The predicative is the significant part of the compound nominal predicate. It can be expressed in different ways:
1. By a noun in the common case, occasionally by a noun in the possessive case.
(She is a pretty child.)
2. By an adjective.
(He’s awfully dear and unselfish.)
3. By a pronoun — personal, possessive, negative, interrogative, reflexive, indefinite, defining.
(It was he.)
4. By a word of the category of state.
(But I’m afraid I can’t keep the man.)
5.By a numeral, cardinal or ordinal.
(I’m only 46.)
6.By a prepositional phrase.
(The things were outside her experience.)
7. By an infinitive, infinitive phrase, or an infinitive construction.
(June’s first thought was to go away.)
8. By a gerund, gerundial phrase, or gerundial construction.
(My favourite sport is swimming.)
9. By Participle II or very seldom Participle I; the latter is generally adjectivized.
(He was surprised at the sound of his own voice.)
10. By an adverb.
(That was all. It was enough the way she said it.)
The Objective Predicative.
Besides the predicative referring to the subject, another type of predicative referring to the object can be found in English. It is generally called the Objective Predicative. It expresses the state or quality of the person or thing denoted by the object and is generally expressed by a noun, an adjective, a word denoting state, or a prepositional phrase.
(They painted the door green.)
The Objective Predicative does not form part of the predicate, in this case the predicate is simple.
The compound verbal predicate.
The compound verbal predicate can be divided into two types according to the meaning of the finite verb:
The compound verbal modal predicate shows whether the action expressed by a non-finite form of the verb is considered as possible, impossible, obligatory, necessary, desirable, etc. These shades of meaning are expressed by the first component of the predicate.
The compound verbal modal predicate may consist of the following components:
1. A modal verb and an infinitive.
Here belong the combinations of such verbs as can, may, must, should, would, ought, dare, need with an infinitive.
(You can prove everything and nothing.)
2. Modal expressions: to be + Infinitive, to have + Infinitive.
(I have to work for my living)
3. A verb with a modal meaning2 and an infinitive or a gerund. Here belong such verbs as to hope, to expect, to intend, to attempt, to try, to endeavour, to long, to wish, to want, to desire, etc.
(Of course she longs to have a ball in her honour.)
4. Modal expressions and an infinitive.
They are synonymous with modal verbs or verbs with a modal meaning. Here belong the combinations of such expessions as to be able, to be obliged, to be bound, to be willing, to be anxious, to be capable, to be going with an infinitive.
(I am going to leave Paris.)
5. Verbs and expressions used in the predicate of sentences containing the Subjective Infinitive Construction(Nominative-with-the-Infinitive Construction).
These words and expressions show the attitude of the speaker towards the person or thing expressed by the subject.
(A ship — the Vestris — is reported to be arriving at Joppa.)
The compound verbal aspect predicate expresses the beginning, repetition, duration, or cessation of the action expressed by the non-finite form of the verb. It consists of such verbs as to begin, to start, to commence, to fall, to set about, to go on, to keep on, to proceed, to continue, to stop, to give up, to finish, to cease, to come and an infinitive or a gerund.
Here also belong would and used + Infinitive, which denote a repeated action in the past.
(She had stopped asking Yates about the time.)
Mixed types: Besides the compound nominal predicate, the compound verbal modal predicate and the compound verbal aspect predicate, there is a type of predicate in which we have elements of two types of predicates. Such predicates contain three components.
Thus we have:
1. The compound modal nominal predicate.
(Don’t think I mean to be unkind.)
2. The compound aspect nominal predicate.
(The grey house had ceased to be a house for family life.)
3. The compound modal aspect predicate.
(He ought to stop doing nothing and criticizing everybody.)
