mary is a teacher. Mary became a nurse/angry. But there are many others which may function as Vlink. In fact, in English many verbs which are normally lexical, may be employed to serve as Vlink,

 e.g.: to grow: He grew up in America. /full/lexical verb, intransitive/. He grew tomatoes/beard./transitive lexical verb/. She grew pale./link verb=became/.

In some cases Vlink may have partially retained some lexical meaning while being at the same time a Vlink – such cases are known as “double predicates”,

e.g.: She married young = she married + she was young. He arrived tired = he arrived + he was tired.

The Vlink may be in the passive voice, e.g.: He was reported missing.
In certain cases we may observe the stages of weakening/loss/ of the lexical meaning as the verb develops from lexical to link verb,

e.g.: GO:
1. She went to Britain a child /double predicate with strongly retained lexical meaning of GO = locomotion/
2. People go naked on the beach /faded meaning of locomotion, GO is more link verb than lexical verb/
3. She went crazy /zero meaning of locomotion, GO is pure link verb/.

5. In addition to the four types of Predicates outlined above, also are mixed types:

5.1. Modal nominal P,
e.g.: It must be very funny. You needn’t be afraid.

5.2. Aspective compound nominal P,
e.g.: He continued to be afraid.

5.3. Modal compound aspective P,
e.g.: He must stop doing nothing.