Predicative expression

Apredicative expression(or justpredicative) is part of aclausepredicate,and is an expression that typically follows acopulaorlinking verb,e.g.be,seem,appear,or that appears as a secondcomplementof a certain type of verb, e.g.call,make,name,etc.The most frequently acknowledged types of predicative expressions arepredicative adjectives(alsopredicate adjectives) andpredicative nominals(alsopredicate nominals). The main trait of all predicative expressions is that they serve to express a property that is assigned to a "subject", whereby this subject is usually the clausesubject,but at times it can be the clauseobject.A primary distinction is drawn between predicative (alsopredicate) andattributive expressions.Further, predicative expressions are typicallynotclausearguments,and they are also typicallynotclauseadjuncts.There is hence a three-way distinction between predicative expressions, arguments, and adjuncts.

The termspredicative expressionon the one hand, andsubject complementandobject complementon the other hand overlap in meaning to a large extent.

Examples

The most widely acknowledged predicative expressions areadjectivesandnominals:

The idea wasridiculous.— Predicative adjective over the subject.

He seemsnice.— Predicative adjective over the subject.

Bob isa postman.— Predicative nominal over the subject.

They were allhappy campers.— Predicative nominal over the subject.

That shrimp dish made himsick.— Predicative adjective over the object.

We painted the doorwhite.— Predicative adjective over the object.

They elected himpresident.— Predicative nominal over the object.

They called Jilla thief.— Predicative nominal over the object.

The formulations "over the subject" and "over the object" indicate that the predicative expression is expressing a property that is assigned to the subject or to the object.For example, the predicative expressiona thiefin the last sentence serves to assign toJillthe property of being a thief. Predicative nominals over subjects are also calledpredicatenominatives,a term borrowed fromLatin grammarsand indicating themorphological casethat such expressions bear (in Latin).

Further examples

While the most widely acknowledged predicative expressions are adjectives and nominals, most syntactic categories can be construed as predicative expressions, e.g.

The snake isin the bag.— Predicative prepositional phrase.

That iswhen it happens.— Predicative clause.

It issoon.— Predicative adverb.

There are, however, certain categories that cannot appear as predicative expressions. Adverbs ending in-ly,for instance, cannot appear as predicative expressions, e.g.

*The event wassplendidly.— Failed attempt to use an adverb ending in-lyas a predicative expression.

*Our ideas areinsightfully.— Failed attempt to use an adverb ending in-lyas a predicative expression.

These examples raise the following fundamental question: What characteristic of words and phrases allows or prohibits them from appearing as predicative expressions? The answer to this question is not apparent.

Predicative adjectives vs. attributive adjectives

Predicative expressions are not attributive expressions. The distinction is illustrated best using predicative and attributive adjectives:

a. The man isfriendly.— Predicative adjective.

b. thefriendlyman— Attributive adjective.

a. One snake waslarge.— Predicative adjective.

b. onelargesnake— Attributive adjective.

a. His bag isdamp.— Predicative adjective.

b. hisdampbag— Attributive adjective.

A given clause usually contains a single predicative expression (unlesscoordinationis involved), but it can contain multiple attributive expressions, e.g.The friendly man found a large snake in his damp bag.

Predicative adjectives vs. postpositive adjectives

Postpositive adjectivesare attributive adjectives which modify the immediately preceding noun or pronoun to create a noun phrase. (A predicate adjective is frequently preceded by a linking verb.) Postpositive adjectives are rare in English, but common in many other languages.

a. Something isdifferent.— Predicative adjective.

b. I want somethingdifferent.— Postpositive adjective.

a. He istaller than you.— Predicative adjective.

b. I met a persontaller than you— Postpositive adjective.

Predicatives vs. arguments and adjuncts

Predicative expressions are typicallynotarguments,e.g.

a. She wasour friend.— Predicative nominal.

b. She visitedour friend.— Argument nominal.

a. That isan excuse.— Predicative nominal.

b. He producedan excuse.— Argument nominal.

The predicative expressions here are properties that are assigned to the subject, whereas the arguments cannot be construed as such properties. Predicative expressions are also typicallynotadjuncts,e.g.

a. The bag isunder the bed.— Predicative prepositional phrase.

b. Something is movingunder the bed.— Adjunct prepositional phrase.

a. The dispute wasafter the talk was completely over.— Predicative clause.

b. Everybody relaxedafter the talk was completely over.— Adjunct clause.

The predicative expressions again serve to assign a property to the subject, e.g. the property of being under the bed. In contrast, the adjuncts serve to establish the situational context. One can hence acknowledge a three-way distinction between predicative expressions, arguments, and adjuncts. However, upon deeper examination, the lines between these categories become blurred and overlap can occur. For instance, in the sentenceBill arrived drunk,one can judgedrunkto be both a predicative expression (because it serves to assign a property toBill) and an adjunct (because it appears optionally in the sentence).

In other languages

Predicative expressions exist in most if not all languages. In languages that have morphological case, predicative nominals typically appear in the nominative case (e.g., German and Russian) or instrumental case (e.g. Russian), although predicative expressions over objects generally bear the same case as the object. Some languages lack an equivalent of the copulabe,and many languages omit the copula in some contexts or optionally (seezero copula), which means that the case marker plays a greater role since it helps distinguish predicative nominals from argument nominals. Some languages (e.g.,Tabasaran) have a separate predicative case.

See also

• Nominal sentence

References

• Burton-Roberts 1997. Analysing sentences: An introduction to English grammar. London: Longman.
• Crystal, D. 1997. A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics, 4th edition, Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
• Hudson, R. 1984. Word grammar. New York: Basil Blackwell Publisher.
• Lester, M. 1971. Introductory transformational grammar of English. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
• Radford, A. 2004. English syntax: An introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.