The predicate

The predicate is a word or a group of words that informs us of what is happening to the person, object or phenomenon indicated as the subject in the sentence. It is the second main part of the sentence and its organizing centre.

The predicate may be considered from the semantic (= dealing with the meaning of words) or from the structural point of view.

According to its semantics (= the meaning of its components), the predicate may denote an action, a state, a quality, or an attitude to some action or state ascribed to the subject.

From the structural point of view there are two main types of the predicate: the simple predicate and the compound predicate.

The simple predicate can be verbal and nominal:

The simple verbal predicate

The simple nominal predicate

The simple verbal predicate can be expressed by: 1. a verb in its synthetic or analytical form: His words frightened me. I shouldn’t think the idea so unreasonable. 2. a verb phrase: a) denoting single actions: to have a look, to have a smoke, to give a cry, to make a move, to have a talk, to make a remark, to pay a visit, etc: I took a walk as far as the river. b) denoting various kinds of actions: t o change one’s mind, to get hold(of), to take care (of), to lose sight (of), to make fun (of), to make up one’s mind, etc: They have been taking care of your children long enough.

The simple nominal predicate can be expressed by: 1. a noun: Me, a liar! 2. an adjective: You sad! 3. an infinitive or an infinitive phrase: My boy insulta gentleman at my table! 4. Participle I or a participial phrase: She spying! The simple nominal predicate doesn’t contain a link verb. In the meaning of the simple nominal predicate there is an implied negation. Sentences with this type of predicate are always exclamatory and are used in colloquial English, although not frequently.

The compound predicate consists of two parts: the structural (which comes first) and the notional (which follows the structural part). The notional part may be expressed by a noun, an adjective, a stative, an adverb, a verbal, a phrase, a predicative complex, or a clause. The notional part is the main bearer of meaning. The structural part is expressed by a finite verb ― a phrasal verb, a modal verb, or a link verb. The structural part carries grammatical information about the person, number, tense, voice, modal, attitudinal and phasal meaning of the whole predicate.

The compound predicate can be verbal and nominal.

The compound verbal predicate falls into three types:

The compound verbal phasal predicate	The compound verbal modal predicate	The compound verbal predicate of double orientation
The compound verbal phasal predicate denotes the beginning, duration, repetition or cessation of the action expressed by an infinitive or a gerund. It consists of a phasalverb and an infinitive or a gerund. The phasal verb can be a verb of: 1. beginning: to begin, to start, to commence, to setabout, etc: The man began to play a lively tune. 2. duration: to go on, to keep, to proceed, to continue, etc: Royce continued to workquietly as the other two talked. 3. repetition: would, used to (denoting a repeated action in the past): He would go there every afternoon just for pleasure. 4. cessation: to stop, to finish, to cease, to give up, etc: I gave up smoking.	The compound verbal modal predicate consists of a modal part and an infinitive (or a gerund). The modal part may be expressed by:   1. a modal verb: You will have to do as you were told. 2. a modal expression of nominal nature: to be able, to be allowed, to be going, to beanxious, etc: We were anxious to cooperate.	The compound verbal predicate of double orientation consists of two parts. The first part is the finite verb which denotes the attitude to, evaluation of or comment on the content of the sentence. The second part denotes the action performed by the person / non-person expressed by the subject. The first part of this type of predicate can be expressed by: 1. intransitive verbs of seeming and happening: to seem, to appear, to prove, to turn out, etc: He seemed to have heard the news. 2. some verbs in the passive voice: a) verbs of saying: to say, to declare, to state, etc: The delegation is said to have arrived. b) verbs of mental activity: to believe, to consider, to find, to think, to understand, etc: He has never been known to losehis temper. c) verbs of perception: to feel, to hear, to see, to watch, etc: The lady was seen to leave the house. 3. phrases with some modal meaning: to be likely, to be sure, to be certain, etc: The weather is not likely to change.

The compound nominal predicate can be of two types: proper and double.