2.3 The Predicate

The predicate of a sentence expresses the state of the subject or the action that the subject performs. The predicate includes the verb or verb phrase and any objects (direct or indirect) or modifiers that follow it. Every sentence must have a predicate.

The verb should be positioned as close to the subject as possible. The mistake of placing the verb at the end of the sentence after an over-long subject has been mentioned above.

No damage was observed in the specimen due to the uniaxial compressive stress. (Passive Predicate)

The predicate can be:

a) of different tenses and different voice (Active / Passive)

b) simple (any tense variations)

c) compound: a compound verbal predicate is a multi-word compound that acts as a single verb. One component of the compound is a light verb or vector, which carries any inflections, indicating tense, mood, or aspect, but provides only fine shades of meaning. The other, "primary", component is a verb or noun which carries most of the semantics of the compound, and determines its arguments. It is usually in either base or conjunctive participial form.

The first component of a compound verbal predicate can be:

- modal verbs (can, may, must, be to, have to, shall, should, will, would, ought to, need, dare);

- verbs of seeming (to seem, to appear);

- verbs of unexpected occurrence (to happen, to turn out, to chance, to prove);

- some verbs of position and motion (to stand, to sit, to lie, to be in/out/away, to come, to go).

d) nominative (the Predicate Nominative, which is the noun or pronoun following a linking verb (be, remain, seem, become). The Predicate Nominative restates or stands for the subject, refers to the same person or thing as the subject of the verb.

During the heat wave, dehydration became a threat for active citizens.

The assistant's attitude seems a mystery to everyone involved.

e) The researches sometimes differentiate the Predicate Nominative which defines the subject and the Predicate Adjective, which describes it:

The report is ready.

f) the Subordinate Clause Predicate, which is placed after a linking verb to be (to become, etc.) and is connected to the principal clause with the conjunctions that, whether / if, whose, whom, what, etc.

The problem is that…..

g) (as to the position in the sentence) inverted:

More important is the fact that……

Given are also the results of the experiment…

Here lies the meter that can…..

2.4 The Object

The object of a verb is the noun, pronoun or other noun substitute that receives the results of the action referred to by the verb.

Thus, objects may be expressed by a noun, pronoun, numeral, gerund, infinitive, and subordinate clause (introduced by conjunctions and relative pronouns who, whom, what, when, where, why, whether etc.):

It’s hard to say what the best variant would be.

Objects can be formal expressed by the pronoun “it” or “one” used after certain verbs or adjectives to introduce either an infinitive object or a subordinate clause:

One (after to allow, to permit, to lead, to enable etc):

It would enable one to conduct the experiment without any obstacles.

It (after the verbs to make, to deem, to feel, to find, etc. and adjectives possible, necessary, difficult, easy etc.):

They found it hard to put their theory in practice.

He deemed it wrong that they hadn’t got the patent first.

NB! It is necessary not to confuse the formal object “it” with the notional object “it”, which has a certain reference / meaning. The context is of great importance in this case: He mentioned the article. He found it (the article) hard to understand.

The object can also be expressed by a substitute-pronoun:

a) one, which, unlike the formal “one”, may have the meaning “that” / “those” (ones), refer to the noun substituted by it, and thus, in case of necessity, it can be translated: This problem is similar to the one already mentioned.

b) that / those / this, that can also translated by demonstrative pronouns, personal pronouns, or, if it is not necessary, left untranslated.

Moreover, the object, just like the predicate, can be inverted: This I believe is of great importance.

Besides, it is necessary to mention such a phenomenon as Complex Object:

Noun in the Nominative Case / Pronoun in the Objective Case + the Infinitive	We know the electron to be а part of all atoms
Noun in the Nominative Case / Pronoun in the Objective Case + Present Participle	We watched the sun setting down.
Noun in the Nominative Case / Pronoun in the Objective Case + Past Participle	We don’t want the work done under these circumstances.

Objects of verbs may be either direct or indirect. Indirect objects introduced with prepositions are prepositional objects (or objects of prepositions).

The direct object is the noun, pronoun, or other noun substitute in a sentence that receives the action of the verb; it is the noun or noun phrase that is acted upon.

Tomsk-7, whose existence was classified until about 1990, is thought to have poured and pumped about a billion curies of high-level waste, or 20 Chernobyls' worth, into lakes in the region and into underground formations.

All sentences with transitive verbs must include a direct object. In most sentences, the direct object must immediately follow the verb.

Wash the test tubes. [Direct object, the test tubes, immediately follows the verb]

However, the direct object may sometimes be separated from the verb by an indirect object.

Give me the test tubes. [Indirect object, me, comes between verb and direct object]

The indirect object tells to whom or what the action of the verb is directed or for whom or what the action is performed.

Every year, the university gives several outstanding students full scholarships.

Indirect objects of verbs can instead be made objects of prepositions:

Every year, the university gives full scholarships to several outstanding students.