In this article, we will talk about types of predicates, dwell in detail on the compound nominal and its connectives, and give examples.
As you know, the grammatical basis of the whole sentence is predicate and subject - the main members. The predicate is usually consistent in person, gender and number with the subject. It expresses the grammatical meaning of the indicative, imperative or conditional mood.
The main types of predicates:
1) simple verb;
2) compound verb;
3) compound nominal predicate (see examples below).
Two principles for distinguishing predicate types
They are divided according to two principles. Types of predicates are classified as follows:
1) in composition;
2) by their morphological nature.
In the first case, types such as simple and compound are divided. The latter includes compound nominal and verbal predicates. Based on the second principle, the nominal and verb are distinguished. The noun phrase of a compound predicate can be expressed by an adjective, noun and adverb. These divisions intersect. So, a verb predicate can be compound or simple, and a nominal verb is always compound.
Simple verb predicate
A simple verb predicate, the definition of which, as you will see, has some nuances, expresses the verb in the conjugated form, that is, used in the form of mood (indicative, conditional or imperative). It also includes such options in which there is no formal indicator of time, inclination and subordination to the subject. These are truncated forms of the verb (grasp, sense, bam, etc.), as well as the infinitive used in the meaning of the indicative mood. In addition, a simple verb predicate can be represented by a phraseological phrase, as well as the conjugated form of the verb + modal particle (come on, yes, let it go, let it be, as if, exactly, as if, just etc.)
Compound nominal predicate
As already mentioned, the nominal type is always composite, including those cases when it is represented by only one word form. Despite the fact that the word expressing it is only one, in such sentences there is a compound nominal predicate. Examples include the following: "He is young. He is worried about work, worries."
Such predicates always have two components. The first is a bunch that expresses the predicative categories of time and modality. The second is the attachment part, it indicates the material basic content of this type of predicate.
A bunch in a compound noun predicate
The doctrine of ligament in Russian science of syntax is developed in detail. The peculiarity of the traditional approach is that this term is widely understood. A bunch, firstly, is called the word "be", the only meaning of which is an indication of time and modality. Secondly, it refers to verbs with modified and weakened to one degree or another meaning, which express not only predicative categories, but also embed material content in such a predicate.
Compare the examples: he was sad - he seemed (became) sad - he returned sad.
In the first sentence, the “be” connective is abstract, it is a service word, a formant that has grammatical forms of tense and mood, which is typical for a verb. However, it is not a verb, because it does not have a procedural action or attribute, as well as the category of the species that any of them has.
Significant and semi-significant ligaments
In other examples, ligaments of a different type are presented - significant and semi-significant. The latter introduce the meaning of the appearance of a sign (become / become), its conservation (stay / stay), external detection (appear / appear), the inclusion of an external medium (to pass / pass, be called, considered) in a compound nominal predicate.
Examples are the following: he became smart - he remained smart - he seemed smart - he was known as smart.
Significant connectives are verbs with a specific, specific meaning (mainly indicating movement or stay in a particular state). They are able to attach to themselves either a noun in T.p. with a value of a qualitative characteristic, or an adjective in the form of T.p. or I.p.
Sentences with a compound nominal predicate with significant connectives can be cited as an example:
1. He came hungry (hungry).
2. The boys remained tomboys.
A bunch of "be"
The “to be” connective, being abstract, does not have the present tense in the indicative mood, therefore its absence in the present mood is its absence. Strange as it may seem, such sentences also have a compound nominal predicate. Examples:
1. The case is in vain.
2. The evening is wonderful.
3. The road is good.
The verb "to be", which has two meanings, should be distinguished from the connective:
1. To be present, to be present (We were in the theater. At that time there were many performances).
2. Own (My sister had a doll).
Connections "essence" and "is"
The words "essence" and "is", which go back to the present tense of the third person of the verb "be", in the modern language are considered official words, namely - particles.
The absence of a ligament is called its zero form. This definition was formulated by A. M. Peshkovsky; it was the first attempt to study syntactic phenomena in a paradigmatic aspect. The introduction of this concept means that the syntactic construction (that is, the predicative basis of some nominal two-part sentence) is studied not as such individually, but in a certain series. The following examples illustrate this:
1. The street will be (was) crowded.
2. The street would be crowded.
3. The street is crowded.
Compound verb predicate
We examined such types of predicates as simple verb and compound nouns. Let us now dwell in more detail on the compound verb predicate. It includes two components - the infinitive and the conjugated verb form. The latter, with its grammatical form and lexical meaning, expresses the temporal, modal and aspectual characteristics of a certain action, which is indicated by the infinitive. Verbs belonging to several semantic groups can attach the infinitive to themselves (I wanted to work, started working, came to work, forced to work).
Rules for defining a compound verb predicate
A compound predicate, according to grammatical tradition, is not any connection with the infinitive of the conjugated form. In order to be able to talk about him, two requirements must be met:
1. The infinitive in such a predicate does not mean any action, but only a certain substance, the same as the conjugated verb form, that is, of an object called the subject.
Examples are as follows. On the one hand, he wanted to work, started working, can work, knows how to work. On the other hand, his parents made him work, everyone asked the girl to sing, the boss ordered him to complete the task. In the first case, in which compound verbal predicates are presented, the infinitive is usually called subjective, since it denotes the action of a certain substance, the same as the conjugated verb form. In the second case, there is an object infinitive, which is traditionally not included in the compound predicate, but is talked about as a secondary member.
2. When determining the boundary of a compound predicate, one should take into account the nature of the semantic relationship between the infinitive and the conjugated verb form. An infinitive with a goal value is not included in it. He has such significance with various verbs of movement: he came to work, went to chat, ran to find out, they sent to find out. The infinitive of the goal (which can be, as is clear from the examples, both objective and subjective) is a secondary member. A compound predicate should be considered only compounds of the infinitive with verbs that are most abstract in meaning (with modal and phase).
Thus, a compound verb predicate is understood as a designation of an action, a certain procedural attribute, which is characterized in the aspectual (began to work) or modal (wanted to work) plan, or simultaneously in both of them (wanted to start working).
We examined the main types of predicates, dwelling in detail on the compound nominal and various connectives that are present in it. This is just a brief overview of this topic; more information can be found in any grammar textbook in the syntax section.