WordGarden.iopredicative
B2Pronunciation
UK
- /ˈprɛd.ɪ.kə.tɪv/
US
- /ˈprɛd.ə.keɪ.tɪv/Canadanot-comparableof an adjectival or nominal phraseadjective
Meanings
Adjective
in grammar, functioning as or relating to a predicate
in logic or philosophy, involving predication or attributing a property
Beyond the definition
Imagine you are saying something about a person or thing instead of just attaching a label to it. That is where "predicative" comes in. It describes a word or phrase that tells us something about the subject, usually after a linking verb, as in "The water is cold" rather than simply "cold water." Although it sounds a bit like "predictive," it is not about the future. It is mostly a grammar term used to explain how adjectives, nouns, and some phrases work when they come after verbs like "is," "seems," or "became" and give important information about the subject.
"Predicative" is a term used mainly in grammar, and sometimes in logic, for something that makes a statement about a subject. It focuses on what is being said about the subject, rather than on a quality that is simply attached to the noun inside a noun phrase.
Think of it like this: if you say "The sky is blue," the word "blue" is predicative because it asserts a quality about the subject, "the sky." This is different from an attributive adjective, which directly modifies a noun, as in "a blue car." In "a blue car," the color is part of the noun phrase. In "The car is blue," the color is the main thing being said about the car.
Predicative adjectives and phrases usually follow a linking verb such as "is," "are," "was," "were," "seems," or "becomes." For example, in "She is happy" and "The food became cold," the words "happy" and "cold" are predicative because they describe the state of the subject through the verb. Nouns can work this way too, as in "She is a teacher," where "a teacher" says what she is.
In logic, the idea is similar: a predicative statement assigns a property to a subject. You probably will not use the word "predicative" much in everyday conversation, but it is useful when talking about grammar, sentence structure, or how meaning is built in a clause. It is the difference between simply naming something and clearly saying what that thing is like or what it is.
Examples
- 1
Predicative adjective
In the sentence "The sky is dark," dark is a predicative adjective.
- 2
Linking verbs
Some adjectives are mostly used in predicative position, as in "The baby is asleep."
- Grammarpredicative position
after words like be, seem, become, or remain
- 3
After become
In "The problem became serious," serious is used predicatively.
- 4
Meaning change
The meaning can change: "the present students" and "the students are present" do not use present in the same way.
See also
Contrast
- attributive
- prenominal
Used with (collocations)
- predicative adjective
- predicative complement
- predicative position
Word family
- predicate
- predication
Explore
- subject complement
- linking verb
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- predicativeadjective