Compound Nominal Predicate

The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative (nominal part). The link verb is the structural element of the predicate, as it joins the subject and the predicative. It expresses the grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect and mood.

Among the class of link verbs we may distinguish those which have lost their original lexical meaning (to be, to get), those which have only partly lost their lexical meaning (to remain, to become, to grow, to turn, to look, to seem), those which have fully preserved their lexical meaning but still serve as link verbs followed by a predicative (to elect, to call, to leave, to keep, to make).

According to their semantic characteristics link verbs fall into three groups (Fig. 126).

Fig. 126

The predicative is the notional part of the compound nominal predicate. It characterizes the person or non-person expressed by the subject. The characterization may concern the properties of the person or non-person (the state or quality or quantity of it), the identity of the person or non-person, that is, what class of persons or things they belong to.

The predicative can be expressed in different ways (Fig. 127).

Fig. 127

There exist three most typical semantic characteristics of a predicative (Fig. 128).

Fig. 128

An identifying predicative expresses equality between the notion expressed by the predicative and by the subject, or means that they are of the same rank or value. In this case the predicative and the subject are positionally interchangeable. Such predicatives are expressed by a noun with the definite article. A classifying predicative names a class of persons or non-persons to which that denoted by the subject belongs. The predicative in this case is expressed by a noun with the indefinite article. A characterizing predicative denotes a state or quality of a person or non-person and is expressed by an adjective or a stative. Compound predicates can combine elements of different types (Fig. 129).

Fig. 129

Secondary sentence parts object

The object is a secondary part of the sentence referring to some other part of the sentence and expressed by a verb, an adjective, a stative or, very seldom, an adverb completing, specifying, or restricting its meaning.

The object can be expressed in different ways (Fig. 130).

From the point of view of their value and grammatical peculiarities, four types of objects can be distinguished in English (Fig. 131).

The direct object is a non-prepositional one that follows transitive verbs, adjectives, or statives and completes their meaning. Semantically it is usually a non-person which is affected by the action of the verb, though it may also be a person or a situation. The situation is expressed by a verbal, a verbal phrase, a complex, or by a clause.

The indirect object also follows verbs, adjectives and statives. Unlike the direct object, however, it may be attached to intransitive verbs as well as to transitive ones. Besides, it may also be attached to adverbs, although this is very rare.

From the point of view of their semantics and certain grammatical characteristics indirect objects fall into two types: the indirect recipient object and the indirect non-recipient object.

The indirect recipient object is attached only to ditransitive verbs. It is expressed by a noun or pronoun which as a rule denotes a person who is the addressee or recipient of the action of the verb. It is joined to the headword either without a preposition or by the preposition to (occasionally for), thus it can be non-prepositional and prepositional. The indirect recipient object is generally used with transitive verbs.

The indirect non-recipient object is attached to verbs, adjectives, statives and sometimes adverbs. It is usually a noun denoting an inanimate object, although it may be a gerund, a gerundial phrase or complex, an infinitive complex or a clause. Its semantics varies, but it never denotes the addressee (recipient) of the action of the governing verb. The indirect non-recipient object can only be joined to its headword by means of a preposition.

The cognate object is a non-prepositional object which is attached to otherwise intransitive verbs and is always expressed by nouns derived from, or semantically related to, the root of the governing verb.

The term “the retained object” is to be applied in case an active construction is transformed into a passive one and the indirect object of the active construction becomes the subject of the passive construction. The second object, the direct one, may be retained in the transformation, though the action of the predicate-verb is no more directed upon it. Therefore it is called a retained object.

Fig. 130

Fig. 131