What is a predicate in English. English sentence formula. How is the predicate expressed in the compound predicate

The main parts of the sentence (the main parts of the sentence), both in Russian and in English, are the subject and the predicate. On our site, we, dear readers, have already talked about the subject. Today we will pay attention to the second main member of the sentence - the predicate.

This main member of the sentence in English (however, as in Russian) denotes the action, state, as well as the quality of the object or person expressed by the subject of this sentence. As we can see, the subject and predicate are fully connected with each other in the sentence and are dependent on each other. This means that, as a rule, when parsing the structure of a sentence, they should be studied together.

There are four main types of predicate in English:

• simple verb predicate;
• modal verbal predicate;
• phrasal verb predicate;
• compound nominal predicate.

Now we will study in detail each of the four types of predicate.

What is a simple verb predicate?

A simple verbal predicate or The Simple Verbal Predicate is usually expressed by a semantic verb in a personal form, which can be a simple or complex form of any tense, mood and voice:

• They are going to the library today. —They aretodaygoinlibrary.
• Shall I change your books? —Changeyoubooks?
• Wait for me. I am coming — Waitme. II'll come soon.
• Ann is not at home, she is — AnnaNoat home, she ismissing.
• Iwant someice-cream. — I want some ice cream.
• We saw Green yesterday. We saw Mr Green yesterday.
• Don't bother him; he is busy with writing an article. - Notdisturbhis, hebusywritingarticles.
• I listen to the music every day after work. - II listenmusiceachdayafterwork.
• Themusiccalms me. Music calms me down.
• my mother prefers without tea sugar. My mother prefers tea without sugar.

A special kind of simple verbal predicate is the predicate, which is expressed by the turnover there is in different tenses. In such sentences, the subject always follows the predicate:

• There is a fine park in ourvillage. -In our village there is a beautiful
  a park.
• There wasn't a supermarket in our street. -On theourstreetnotIt wassupermarket.
• There is a nice lawn in front of our block of flats. - Beforeourhomethere isbeautifulflowerbed.
  There were few students on the lessons yesterday. - Yesterdayon thelecturesIt wasfewstudents.
• There was fog outdoors and it was wet yesterday. - On thestreetwasfogandIt wasdampyesterday.
• There are eighteen armchairs in the hall. - AThallthere iseighteenarmchairs.
• There were a lot of participants on the competition. - On thecompetitionIt wasa lot ofparticipants.

Modal verbal predicate - what is it?

The modal verbal predicate The Modal Verbal Predicate consists of a modal verb (can, may, ought, must, should, need, be, have, have got) in the personal form and an infinitive (an indefinite form of the verb) or its stem of the semantic verb.

The second part of the modal predicate can also be a combination of the infinitive of the linking verb to be, to look, to appear, to seem, to feel and others and the predicate. The modal predicate expresses the attitude of a person to an action or state (possibility, necessity, probability, desirability, etc. are expressed here). For example:

• Can you swim well? -Youcan you swim?
• He ought to be more polite. —Himshouldto bemorepolite.
• It must be abouteight. —It's probably around ten now.
• my father can play Chess very well. My father is very good at playing chess.
• Youshould drink thisvitaminsjuice. You must drink this vitamin juice.
• Children must not play with matches. Children should not play with matches.
• He should be more courageous in that affair. He should have been more courageous in that matter.
• my mother can cook very tasty cakes. - Mymothercanprepareverydeliciouspies(cakes).
• Theyneed to meet Mr.Anders. “They need to meet Mr. Anders.
• Rogers may enter the room. - MisterRogersmaybeto come ininroom.

A phrasal predicate is not difficult!

The phrasal predicate The Group Verb Predicate consists of a verb with a weakened meaning in the personal form (most often these are the verbs to have and to take) and a noun. This combination forms a single semantic and grammatical whole. This combination is often equivalent to a simple verbal predicate:

• I have dinner.— I having lunch.
• They have a rest.— They are rest.
• They rest.

