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The predicate

1.

The predicate
The predicate is the second main part of the sentence and its
organizing centre, as the object and nearly all adverbial
modifiers are connected with, and dependent on, it.
According to 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. These different
meanings find their expression in the structure of the predicate.

2.

3.

The simple verbal predicate
A verb in a synthetic or analytical form.
John runs quickly.
Perhaps you will even remember that woman.

4.

The simple verbal predicate
Phrases denoting single actions:
a transitive verb + a deverbal noun (with an indefinite article)
• to have a look
• to have a smoke
• to have a talk
• to give a look
• to give a laugh
• to give a cry
• to take a look
• to make a move
• to make a remark
• to pay a visit
• etc.
Nurse Sharp gave him a look and walked out.

5.

The simple verbal predicate
Phrases denoting various kinds of actions.
a verb + an abstract noun (with no article)
• to change one's mind
• to get hold (of)
• to lose sight (of)
• to make fun (of)
• to make up one's mind
• to make use (of)
• to take care (of)
• to take part (in)
• etc.
I have never taken interest in German songs.

6.

The simple nominal predicate
• a noun
• an adjective
• a verbal (an infinitive, a participle)
It does not contain a link verb, as it shows the incompatibility
of the idea expressed by the subject and that expressed by the predicate.
• He a gentleman!
• Nick, dishonest!
• Such an old lady to come so far!
• He spying!

7.

The compound predicate
the structural part
the notional part
carries grammatical
contains the information
information about the
about the person or nonperson, number, tense,
person expressed by the
voice, modal, attitudinal and subject.
aspective (phasal) meaning
of the whole predicate

8.

The compound verbal predicate
T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l p h a s a l p re d i c a t e
(denotes the beginning, duration, repetition or cessation of the action)
the structural part
a phasal verb
the notional part
an infinitive
a gerund

9.

The compound verbal phasal predicate
Beginning:
• to begin (doing smth / to do smth)
• to start (doing smth / to do smth
• to commence (doing smth)
• to set about (doing smth) – start doing smth, especially in a determined way (He set
about resolving the problem of rehousing victims.)
• to take to (doing smth) – start doing smth as a habit (Recently he’s taken to wearing
a cap.)
• to fall to (doing smth)
• to come to do smth
Andrew and he began to talk about the famous clinic.
I come to think that you are right.

10.

T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l p h a s a l p re d i c a t e
Duration:
• to go on (doing smth)
• to carry on (doing smth)
• to keep (doing smth)
• to keep on (doing smth)
• to proceed (to do smth) – used for telling other people about a surprising,
embarrassing, or annoying thing that someone has done
(She proceeded to tell everyone in the bar about our
personal problems.)
• to continue (doing smth / to do smth)
He continued typing while he spoke.
The rain continued to pour down all afternoon.

11.

T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l p h a s a l p re d i c a t e
Repetition:
would, used (denoting a repeated action in the past).
Alfredo used to talk to me about it.
During her small leisure hours she would sit by the window or walk in the
fields.

12.

The compound verbal phasal predicate
Cessation:
• to stop (doing smth)
• to finish (doing smth)
• to cease (doing smth / to do smth)
• to give up (doing smth)
• to leave off (doing smth)
The band had ceased playing.
Give up smoking.

13.

T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l p h a s a l p re d i c a t e
Note the difference in the functions of the gerund and the infinitive after the verb to stop:
• She stopped talking to him. (part of a compound verbal phasal predicate)
Она перестала с ним говорить.
• She stopped to talk to him. (an adverbial modifier of purpose)
Она остановилась, чтобы поговорить с ним.)

14.

T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l p h a s a l p re d i c a t e
Postponing :
• to postpone (doing smth)
• to put off (doing smth)
I’ll put off going to Scotland until you’re well enough to look after
yourself again.

15.

T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l m o d a l p re d i c a t e
It shows whether the action is looked upon as possible, impossible, obligatory, necessary,
desirable, planned, certain, permissible, etc. In most cases it denotes the attitude to the
action of the person expressed by the subject or by the speaker.
the structural part
the notional part
a modal verb
an attitudinal verb
an infinitive

16.

T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l m o d a l p re d i c a t e
A modal verb.
•You must forget it.
•He may have to return.

17.

T h e c o m p o u n d v e r b a l m o d a l p re d i c a t e
Аn attitudinal verb
to like, to hate, to attempt, to expect, to hope, to intend,
to mean, to plan, to try, to have a mind, to wish, to want
• He hoped to see them the next day.
• I mean to find out the truth.

18.

