Phraseological Simple Predicate

- made up of phrases which may have a vague meaning until a noun fulfills its predication; the
finite verb has lost its concrete meaning to a great extent, whereas the noun forms one unit with
the verb and therefore, cannot be treated as an object to the verb:
He made haste.
- both elements are closely knit together, to form one sense unit (semantic unit) and may be
replaced by a single verb:
to make haste = hasten; to take a walk = walk, stroll

The compound predicate

consists of 2 parts: a finite verb and some other part of

speech (noun, pronoun, adj. etc)

- the second component is the significant part of the predicate.
- the first part expresses the verbal categories of person, number, tense, aspect, mood and voice
and may have a certain lexical meaning of its own.
- we may discriminate between NOMINAL and VERBAL predicates.

Compound verbal predicate

- may be MODAL (CVMP) and ASPECT predicate (CVAP).
CVMP made up of a notional and semi-auxiliary.
The Notional: expressed by an infinitive or gerund and denotes the action performed by or
undergone by the subject.
The Semi-Auxiliary including a finite vb. which gives a modal character to the action expressed
by the infinitive or gerund and therefore, showing that the action expressed by a non-finite verb
is considered as possible, impossible, obligatory, compulsory, desirable;
- these shades of meaning are expressed by the first component of the predicate.
- may consist of:
a) modal verb and an infinitive:
The teacher wouldnt pass me.

b) modal expression:
Unfortunately, she had to cover her mouth.
c) a verb with a modal meaning and an infinitive or a gerund: hope, expect, intend,
attempt, try, endeavor, long, want, desire, decide, mean, fail, strike, seek, which dont
denote actions, but express various modal meanings, such as: intention, determination, attempt,
hope, desire, etc.:
We intend to chew/chewing our nails.
She was trying to cheat during the exam.
Certainly she doesnt mean to take advantage of her teacher.
We long to have courses together.
- its not so far fetched for phraseological units to be employed:
The students intend to go for a meal.
d) may be combinations of a linked verb with a predicative, such as adj. or participles,
which have no independent lexical meaning and do not give the subject any qualitative
characteristic, but only import various modal meanings, such as: obligation, ability, etc. to take
the action expressed by the infinitive with which they are associated; here belong the following:
to be able, to be obliged, to be bound/willing/anxious/capable, to be going to, to be
eager/ready + an infinitive:
They are eager to go home.
e) verbs and expressions used in the predicate of the sentence, containing a N+infinitive
construction; they show the attitude of the speaker towards the person/thing
expressed by the subject:
About 2 students are believed to be in the league.
Nevermind who told me she happens to know who kissed him.
They seem to be having problems.

- other verbal phrases: had better, would sooner, would rather + an infinitive, may also build
up CVMPs:
She would rather stare at the wall than take her notes.
You had better keep your nose to the grindstone if you want to
- can help + gerund may also be involved to form CVMPs:
We couldnt help admiring such a beautiful atmosphere at the LEC class.
CVAP consists of a personal form of a verb, denoting a lexical aspect and a non-personal form
of the predicative verb.
- expresses the beginning, repetition, duration, cesation of an action expressed by the non-finite
form of the verb:
a) the ingressive/inchoactive aspect, including vbs. denoting the beginning of an
action: to begin/start/commence, etc:
She commenced chewing gum.
b) the egressive/terminative aspect, including vbs. which denote the end of an action:
to end/stop/finish/give up/cease:
She stopped begging for a hug.
c) the continuative/durative aspect, including vbs. which denote the continuation of
an action: to go on/keep on/continue/proceed:
He kept on dictating
d) the frequentative/iterative aspect, pointing to the repetition of an action:
would/used to + an infinitive:
The brother would loll on the sofa and watch me do my homework.

Compound Nominal Predicate (CNP)

- denotes the state/quality of the person expressed by the subject:
The course is boring.
or the class of persons or things to which the person/thing belongs:
She is a female student.
- the CNP consists of a link vb. and the predicative, which is also called the nominal part of the
predicate.

The Link Verb = of incomplete predication and complementation, expressing the verbal
categories of person, number, tense, mood, aspect and voice.
- there are several copulative vbs., such as:
a) vbs. of being/state: be, fall (ill, victim), lie, make (friends, clear), prove (right,
wrong), rank (high, low), sit, stand (firm)
She stood transfixed with awe and joy.
b) vbs. of becoming show the transition from one state to another: become, get (tired,
hungry, bored), go (crazy), grow (mad), run, turn (red, yellow), turn out, come
(true, false)
c) vbs. of seeming/approaching/appearing: seem, appear, approach
d) vbs. of remaining and continuing: remain, continue, stay, hold
e) other vbs.: to consider (ugly, bad), find (boring), happen:
This is the time to rejoice. The teacher lies dead already.
The great day dawned mistery and overcast.

The Predicative = that part of the sentence + copulative vb => forms its predicate:
She was of white complexion.
- may stand by a copulative vb. in a non-finite form:
Being noisy, she was marked absent by the teacher.

- may be expressed in multiple, rather various ways:

a) a noun in N or G:
Shes a child.
That boyfriend is my sisters.
b) a personal/possesive/interrogative/negative/reflexive/indefinite pronoun:
It was he who snapped.
The handkerchief was hers.
You are nobody.
c) adjective:
She looks bad.
d) cardinal/ordinal numeral:
Im only 57.
Shes the first to speak on the course.
e) prepositional phrase:
Her hairdress was out of fashion.
She has developed into a tall and skinny girl.
f) infinitive phrase/construction:
The teachers first thought was to believe him.
The logical thing was to usher her in the dark.
g) gerundial phrase/construction:
Her favourite game is leather climbing.
h) present/past participle:
She was surprised at the sight of his nose.
i) adverb:
How is your brother?
All the lights were out.
Shes well.