A phrasal predicate, as a rule, denotes a short (single) action. The most commonly used combinations of this type are:

• tohavedinner (breakfast,super,lunch,tea,asnack) - have lunch (breakfast, dinner, lunch, tea, snack);
• to have a lesson (lessons)lesson(lessons);
• to have a talk - talk;
• to have a look - look;
• to have a cold - freeze;
• to have a good time - goodspendtime;
• to have a rest - relax;
• to have a bite;
• to have a drink - drink;
• to have a smoke - smoke;
• to have a quarrel - quarrel;
• to have (take) a walk - take a walk;
• to take a bath - takebath;
• to take a seat - sit down;
• to take a tram (bus, etc.) - take a tram, bus;
• to take care - take care;
• to pay a visit - givevisit;
• to pay attention - pay attention;
• to catch a cold - catch a cold.

Let's have a swim. — Let's swim.
Did you have a talk with him? — Have you talked to him?

Compound nominal predicate

The compound nominal predicate The Сomroind Nominal Predicate consists of a linking verb to be in personal form and predicate (nominal part). The predicate in this case denotes some sign of the subject, and the linking verb serves to connect the subject and the predicate and expresses the person, number, mood and time. Unlike the Russian language, in English the verb to be never goes down. Note:

• Our village is very beautiful. — Our village is very beautiful.
• Are they ready? — They are ready?

In addition to the verb to be, some other verbs can also be used as a linking verb:
Verbs to seem, to look, to appear in the meaning of "seem to look" and the verb to feel meaning to feel:

• Yourcousin looks tired. — Your cousin looks tired.
• Theiraunt seemed very excited. — Their aunt seemed very excited.
• He feels— He feels great.

Verbs to get, to become, to turn, to grow in the meaning of "become":

• Mucousin will become aprogrammer. — My cousin will become a programmer.
• She turned— She turned pale.

Verbs to remain, to keep, to continue, to begin, to start, to finish, to stop, to cease, to go on in the meaning of the beginning, continuation and completion of an action or state:

• Myparents kept talking. — My parents kept talking.
• Everybody in the room remained — Everyone in the room was silent.
• Start workingrightnow,please. — Start working right now, please.
• He stopped chatting at once. — He stopped talking instantly.

The subject (The Predicative) can be expressed by the following words and groups of words:

• a noun in general or (sometimes) in the possessive case without a preposition or with a preposition:

She is in good health. — She isquitehealthy.

• adjective or participle:

When will they be free tomorrow?— Whentheywillfreetomorrow?
This armchair is broken.- Itarmchairbroken.

• a pronoun in the general or object case that replaces a noun, or a possessive pronoun in the absolute form:

It"s him. — ithe.
That"s something! — It's alreadysomething!
Whose book is this? — It's theirs.- Whose book is this? - Them.

• quantitative or ordinal number:

We were only three. — UsIt wasonlythree.
I was the first to come. - Icamefirst.

• infinitive or infinitive phrase:

Our plan was to start at once. —Weplannedto beginstraightaway.
It's up to you to decide.- Youdecide.

• gerund:

Myhobbyis collecting stamps. My hobby is collecting postage stamps.

• adverb:

The lesson is over. — Lessonfinished.
Their time is up.- Themtimeexpired.

• complex with an infinitive or gerund:

My parents are against my entering college this autumn. - Myparentsagainst my receipts in college thisautumn.

Agreement of the predicate with the subject in the sentence

The predicate agrees in person and number with the subject of this sentence:

• What are you doing? —Whatyoudoing?

If the subject is expressed by an indefinite, negative or generalizing pronoun, then in this case the predicate is in the singular:

• Everybody knows — Everyone knows this.
• Either month is allright. - Either of those two months is fine.

If the subject is expressed by a gerund or an infinitive, then the predicate is in the singular:

• meeting him was a pleasure. -It was nice to meet him.

If the subject is a collective noun, then the predicate can be singular or plural, depending on whether the persons or objects indicated by the collective noun are considered as a whole, or in this case, individual persons (or objects) are meant , which make up this whole:

• The crowdwas — The crowd couldn't help it.

If the subject is expressed by a numeral or a noun that denotes a measure of time, distance, weight, etc., with a definition expressed by the numeral, then the predicate can be in the singular or in the plural, depending on whether this quantity is considered as one or the constituent parts of this single whole are meant:

• 6 cm aluminum are required to stop all beta rays. - Requires 6 centimeters of aluminum,to stop all beta particles.

