Predicate Nominatives and Predicate Adjectives

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Predicate Nominatives and Predicate Adjectives

• To understand this presentation, be sure you
  feel comfortable with Nouns, Adjectives,
  Linking and Action Verbs and Prepositions
  from the Parts of Speech presentations. It would
  also be helpful to have reviewed Subjects and
  Objects of the Preposition as well as Direct
  and Indirect Objects from the Roles in a
  Sentence presentations.

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Predicate nominatives are nouns that are, with
rare exception, after the verb. Although they
might initially be confused with direct objects,
which also follow the verb, predicate
nominatives differ in two key ways. 1. they
only follow linking verbs 2. they re-name or
are the same thing as the subject of the
sentence. Observe the difference between a
direct object and a predicate nominative Ralp
h purchased a car from a local used car dealer.
car is the only noun that is not in a
prepositional phrase after the verb of the
sentence. car is what was purchased.
Therefore, car is a direct object of
this sentence. Ralph is a good neighbor of
mine. neighbor is the only noun that is not
in a prepositional phrase. neighbor and
Ralph are one and the same. Therefore,
neighbor is a predicate nominative in this
sentence.
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Here is another example of the difference
between direct objects and predicate
nominatives. Kelseys prom dress became her
with its long, sweeping lines. The verb is
became, which in this sentence is in its rarer
form, as an action verb. her is the only
noun not in a prepositional phrase after the
verb. Her answers the question of what was
become, and therefore, her is a direct
object of the sentence. Kelsey became the
spokesperson for her class on this issue. The
verb is became which in this sentence is in its
more common form, as a linking verb.
spokesperson is the only noun not in a
prepositional phrase after the verb.
spokesperson and Kelsey, are one and the
same, and therefore, spokesperson is a
predicate nominative in the sentence.

• Now, it is your turn in which sentence is there
  a predicate nominative?
• 1. Laura in the fifth grade is a gifted singer
  and dancer in our productions.
• 2. Happily, Floyd minds his own business for
  the most part.

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1. Laura in the fifth grade is a gifted singer
and dancer in our productions. In the above
sentence, follow the steps below. A. Is there a
linking verb? Yes, is is always a linking
verb. B. Is there any noun or pronouns not in a
prepositional phrase after the verb ? Yes,
singer and dancer C. Are these nouns or
pronouns the same thing as the subject? In other
words, could I place an equals sign
between them? Yes, Laura equals the
singer and dancer D. singer and dancer
are predicate nominatives in this sentence

• Try another see if there are any predicate
  nominatives in the following sentence.
• To our surprise Cindy fortunately stayed at
  the top of the stairs.

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To our surprise Cindy fortunately stayed at the
top of the stairs. A. Is there a linking verb?
No, stayed could be a linking verb, but is
an action verb in this sentence because
Cindy is literally staying somewhere. B. Is
there any noun or pronoun not in a prepositional
phrase after the verb? No, they are all in
prepositional phrases C. Without a linking
verb, there can be no predicate
nominative. D. If there is no noun that is
not in a prepositional phrase after a linking
verb, there can be no predicate nominative.

• Try this one next
• In the meantime Gary seems a good fit for our
  position in sales.

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In the meantime Gary seems a good fit for our
position in sales. seems is always a linking
verb fit is a noun that is not in a
prepositional phrase fit is the same thing as
Gary in this sentence fit is a predicate
nominative. Predicate adjectives work the
same way as predicate nominatives except,
surprise, they are adjectives and not nouns.
Therefore, they will still follow linking verbs
only, and they will refer back to the subject.
Here is an example -- Amelia was happy about
the news of the freighter. was is always a
linking verb. Everything after the verb except
happy is inside a prepositional
phrase happy is a predicate adjective
because it describes the subject. Amelia
is the one who is happy.

• Try this sentence -- look for a predicate
  adjective and/or predicate nominative
• Martha has been a good friend for many years.

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Martha has been a good friend for many
years. In this sentence, has been is the
verb. Although has is an action verb and
been comes from the linking verb, to be, one
always uses the second verb to determine whether
the verb will be action or linking. Therefore
has been is a linking verb. for many years
is a prepositional phrase. You do have one
noun and one adjective that are in the predicate
and neither is in a prepositional phrase good
and friend good describes friend so even
though it is an adjective that is in the
predicate because it does not refer to the
subject, it is not a predicate adjective.
friend is a noun that is after the verb and
not in a prepositional phrase. It also is the
same thing as the subject. Martha is the
friend. Therefore friend is a predicate
nominative in this sentence.

• Try another find the predicate nominative or
  predicate adjective in the following.
• This chocolate ice cream is the best in New
  England.

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This chocolate ice cream is the best in New
England. The verb is is, which is always a
linking verb. There is one noun that is not in
a prepositional phrase. best best is a
predicate nominative in this sentence because the
ice cream and the best are the same
thing. Some might say best is an adjective,
not a noun. best can be an adjective, but
when the article the appears before it,
bestbecomes a noun.

• Try this sentence look for predicate adjectives
  or predicate nominatives.
• After a few minutes, those unripe peaches will
  become sweet and delicious on the grill.

