Structural Classification of Attributes

Structurally, attributes fall into three types: simple, complex, and clausal. A simple attribute is expressed by a single word or a non-clausal combination of words. Cf:

It was a lovely house (J. Parsons).

What is your address in the country? (O. Wilde).

A complex attribute consists of two components linked by secondary predication, e.g.:

... we must not exclude the possibility of a woman being concerned (A. Christie).

A clausal attribute is a finite clause possessing primary predication, e.g.:

Kathleen described the scene that followed (D. Robins).

It is only simple attributes that can be regarded as secondary parts of non-complicated monopredicative syntactic units.