If two homogeneous subjects, which are expressed by nouns or pronouns, are connected by unions and or both ... and, then in this case the predicate is in the plural:

• The earth and other planets move around the Sun. — The earth and other planets move around the sun.

English predicates are the main members of the sentence and provide information about the subjects that are inextricably linked with them, conveying the states, qualities or actions of the latter. In their structure, predicates are simple and compound, and the latter can be verbal or nominal.

Simple predicate is a verb standing in any personal form of one of the twelve English tenses, three moods (subjunctive, indicative or imperative) and two voices (passive or active). Simple predicates consist of such a number of words that is necessary to convey the aspectual-temporal form of a particular semantic verb. Phrasal English verbs and integral set expressions (idioms) with a verbal meaning are also considered as simple predicates. For example:

• Oliver visited the National Museum of Australia in October 1989. - Oliver visited the National Museum of Australia in October 1989 (one-word Past Simple Active predicate).
• The National Museum of Australia was visited by Oliver in October 1989. - The National Museum of Australia was visited by Oliver in October 1989 (two-word Past Simple Passive predicate).
• Their house will have been reconstructed by the end of the next year. – Their house will be rebuilt by the end of next year (four-word Future Perfect Passive predicate).
• Fred took out the old couch. - Fred took the old couch outside (phrasal verb in the role of a simple predicate).
• mark always pays compliments his sisters. – Mark always compliments his sisters (an indivisible idiom as a simple predicate).

Compound predicates

Compound nominal predicates never express any actions, but only convey the characteristics, qualities or states of persons or objects.

The structure of the compound nominal predicate:

The most common connective in such predicates is the verb to be, which in no case is omitted in the present due to the obligatory presence of the verb in English sentences. This moment is a significant difference from the habitual Russian language of lowering ligaments in the present tense. This connecting verb is devoid of semantic load, and its expression completely takes over the nominal part. Almost all parts of speech and also subordinate clauses can be used as a nominal part. For example:

• • Her grandfather was an ensign. - Her grandfather was an ensign (the nominal part is expressed by a noun).
  • They didn't understand that that pen was yours. – They did not understand that that pen was yours (the nominal part is expressed by a pronoun).
  • My cousin is in despair. - My cousin is in despair (the nominal part is expressed by a noun with a preposition).
  • I was against them. - I was against them (the nominal part is expressed by a pronoun with a preposition).
  • Her new skirt is beige. – Her new skirt is beige (the nominal part is expressed by an adjective).
  • Her grandmother is ninety— seven. - Her grandmother is ninety-seven years old (the nominal part is expressed as a numeral).
  • My best tunic was torn. - My best tunic was torn (The nominal part is expressed by the participle).
  • This lecture will have been over by 01.50 p.m. – This lecture will end at 13.50 (nominal part is in an adverb).
  • Her destiny was to live in that small dirty village. - Her destiny was life in that small dirty village (the nominal part is expressed in the infinitive).
  • Her greatest hobby was driving. – Her biggest hobby was driving a car (the nominal part is expressed by a gerund).

Some other English verbs can also act as connectives when they are used in the corresponding meanings, which, unlike to be, add a certain shade to the transmitted action (to stay, become, seem, etc.). For example:

• • Jane starred at them in confusion. Jane looked at them confused / embarrassed.
  • His face turned pale. – His face turned pale (= became pale).
  • John will have become a garage mechanic by the end of July. At the end of July, John will become a car mechanic.
  • Their child doesn't` t seem very happy. Their child does not seem particularly happy (does not seem particularly happy).

Linking verbs do not have a passive voice, instead of which the passive form of the infinitive or gerund is used, for example:

• • Her belongings seem to have been brought. “Looks like her belongings have already arrived.

Compound verbal predicates, unlike nominal ones, convey actions.

