2015-04-12
788
The compound nominal predicate proper
The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative (nominal part). The link verb is the structural element of the predicate, as it joins the subject and the predicative. It expresses the grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect and mood. The predicative is the notional part of the compound nominal predicate. It characterizes the person or non-person expressed by the subject.
Among the class of link verbs we may distinguish:
1. Those which have lost their original lexical meaning (to be, to get).
He is just the kind of man I want. Elisabeth got very restless.
2. Those which have only partly lost their lexical meaning (to remain, to become, to grow, to turn, to look, to seem).
That request seemed superfluous. The room looked snug and cheerful.
Ellen’s eyes grew moist.
In both cases (1,2) the link verbs proper are used.
3. Those which have fully preserved their lexical meaning but still serve as link verbs followed by a predicative. They are used in the passive voice: to elect, to call, to leave, to keep, to make.
The boy was called John. She was left alone. He was elected president.
According to their semantic characteristics link verbs fall into three groups: link verbs of being, of becoming, of remaining.
l. Link verbs of being: to be, to feel, to sound, to smell, to taste, to look, to appear, to seem, etc.
His face looked awful all the time. I felt better pleased than ever.
Note how the link verbs to taste and to feel are translated into Russian:
Lemons taste sour. - Лимоны кислые на вкус.
The fur feels soft. - Мех мягкий на ощупь.
2. Link verbs of becoming: to become, to grow, to turn, to get, to make.
The noise of the rattling dishes becomes intolerable.
The girl’s face suddenly turned red. The girl will make a good teacher.
3. Link verbs of remaining: to remain, to continue, to keep, to stay.
She remained vexed with him. The children kept suspiciously silent.
