Typological Characteristics of the Predicate

The main features of the predicate are common in English and Ukrainian. Allomorphism is pertained only to some forms of expressing it in English (by the continuous and perfect forms of the finite verb or by the gerund), eg: Minnie was thinking of the resource which Carry would add. (Dreiser) Many young men had taken silk. (Maugham) Deciding is acting.

As to its structure, the predicate may be in both languages 1) Simple verbal (expressed by the synthetic or analytical form of the finite verb, as in the sentences above); 2) Simple nominal, which is very widely used in Ukrainian and much rarer in English. For example: "Splendid game, cricket". (Huxley) My ideas obsolete!!!!!!! (B. Shaw) Me to jump first? Чудова гра крикет! Моя ідея застаріла!?!Голос у мене мов грім.

(Стельмах) А вітерець тільки ф-ф-у! Голова в неї о-го-го! The simple nominal predicate may also be expressed in Ukrainian by the impersonal verb forms in -но,-то, as well as by different nominals which form in English part of the compound nominal predicate. Cf. Yanosh is/was killed. "Яноша вбито!" (Гончар) Його звільнено з посади. Не is/has been fired. На сьогодні все перевірено й збитки підраховано. The simple nominal predicate may often be adverbial in Ukrainian. For example: Наші всі вже там. Нам і всім уже годі/зась. The Ukrainian language (like the Russian) makes an especially intensive use of the simple nominal predicate both in colloquial and in literary speech in sentences like Це вони. Ми студенти, а не учні. Він завжди гарний приклад для інших підлітків. Всі вони сьогодні ще вчорашні випускники середньої школи. Ukrainian school grammars treat such and the like functions of postpositive nouns as predicatives, i.e. as part of the compound nominal predicate. In reality, however, they are not identical even to such predicates as Ми - викладачі, а ви - наші студенти, where the dash can be treated as a substitute sign for the missing linking verb to be (i.e. in Ukrainian). Consequently, such cases represent simple nominal predicates, and not compound nominal predicates as we have in sentences with the linking verb to be like in the following sentence by the poet P. Tychyna: Ми єсть народ, якого правди сила ніким звойована ще не була. Or in sentences like Вони вже є студентами нашого університету.

3) The third group of simple predicate constitute the so-called phraseological predicates expressed by verbal set expressions. For example, Of all that Johny took no notice. (London) На все це Джонні не звертав уваги. Clare gave him a sweet look. (Galsworthy) Клер звела на нього ніжний погляд. Здалеку подав свій чистий голос чорний дрозд. The blackbird gave a loud clear call. (Ibid.)

Note. Pertaining only to English is the simple contaminated predicate consisting of a verb in any tense and aspect form and of a past participle. Cf. The air-raids on Berlin in March 1945 had continued un abated. The rescue work in the disaster area is going on day and night unabated. (R. Digest)

Ukrainian equivalents of this type of simple verbal predicate will be

of the same structure, i.e. simple verbal: Повітряні рейди... тривали безперестанку / не припинялися. Рятувальні роботи... продовжуються вдень і вночі/ не припиняються ні вдень, ні вночі.