The structure of the compound verb predicate:

Modal verbs are never used in sentences on their own. True modal verbs are deficient, that is, they lack many grammatical forms. Used in tandem with the infinitive of the semantic verb, modal verbs give the action a shade of probability, obligation, possibility, etc. The infinitive after modal verbs (1) and verbs in modal meanings (2) is used without "to", except for the verbs ought (1) and to have, to be (2). For example:

• • You need to find another battery for this device. – For this device it is necessary (necessary) to look for another battery.
  • Our guests may come in an hour. Our guests will probably come in an hour.
  • her son must refuse this gift. = Her son has to refuse this gift. Her son must refuse this gift.
  • He is to sleep there at this night. He must sleep there tonight.
  • You oughtn` t to visit your neighbour. You don't need (shouldn't) go to your neighbor.
  • Richard can` t drive. Richard can't drive.

Consider, using the example of the verb “pretend, pretend, act out - to pretend”, the existing forms of the gerund and the infinitive, which can be used as the second component of a compound verbal predicate.

As the first component of a compound verbal predicate, aspect (semi-significant) verbs can also act, which require a certain explanation after themselves, which is given in the form of a gerund or an infinitive. Among them there are phasic verbs that indicate the end, beginning or continuation of an action, for example:

• • We begin to study psychology on Tuesday. – On Tuesday we will start studying psychology (phase verb with infinitive).
  • Sandy went on crossing the street. – Sandy continued to cross the street (phase verb with gerund).
  • Jane finished knitting and started making supper. Jane finished knitting and started preparing dinner.
  • It continued snowing. - The snow continued to fall.

In addition to phase verbs, various state verbs can be used as connectives (turn out - to appear, act - to act, become - to become, to get; become, become - to grow (more), to fade (weaker), to fall (less, below), etc.), verbs of sensation (look - to look, smell - to smell, feel - to feel, sound - to sound, etc.), as well as verbs related to human mental activity (want - to want, hope - to hope, love, like - to like, try, try - to try, intend - to intend, etc.). For example:

• • I want you to pay respect to my relatives. “I want you to show respect to my family.
  • Bob definitely intends to marry his sister. Bob definitely intends to marry his sister.
  • Joan hoped to receive a letter from her boyfriend. Joan hoped to receive a letter from her friend.

Predicate ( The Predicate)
There are four types of predicate in English:
1) simple verbal predicate;
2) modal verbal predicate;
3) phrasal verbal predicate;
4) compound nominal predicate.

Simple verb predicate ( The Simple Verbal Predicate)
expressed by a semantic verb in a personal form, which can be a simple or complex form of any tense, voice and mood:
I am going to the library today. - I am today I'm going to the library.
Shall I change your books? -Change you books?
Wait forme.I am coming too. -Wait me. Me too I'm going.
Ann is not at home. - Anna No at home.
A special kind of simple verbal predicate is the predicate expressed by turnover thereis:
There is a fine park in our town. - In our city there is good park.
There wasn't a shop in our street. - On our street not It was shop.
In such sentences, the subject always follows the verb.

Modal verb predicate ( The Modal Verbal Predicate)
A modal verbal predicate consists of a modal verb ( can,may,must,should,need,ought,be,have,havegot) in the personal form and the infinitive or its base of the semantic verb. The second part of the modal predicate can also be a combination of the infinitive of the linking verb tobe,tolook,toappear,toseem,tofeel etc. and predicate. The modal predicate expresses the attitude of a person to an action or state (possibility, necessity, probability, desirability, etc.):
Can youswim? - You can you swim?
He ought to be more polite. - Him should be more polite.
It must be about ten. - It's probably around ten now.

Phrasal predicate ( The Group Verb Predicate)
A phrasal predicate consists of a verb with a weakened meaning in a personal form (most often - verbs tohave and totake) and a noun. This combination forms a single semantic and grammatical whole. It is often equivalent to a simple verbal predicate:
I have dinner. - I having lunch.
I din.
I have a rest. - I resting.
Irest.
A phrasal predicate usually denotes a short (single) action. The most common combinations of this type are:
to have dinner (breakfast, supper, lunch, tea, a snack); to have a lesson (lessons); to have a talk; to have a look; to have a cold; to have a good time; to have a rest; to have a bite; to have a drink; to have a smoke; to have a quarrel; to have (take) a walk; to take a bath; to take a seat; to take a tram (bus, etc.); to take care, to pay a visit; to pay attention, to catch cold.
Let's have a swim. - Let's swim.
Did you have a talk with him? - You are with him talked?

