Adverbial Modifier

Object

Secondary Parts of Sentence

Verbal Nominal Verbal Nominal

The simple predicate is expressed by the finite form of the notional verb. The form of the verb can be synthetic or analytical. Thus, reads and has been reading are both simple predicates.

There is a special subgroup of simple verbal predicates which is presented by phraseological units such as to have a smoke, to catch a sight of etc. These combinations are named by English scholars group word predicates. In Russian they call them phraseologial predicates.

The simple nominal predicate consists of a noun or an adjective without a link verb. Simple nominal predicates are not often used in English. There are two subtypes of simple nominal predicates. The first of them is used when we want to show that it is absurd or impossible to connect the ideas expressed by the subject and the predicate. Sentences with this kind of predicate are always exclamatory, that is, they are pronounced with the exclamatory intonation, and have an exclamation mark in writing.

E.g. My ideas obsolete!!!

Your friend is ugly. – My friend ugly!

The second type is that in which the predicative comes first, the subject next, and no link verb is either used or possible. Such sentences chiefly occur in colloquial style.

E.g. Wonderful game cards!

Splendid game, cricket!

If changed into the usual compound nominal predicate pattern, the sentences would run: ‘ Cards are a wonderful game! ’, ‘ Cricket is a splendid game! ’ The meaning would be quite the same as in the original sentence but the specific colloquial colouring would be gone altogether.

Predicates can be both nominal and verbal at the same time. It happens when the function of a link verb is fulfilled by the notional verb. These predicates are called double predicates. E.g. She married young.

Here is a crossing of two different predicates which can be used independently: She married. She was young. One can paraphrase: She married when she was young.

The secondary parts of the sentence are those parts which are not embraced by predicative relations. Traditionally the secondary parts of a sentence are classified into objects, attributes, and adverbial modifiers.

The object refers to the words denoting actions and qualities. It completes, specifies or restricts their meaning. The object may refer practically to any part of the sentence but mostly it is associated with the action.

Objects are classified in accordance with how they are connected with the head-elements. Thus, we differentiate between prepositional and non-prepositional objects. The latter are further divided into direct and indirect. Direct objects denote something (or somebody) directly affected by the action of the verb. Indirect objects usually denote the person for whose benefit the action is performed or towards whom it is directed.

E.g. He sent me (indirect) a letter (direct).

Sometimes a verb can take two direct objects.

E.g. They asked him questions.

Both of them are direct because they can be used alone:

They asked him. They asked questions.

There can be intermediate cases when it is impossible to define whether the object is direct or indirect.

E.g. She taught me English.

On the one hand, they can be said to be direct as they may be used independently:

She taught me. She taught English.

On the other hand, we can paraphrase: She taught English to me.

Besides the direct and indirect objects linguists distinguish cognate object. It is a kind of object expressed by nouns of the same root or meaning with the governing verb. When used separately these verbs are intransitive (to live, to die, to smile). When followed by a cognate object they are transitive.

E.g. to smile a happy smile; to die a death of a hero to sleep a sound sleep

Some authors treat cognate objects as direct but they are specific and stand outside this classification.

Adverbial modifiers differ from the other secondary parts of sentence in their combinability and semantics. They convey qualitative, quantitative or circumstantial characteristics of the actions denoted by verbs. The adverbial modifier is usually an adverb or some kind of adverb equivalent.

Semantically adverbials denote place, time, manner, cause, purpose, result, condition, concession etc. But whatever list of meanings we may compile, there are bound to be special cases which will not fit in. For instance, in the sentence I saw him at the concert it is hard to tell whether the adverbial modifier at the concert expresses place or time.

The most usual morphological type seems to be the adverb. Other frequent morphological types of adverbial modifiers are the phrase pattern ‘Prep. + N’, ‘Prep. + Adj. + N’, a noun without a preposition, the infinitive or an infinitive phrase.

From the point of view of structure the use of the adverbials may be optional (non-obligatory) or obligatory. When they are optional, they are not essential to the structure. E.g. Sometimes the children played by the lake.

If the adverbial is obligatory, it means that the sentence structure demands it; its absence changes the meaning of the sentence.

E.g. He went to the dressing-room.

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