T h e c o m p o u n d p re d i c a t e
of double orientation
The actions are regarded from two points of view: that of the speaker and that
of the person (or non-person) expressed by the subject.
the structural part
a verb or phrase
the notional part
an infinitive (any form)
expressing attitude, evaluation,
or comment of the speaker or
somebody not mentioned in
the sentence
denotes the action which is
(was/will be) performed by the
person/non-person expressed by
the subject

19.

The compound predicate
of double orientation
He is said to be looking for a new job.
They say that he is looking for a new job.
Говорят, что он ищет новую работу.
The plane is reported to have disappeared from the radar.
They report that the plane disappeared from the radar.
Сообщают, что самолет пропал.

20.

The compound predicate
of double orientation
Intransitive verbs of seeming or happening
with the general meaning
of evaluation in the active voice:
to seem, to appear, to prove, to turn out, to happen, to chance.
He seemed to understand everything I said.
No one appears to have noticed his escape.

21.

The compound predicate
of double orientation
Some verbs in the passive voice:
a) Verbs of saying:
to say, to declare, to state, to report, to rumour.
The rocket is reported to have started its flight at 6.30.
b) Verbs of mental activity:
to believe, to consider, to expect, to find, to know, to mean,
to presume, to regard, to suppose, to think, to understand.
He has never been known to lose his temper before.

22.

The compound predicate
of double orientation
Verbs of perception:
to feel, to hear, to see, to watch.
My dog was heard to bark in the yard.
The lady was seen to leave the house.

23.

The compound predicate
of double orientation
Phrases with some modal meaning:
to be (un) likely, to be sure, to be certain.
The adjectives likely, unlikely, sure and certain indicate
the speaker's attitude to the future:
The weather is not likely to change.
This event is certain to produce a sensation.
George is sure to see Mary. (Sure indicates the attitude of the speaker,
it is the speaker rather than George who is sure)

24.

Find and state the type of the predicate.
1)She, a nun!
2)We stopped working at teatime.
3)I will get in touch with you.
4)I remembered to lock the door when I left.
5)I remember locking the door when I left.

25.

26.

Find and state the type of the predicate.
1)She stopped to show him the way.
2)Ronnie, good-looking!
3)The old man ceased to breathe.
4)John intends to buy a house.
5)He tried to open the tin with a pocket knife.

27.

28.

Find and state the type of the predicate.
1)He would sit there for hours sometimes, doing nothing at all.
2)The prisoner was seen to take the money.
3) I saw the train coming into the station.
4) We went to the theatre and made certain we all got seats.
5)You are not supposed to smoke in here.
6)Old people used to say children must be seen and not heard.

29.

30.

Find and state the type of the predicate.
1)She might not know about these changes.
2)He can’t have forgotten about the wedding.
3)I needn’t have cooked dinner.
4) I was to have finished the work yesterday.
5)They could at least have warned us!

31.

32.

The compound nominal predicate proper
a link verb
a predicative (nominal part)
It expresses the grammatical It characterizes the person or
categories of person, number, non-person expressed by the
tense, aspect and mood.
subject.

33.

LINK VERBS
1. Those which have lost their original lexical meaning (to be, to get).
He is just the kind of man I want.
Elisabeth got very restless.
2. Those which have only partly lost their lexical meaning (to remain,
to become, to grow, to turn, to look, to seem).
That request seemed superfluous.
The room looked snug and cheerful.
3. Those which have fully preserved their lexical meaning. They are
used in the passive voice: to elect, to call, to leave, to keep, to make.
She was left alone.
He was elected president.

34.

LINK VERBS
l. L i n k v e r b s o f b e i n g :
to be, to feel, to sound, to smell, to taste, to look, to appear, to seem, etc.
When he was seven, starting school had been a nightmare and a torture to him.
He seemed bewildered.
2. L i n k v e r b s o f b e c o m i n g :
to become, to grow, to turn, to get, to make.
The noise of the rattling dishes becomes intolerable.
The girl’s face suddenly turned red.
3. L i n k v e r b s o f r e m a i n i n g :
to remain, to continue, to keep, to stay.
She remained vexed with him.
The children kept suspiciously silent.

35.

Note:
Lemons taste sour. - Лимоны кислые на вкус.
The fur feels soft. - Мех мягкий на ощупь.

36.

Note:
The apples smell good. (compound nominal predicate)
Яблоки хорошо пахнут.
She looks bad. (compound nominal predicate)
Она выглядит плохо.

37.