Compound nominal predicate ( The Compound Nominal Predicate)
A compound nominal predicate consists of a linking verb tobe in personal form and predicative (nominal part). The predicative denotes some sign of the subject, and the linking verb serves to connect the subject and the predicate and expresses person, number, tense and mood. Unlike the Russian language, the verb tobe never goes down. Compare:
Our town is very beautiful. - Our city is very handsome.
Are you ready? - You ready?

Except the verb tobe, the following verbs can also be used as a linking verb:
1) verbs toseem, tolook,toappear with the meaning "seem to look like" and the verb tofeel with the meaning of feel:
Youlook tired. - You are looking tired.
She seemed veryexcited. - She is seemed very excited.
Hefeels fine. - He feels yourself perfectly.

2) verbs to get, to become, to turn, to grow with the meaning "become":
Mu brother will become an engineer.- My brother will become engineer.
She turned pale. - She turned pale.

3) verbs to remain, to keep, to continue, to begin, to start, to finish, to stop, to cease, to go on with the value of the beginning, continuation and end of the action or state:
Hekept talking. - He continued talk.
Everybody remained silent. - All kept silence.
Startworking, please. -start work please.
He stopped chatting at once. - He stopped chat instantly.
Predicative (T he predictive) can be expressed by the following words and groups of words:

• a noun in the general or (rarely) possessive case without a preposition or with a preposition:

This is mine sister Ann. Sheisa student . - That's mine sister Anna. She is student.
Is it your book? – No, it's not mine, it is Nick's. - it yoursbook? - No, it's not mine. Nicholas.
She is in good health. - She is quite healthy.

• adjective or participle:

When will you be free today? - When will you free today?
This chair is broken. - This chair broken.

• a pronoun in the general or objective case, replacing a noun, or a possessive pronoun in the absolute form:

It's me. - it I.
That's something! - It's already something-what!
Whose book is this? – It's mine. - Whose book is this? - My.

• quantitative or ordinal number:

We were only two. - We were only two.
I was the first to come. - I came first.

• infinitive or infinitive phrase:

Our plan was to start at once. - We planned to begin straightaway.
It'suptoyouto decide. - You decide.

• gerund:

My hobby is collecting postage- My hobby - collecting stamps. postage stamps.

• adverb:

The lesson is over. - Lesson finished.
Our time is up. - Nowadays expired.

• complex with an infinitive or gerund:

My father is against my enteringcollege this autumn. - My father is against my receipt to college this autumn.

Agreement of the predicate with the subject
The predicate agrees in person and number with the subject of the sentence:
What areyou doing? - Iam preparing for my lessons. - What are you doing? - I'm getting ready for class.

If the subject is expressed by an indefinite, negative or generalizing pronoun, the predicate is put in the singular:
Everybody knows it. - Everyone knows this.
Either month is all right. - Either of these two months is fine.

If the subject is expressed by a gerund or an infinitive, the predicate is in the singular:
meeting her was a pleasure. - It was nice to meet her.

If the subject is a collective noun, then the predicate can be singular or plural, depending on whether the persons or objects indicated by the collective noun are considered as one, or whether they mean the individual persons (objects) that make up this single whole:
Thecrowd was helpless. - The crowd couldn't help it.
The fleeing crowd were scattered by the mounted police. - The running crowd was scattered mounted police.

If the subject is expressed by a numeral or a noun denoting a measure of time, distance, weight, etc., with a definition expressed by a numeral, the predicate can be in the singular or in the plural, depending on whether this quantity is considered as one whole or there are in view of the constituent parts of this unified whole:
30 miles is a day's journey in these hills. - 30 miles is a day's journey among these hills.
6 cm aluminum are required to stop all beta rays. - It takes 6 centimeters of aluminum to stop all beta particles.

If two homogeneous subjects, expressed by nouns or pronouns, are connected by conjunctions and or both… and, the predicate is plural:
T he Earth and other planets move aroundtheSun.- The earth and other planets move around the sun.
Both the dog and his master were dragged ashore by Peter and Hans. Both the dog and its owner were dragged ashore by Piet and Hans.

