O nominal predicateis one of the types of predicate. It is the part of the sentence that expresses a state or quality of the subject. It is formed by a linking verb that is more predicative of the subject. In addition to the nominal predicate, there are two other types of predicate: verbal predicate and verbal-nominal predicate. It is worth remembering that a predicate is the part of the sentence that contains a statement about the subject, or just a statement in a sentence without a subject.
Read too: Subject and predicate — details about two essential terms of the sentence
Topics in this article
- 1 - Summary about nominal predicate
- 2 - What is a nominal predicate?
- 3 - How to identify the nominal predicate?
- 4 - Verb-nominal predicate
- 5 - Types of predicate
- 6 - Solved exercises on nominal predicate
Summary about nominal predicate
The nominal predicate is one of the types of predicate.
It's the part of prayer that highlights a condition or quality of the subject.
It has a linking verb and a predicate subject.
To identify the nominal predicate, it is necessary to exclude the subject of the sentence, locate the linking verb and locate the predicate of the subject.
There are three types of predicate: nominal, verbal and verbal-nominal.
The verbal predicate has a transitive or intransitive verb.
The verb-nominal predicate has a transitive or intransitive verb, in addition to a predicate of the subject or object.
What is a nominal predicate?
Noun predicate is one of the types of predicate and is the part of the sentence that expresses the state or quality of the subject. This type of predicate necessarily presents a linking verb It is a predicate of the subject:
The teacher was discouraged.
In the sentence above, we have:
subject: The teacher;
linking verb: it was left;
subject predicative: discouraged;
nominal predicate: was discouraged.
See other examples of nominal predicate:
The doctor I was wrong.
The situation is critical.
Lucrezia's life became confusing.
The humanity remains inhumane.
The people seemed irrational.
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How to identify the nominal predicate?
First step: andexclude the subject of the sentence. The remaining part is the predicate:
The doctor I was wrong.
The situation is critical.
Lucrezia's life became confusing.
The humanity remains inhumane.
The people seemed irrational.
Second step: lFind the linking verb:
The doctor he was mistaken.
The situation é criticism.
Lucrezia's life has became confused.
The humanity to be continued inhumane.
The people seemed irrational.
Third step: lfind the predicate of the subject:
The doctor was mistaken.
The situation is criticism.
Lucrezia's life became confused.
Humanity continues inhumane.
The people seemed irrational.
Thus, the nominal predicate is the part of the sentence composed of the linking verb plus the subject predicate:
The doctor I was wrong.
The situation is critical.
Lucrezia's life became confusing.
The humanity remains inhumane.
The people seemed irrational.
Verb-noun predicate
The verb-nominal predicate expresses an action, but also a state or quality. This type of predicate must have a transitive or intransitive verb, in addition to a subject predicate or an object predicate:
My cousins they arrived furious.
In this prayer we have:
subject: My cousins;
intransitive verb: They arrived;
subject predicative: furious;
verb-noun predicate: they arrived furious.
Look at this other example:
I thought the painting was wonderful.
In this statement, we have:
implicit subject: I;
direct transitive verb: I considered;
direct object: the board;
object predicative: wonderful;
verb-noun predicate: I thought the painting was wonderful.
Predicate types
Type |
Elements |
Example |
Nominal |
Linking verb + subject predicate. |
Paula no it is sad. |
Verbal |
Transitive or intransitive verb. |
Pedro it gavegive you a kiss. |
Verb-nominal |
Transitive or intransitive verb + predicative. |
She it went out of building dismayed. |
Also access: What are the types of subject?
Solved exercises on nominal predicate
Question 1
Analyze the sentences below and mark the alternative that presents a nominal predicate.
A) Juca and I remained silent.
B) We've all cried at one point.
C) No one else took care of that child.
D) Osvaldo and his friend found her furious.
E) No one thought he was guilty.
Resolution:
Alternative A.
There is a verbal predicate in alternatives B and C, in addition to a verbal-nominal predicate in D and E. Therefore, alternative A presents a nominal predicate, as it has a linking verb (“we remain”) and a subject predicate (“silent”).
Question 2
All of the sentences below have a nominal predicate, except:
A) We all remained obsessed.
B) My dogs were very quiet.
C) Júlia and I needed help.
D) The hot days were unbearable.
E) Who is excited today?
Resolution:
Alternative C.
The sentence “Júlia and I needed help” has a verbal predicate, since the verb “need” is indirect transitive.
Sources:
CEGAALLA, Domingos Paschoal. Brand new grammar of the Portuguese language. 49. ed. São Paulo: Companhia Editora Nacional, 2020.
NICOLA, José de; INFANTE, Ulysses. Contemporary grammar of the Portuguese language. 15. ed. São Paulo: Scipione, 1999.
SANTOS, Márcia Angélica dos. Learn syntactic analysis. 6. ed. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2003.
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Warley. "Nominal predicate"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/predicado-nominal.htm. Accessed on December 3, 2023.
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