Semantic characteristics of the predicative
1 . A n i d e n t i f y i n g p r e d i c a t i v e expresses equality between the notion
expressed by the predicative and by the subject. In this case the predicative
and the subject are positionally interchangeable.
London is the capital of Britain. = The capital of Britain is London.
2. A c l a s s i f y i n g p r e d i c a t i v e names a class of persons or non-persons to
which that denoted by the subject belongs.
John is a student.
3. A c h a r a c t e r i z i n g p r e d i c a t i v e denotes a state or quality of a person or
non-person and is expressed by an adjective or a stative.
The room is dark.
The patient fell asleep.
A characterizing predicative may also be a noun.
He turned traitor. (NO ARTICLE)
He was elected president.

38.

The compound nominal double predicate
It has the features of the simple verbal predicate and those of
the
compound
nominal
predicate.
The notional part
The notional part
It denotes an action or process.
It links the predicative.
It denotes the properties of the
subject in the same way as the
predicative.

39.

The compound nominal double predicate
The moon shone cold and bright.
The predicate here denotes two separate notions:
1) The moon shone. (simple verbal predicate)
2) The moon was cold and bright. (compound nominal predicate)

40.

The compound nominal double predicate
There are a number of verbs that often occur in this type of predicate. They are: to
die, to leave, to lie, to marry, to return, to rise, to sit, to stand, to shine, etc.
My daughter sat silent.
He died a hero.
She married young.
The men stood silent and motionless,
They met friends and parted enemies.
The moon rose round and yellow.

41.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)The children kept silent.
2) These oranges taste nice.
3)I always taste the wine before allowing the
waiter to fill my glass.
4)She will make a good sportsman.
5) Hs voice sounded cold and hostile.

42.

43.

Find the predicate and state its type.
6) The boy was called John.
7) Her eyes grew angry.
8) His father was a merchant.
9) Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the
world.
10) He turned traitor.

44.

Find the predicate and state its type.
6) The boy was called John.
7) Her eyes grew angry.
8) His father was a merchant.
9) Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the
world.
10) He turned traitor.

45.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)That’s what has happened.
2)The main problem was his being away at the moment.
3)What it all means remains for an expert to say.
4)I’m getting cold sitting here.
5)He died young.
6)They parted enemies.

46.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)That’s what has happened.
2)The main problem was his being away at the
moment.
3)What it all means remains for an expert to say.
4)I’m getting cold sitting here.
5)He died young.
6)They parted enemies.

47.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)She married young.
2)He sat reading.
3)He sat silent.
4)He sat at the table.
5)She stood stubbornly at the door.
6)She stood resolute and stubborn at the door.
7)Tom pawned his watch so that he could stand her a
supper.

48.

49.

Mixed types of compound predicate
1. A mo d a l v e r b + a l i n k v e r b + a p r e d i c a t i v e
She couldn’t be happy.
2. A m o d a l
infinitive.
expression
of
nominal
nature
+
an
Are you able to walk another two miles?
3. A p h a s a l v e r b + a l i n k v e r b + a p r e d i c a t i v e .
He was beginning to look desperate.
4. A m o d a l v er b + a p h a s a l v e r b + a g e r u n d o r a n
infinitive.
You ought to stop doing that.

50.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1) The house must be clean if there are guests.
2) He appears to be your friend but I doubt if he is.
3) I began to grow cold, sitting doing nothing.
4) He was anxious to please his guests.

51.

52.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)He must have given up smoking long ago.
2)She was to become a musician.
3)She seems to be unable to continue being angry
with him.
4)The moon couldn’t have been shining bright
that night.

53.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)He must have given up smoking long ago.
2)She was to become a musician.
3)She seems to be unable to continue being
angry with him.
4)The moon couldn’t have been shining bright
that night.

54.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1) His son took to drugs and drinking.
2) He took out a paper.
3) He took a deep breath in the frosty air.
4) The place looked even more peaceful than it
used to look.
5)No one has ever been able to describe beauty.

55.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)When is the wedding to be?
2)There were six of us in the room.
3)The child took after his mother in looks.
4) And then he was suddenly taken ill.
5) He took it to pieces.

56.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)She decided that this time it must be a real affair.
2)She would go crazy if something didn’t happen to her
soon.
3)You can’t go home because home has ceased to exist.
4)Sometimes he would return early and go to bed at
once.
5)I won’t go if you won’t come with me.

57.

Find the predicate and state its type.
1)She was sitting so neat and quiet in her first black
evening dress.
2)It was growing late.
3)How the boy has grown!
4)The sunlight sifted golden and heavy through the
pines.
5)The voice seemed familiar to me.
6)You seem to have lost some weight, my boy!

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