If two subjects, expressed by pronouns or nouns, are connected by conjunctions neither...nor,either…ornotonly…butalso, the verb-predicate agrees in person and number with the last subject:
Either Margaret or I'm going with you. - Margaret or I will go with you.
Neither Margaret nor her sisters were ready. - Neither Margaret nor her sisters were ready.

If two subjects are joined by a conjunction aswellas, the predicate agrees in person and number with the first subject:
John as well as his brothers, doesn't bear townfolk.-John, like his brothers, can't stand the townspeople.

It is expressed by the verb in personal form in any tense, voice and mood. The form of the verb can be simple, i.e. without auxiliary verbs (He speaks English. He speaks English), or complex, i.e. with auxiliary verbs (Not is reading now. He is reading now. I shall be waiting for you at 5. I'll be waiting for you at 5).

Note. In Russian, the forms I will wait, I will read, etc. are also a simple predicate expressed by a complex form of the verb in the future tense.

Verbs with postpositions (such as to carry out) stable combinations with a verbal meaning (such as to take care to care) also form a simple predicate in the sentence.

• The beta-rays are known to move with high velocity. -- Beta rays are known to travel at high speeds.
• I seem to have promised you that I "d take you in my lab. - It seems that I promised you that I would take you to my laboratory.
• He is sure to be sent there. “He will certainly be sent there.
• He was seen crossing the bridge. We saw him cross the bridge

If two subjects expressed by nouns or pronouns are connected by the union and or Both ... and, the predicate is plural:

• The earth and other plans ets move around the sun. The earth and other planets revolve around the sun.
• Both the dog and his master were dragged ashore by Pete and Hans. “Both the dog and its owner were dragged ashore by Piet and Hans.

If two subjects are joined by a union as well as as well as, the predicate agrees in person and number with the first subject:

• Liquid, as well as solids. becomes radioactive when put through a nuclear reactor. -- Liquids, like solids, become radioactive when passed through a nuclear reactor.
• Gases, as well as liquids, return to their original volume as soon as the applied force is removed. -- Gases, like liquids, return to their original volume as soon as the applied force is removed.

Here is a table with information about the predicate in English.

Predicate(Table 13) in an English declarative sentence usually stands after the subject and happens:

I. Simple; it is a personal verb form:

1) indicative mood
I read a book. - I read a book.
I am reading a book (now). - I'm reading a book now.
I have been reading it (for two days). I have been reading it (for 2 days already).
I have read it. - I read it.
I was given a book. - They gave me a book.

2) subjunctive mood
I should do this work if I had time. I would do this job if I had time.

II. Composite, which consists of a linking verb(link verb) and nominal part(predicative). Verbs are used as a linking verb: be - to be, feel - to feel, keep - to keep, continue, become, grow, get, turn - to become, seem, appear - to seem, look, etc.

As a nominal part are used:

1. Noun
Is not a research worker. - He is a researcher.
Has not become a research worker. - He became a research assistant.

2. Adjective
My house is new. - My house is new.

3. Communions(I, II)
It was well done. - It was well done.
He seemed tired, bul kept working. He looked tired, but continued to work.

4. Pronouns:
1) personal(im. m.) That was he. - That was him.
2) possessive(II form) The paper is his. This is his article.
3) index It was that. - That was it.
4) uncertain It is too much for me. - It's too much for me.
5) relative and connective
The question is who will go there. The question is who will go there.
6) interrogative e What has she become? – What has she become?

5. Numerals:
1) quantitative
They were five. - There were five of them.
2) ordinal
She was the first to do it. “She was the first to do it.

6. Infinitive or Gerund
Our aim is to master English. Our goal is to master English.
Our aim is mastering English. Our goal is to master the English language.

7. Adverb She was out. - She went out.

8. Noun or pronoun with a preposition
When the pendulum is at rest, it shows the direction of gravity. – When the pendulum is at rest, it shows the direction of gravity.
It is for him. - This is for him.

9. Adverbial predicate sentence
The question is if (whether) he will come. The question is whether he will come.

III. Compound, consisting of a modal verb and an infinitive
I can do it. – I can do it.
Is not to go there. “He has to go there.

Translation: verb; the verb to be (become) in combination with a noun, adjective, participle, pronoun, numeral; verbs to become, start, be able, want and others in combination with an infinitive, a subordinate predicate sentence.