To understand the types of predicate existing in the Portuguese language, we must first know the definition of predicate.
Predicate is everything that is declared about the subject, that is, everything in the sentence that is not the subject.
Verbal Predicate
The verbal predicate must have a verb, which is the core of the predicate. The verb is the nucleus of the predicate when it is notional, that is, it demonstrates an action.
The students study every day for the contest.
Note in the sentence that the verb "study" evidences an action: the act of studying, and it concerns the subject “the students” while being complemented by the rest of the predicate “every day for the competition". However, since the core of the predicate is the verb “study”, we call the predicate verbal.
Nominal predicate
In the nominal predicate the core of the predicate is a Name, which plays the role of predicative of the subject.
subject predicative it is a term that gives meaning, attribute, characteristic to the subject, or even expresses its state or way of being. The predicative is always connected to the subject through a connecting verb.
1ª. Is it over there it is tired.
2ª. interest rates continue high.
Note in the first sentence that “tired” is an attribute given to the subject “She”. The subject “She” and the noun predicate “tired” are connected by the connecting verb “is”.
In the second sentence, we observe the same process of analysis as before: we ask who continues? and continues what? And we have the answers: “interest rates” (subject) and “high” (nominal predicate), that is, the nominal predicate only gives meaning to the subject when linked by the connecting verb (continue). The sentence only makes sense by the complement (predicate) "high", which is, therefore, the nucleus of the nominal predicate.
Nominal-verb predicate
The verb-nominal predicate has two cores: a notional verb, as we saw in the verbal predicate, and a predicative, which can refer to both the subject and the verb.
The students studied cautiously for the simulated.
We observe in the sentence that there are two cores: the notional verb (studied), that is, the subject performed an action. However, there is a characteristic given to the “cautious” subject, which is, therefore, a predication, a quality granted to the subject, therefore, it is the subject's predicative. We could split the last prayer into two:
The students studied for the simulated. They went cautious.
In the first clause we have a verbal predicate “studied for the simulated”, in which the nucleus is the notional verb “studied”. In the second clause, the nucleus of the predicate is a name “cautious” connected by a connecting verb (were) to the subject (They) and, therefore, it is a nominal predicate.
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Subject and Predicate
Discover how to identify subject and predicate in sentences!
By Sabrina Vilarinho Menezes
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
VILARINHO, Sabrina. "Types of Predicate"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/tipos-predicado.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