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After a few minutes, those unripe peaches will
become sweet and delicious on the
grill. will become is a linking verb in
this sentence on the grill is a
prepositional phrase after the verb sweet
and tasty are predicate adjectives because
they refer to and describe the peaches.

• Try this sentence again, look for predicate
  adjectives or predicate nominatives.
• John Wesley Powell traveled down the Colorado
  River in a small wooden boat.

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John Wesley Powell traveled down the Colorado
River in a small wooden boat. The only verb
traveled is an action verb. Therefore, there
can be no predicate adjectives or predicate
nominatives.

• Try this one
• Millie turned cold at the mere mention of the
  quadratic equation.

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Millie turned cold at the mere mention of the
quadratic equation. turned is a linking
verb in this sentence at the mere mention and
of the quadratic equation are prepositional
phrases. cold is a predicate adjective
because it refers to Millie and describes
her.

• Heres another one for you to try any predicate
  adjectives or predicate nominatives?
• With great eagerness Gordon turned the first
  page of the mystery novel by Raymond Chandler.

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With great eagerness Gordon turned the first page
of the mystery novel by Raymond
Chandler. turned is the only verb in the
sentence and is working as an action verb this
time therefore there cannot be a predicate
adjective or predicate nominative.

• Heres another sentence where the verb could be
  a linking or action verb. Is there a
  predicate adjective, a predicate nominative,
  or a direct object?
• Angie smelled the enticing fragrance of the
  bakery from a block away.

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Angie smelled the enticing fragrance of the
bakery from a block away. The verb is
smelled, and in this sentence smelled is an
action verb. The fragrance is the only noun
after the verb that is not in a
prepositional phrase and the fragrance is
what was smelled. Therefore, fragrance
is a direct object in this sentence.

• Heres another sentence where the verb could be a
  linking or action verb. Is there a predicate
  adjective, a predicate nominative, or a direct
  object?
• To Angie the freshly baked raisin bread
  smelled heavenly.

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To Angie the freshly baked raisin bread smelled
heavenly. smelled works as a linking verb in
this sentence. There are no prepositional
phrases Even though it ends in ly, heavenly
works as a predicate adjective in this
sentence because it follows a linking verb and
describes the subject. (Remember, although
adverbs are known to end in ly, other parts
of speech, like adjectives, can end in ly as
well.

• Any predicate nominatives or predicate
  adjectives? or is there a direct object?
• Amazingly the players stayed calm despite the
  tension of the last two minutes of the game

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Amazingly the players stayed calm despite the
tension of the last two minutes of the
game stayed can be a linking or action verb
and in this sentence, it is a linking
verb because the players are not literally
staying somewhere actually they are probably
moving a good deal. There are three
prepositional phrases and once they are removed,
calm remains the only word left over.
calm describes the players and is therefore
a predicate adjective.

• Try another sentence --
• Cornelius stayed quietly in the room and waited
  patiently for her arrival.

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Cornelius stayed quietly in the room and waited
patiently for her arrival. There are actually
two verbs this time, stayed and waited.
stayed can be a linking or action verb and
here it works as an action verb. waited is
always an action verb. Work the predicates of
each verb one at a time after stayed there is
one word left out of the prepositional phrase
in the room. The word is quietly and the
question is whether it is a predicate adjective
with an ly ending as with heavenly or is an
adverb. The answer is it is an adverb, and the
simple check to see if thats right is to try
to describe Cornelius with the word quietly
and, of course, you would not say the quietly
Cornelius, you would say the quiet
Cornelius. And, theres no question about
whether patiently is a predicate adjective
because although it does following a linking
verb, stayed it is part of the predicate of
an action verb, and is therefore another adverb.

• Heres another
• Annas new business became successful in part
  because of the recession.

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Annas new business became successful in part
because of the recession. became is usually
a linking verb and is here. After you remove
the prepositional phrases from the predicate in
part and because of the recession, you are
left with successful. successful works as
the predicate adjective describing business,
which is the subject of the sentence.

• Try another sentence?
• Stephen might be the best musician in the school
  at the present time.

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Stephen might be the best musician in the school
at the present time. might be is always a
linking verb in the school and at the present
time are the two prepositional phrases in
the predicate. Remove those and you are left
with best and musician best describes
musician and so it is an adjective, but not a
predicate adjective since it does not describe
the subject. musician is the predicate
nominative. It renames or is the same thing as
the subject.

• Heres another
• Velma felt carefully along the top shelf for
  the missing key but found
• nothing.

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Velma felt carefully along the top shelf for the
missing key but found nothing. Two verbs
felt and found. felt could be a linking or
action verb. In this sentence, because Velma
is actually touching something, it is an action
verb therefore there will be no predicate
adjective or predicate nominative. Since
found is always an action verb, there will,
likewise, be no predicate adjective or
predicate nominative.

• Last one
• During the flight Curt felt weary from the
  long meeting and slept for the entire trip.

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During the flight Curt felt weary from the long
meeting and slept for the entire trip. Again,
two verbs, felt and slept This time Curt
is not touching anything therefore, felt is
working as a linking verb. Remove the
prepositional phrases in the predicate and
weary is the only word left over. Weary
is a predicate adjective describing
Curt. slept is the second verb and is
always an action verb. There are no
predicate nominatives or adjectives, then,
in its predicate.

• Thats all for now