Make an abstract The Predicate
§ 8. The predicate si the second principal part of the sentence which expresses an action, state, or quality of the person or thing' denoted yb the subject. It is grammatically dependent upon the subject.
N o t e . This definition does not cover sentences with the formal it as subject. In these sentences the predicate expresses the state of weather. time, or distance, and the subject only makes the sentence structurall! complete.
' The word thing is used in a broad sense.

 Chapter XV. The Simple Sentence • 275
As a rule the predicate contains a finite verb which may express tense, mood, voice, aspect, and sometimes person and number. Accord- ing to the structure and the meaning of the predicate we distinguish two main types: the simple predicate and the compound predicate.
§ 9. The simple predicate.
The simple predicate is expressed by a finite verb in a simple or a
compound tense form.
It generally denotes an action: sometimes, however, it denotes a state which is represented as an action.
Erik arrived at the lab next morning full of suppressed excite- ment. (Wilson)
And so, after all, the Padre had been thinking of letting him escape. (Voynich)
Mr. Rivarez, Ihave been looking for you everywhere. (Voy- nich)
When Mary was brought in he gave her the local anaesthesia.
(Cronin)
§ 10. There is a special kind of predicate expressed by a phraseological unit, such as ot get rid, ot take care, ot pay attention, ot lose sight, ot have awash, to give apush, etc.'
When we clear the forests we get rid of such inconveniences. (Heym)
I went to the bathroom and had a good wash for ti had been a dusty journey. (Du Maurier)
The characteristic feature of this predicate is that the first compo- nent, i. e. the finite verb, has lost its concrete meaning to a great extent and forms one unit with the noun, consequently the noun cannot be treated as an object to the verb. This can also be easily proved by the impossibility of putting aquestion to the second component.
' There is a great difference of opinion as to the nature of this predicate. Most Russian grammarians treat it as a subdivision of the simple predi- cate (Л. П. Винокурова: В. Н. Жигалло, И. П. Иванова, Л. Л. Иофик; М. А. Ганшина и Н. М. Василевская). because it expresses one idea and its two components form an indivisible unit.
There is another view according to which ti is a subdivision of the compound predicate. Some English grammarians cal ti a 'group-verb predicate'

 276 • Part II. Syntax
Compare:
My friend gave me an interesting book to read.
The man gave a violent start.
Whereas in the first case we can easily put a question to the object (e. g. What did your friend give you?), in the second case this si impos- sible.
We shall treat this kind of predicate as a subdivision of the simple predicate. For the sake of convenience we shall call it a phraseological predicate.
We distinguish two types of the phraseological predicate.
1. Word combinations of the following type: to have a smoke, ot have a swim, ot have a run, ot give a laugh, to give a push, ot take a look, to make a move, etc. These combinations consist of a finite verb which has to a great extent lost its concrete meaning and a noun formed from a verb and mostly used with the indefinite article.
This predicate denotes a momentaneous action. In Russian this shade of meaning is rendered by different prefixes and suffixes which express a momentaneous action.
He had a smoke. — Он покурил.
He gave a push. — Он толкнул.
He gave a start. — Он вздрогнул.
He had a wash. — Он вымылся, помылся. He gave a cry. — Он вскрикнул.
This type of phraseological predicate is characteristic of colloquial speech.
Every now and then she gave a half-glance at the people on the pavement. (Lindsay)
She gave an unkind throaty laugh. (Lindsay)
Troy said, "First of al, sergeant, have a drink." (Heym)
He started, made a short run and stopped and looked over his shoulder. (Dickens)
2. Word combinations of the following type: ot get rid, ot get hold, ot make use, to take care, to lose sight, to make fun, to pay attention, 01 make up one's mind, ot change one's mind, to take part, etc.
The second component of these combinations is in most cases an abstract noun used without any article.

 Chapter XV. The Simple Sentence • 277
That's more than twenty years ago. She has never made use of her power or caused me a moment's uneasiness. (Shaw)
You were making fun of mother just now. (Shaw)
Then he caught his breath, suddenly reminded of something else. (Wescott)
She made a gesture of dismissal and then suddenly changed her mind. (Wescott)
It is better that you do not know where Ilive. Iwill get in touch with you. (Wilson)
§ 11. The compound predicate.
As can be seen from the term itself the compound predicate con-
sists of two parts: (a) a finite verb and (b) some other part of speech: a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, a verbal (a participle, a gerund, an infinitive), etc. The second component is the significant part of the predicate.
The first part expresses the verbal categories of person, number, tense, aspect, mood and voice; besides it has a certain lexical meaning of its own. The compound predicate may be nominal or verbal.
§ 12. The compound nominal predicate.
The compound nominal predicate denotes the state or quality of the person or thing expressed by the subject (e. g. He is tired, The book is interesting), or the class of persons or things to which this person or thing belongs (e. g. She si a student).
The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative (the latter is also called the nominal part of the predicate). The link verb (or a verb of incomplete predication) expresses the
verbal categories of person, number, tense, aspect, mood, sometimes voice. Al link verbs, as the result of a long development, have partly lost their original concrete meaning. One link verb has lost its con-
crete meaning altogether: this si the verb to be, which can be called a pure link verb as it performs only a grammatical function and can be linked with a predicative expressed by any part of speech used ni this function.
This is a picture of London. 1
' In Russian the link verb быть is generally not used in the Present tense: Его сестра учительница.

 278 • Part II. Syntax
Most link verbs to some extent preserve their meaning. The folow- ing are the most common of these link verbs: to appear, ot get, ot grow, ot continue, ot feel,ot keep, ot look, ot turn, ot hold,ot prove, ot turn out, to loom, to rank, to remain, to run, to seem, to smell, ot taste, ot fall, ot stand, to go, to work.
His wife sighed and remained silent. (London)
Harris grew more cheerful. (Jerome)
At my age Iget nervous. (Galsworthy)
He soon fell fast asleep ni my arms, sobbing at longer intervals. (Dickens)
The boat seemed stuffy. (Jerome)
She, for her part, felt recessive and thence evasive. (Dreiser)
Many of these verbs can be used both as verbs of complete predica- tion fully preserving their concrete meaning and as link verbs.
Link Verbs
The sun was full of promise. (Du Mau- rier)
Verbs of Complete Predication
to be
to grow
But she had grown too proud or too Perhaps Ishould grow a beard. Ilook passive. (Wescott) too young to have been publishing for five years. (Wilson)
to look
He looked stupid and good-natured H e blushed violently and looked and happy. (Greene) away. (Wilson)
to feel
And yet at moments he felt very close
He felt great awe and admiration. (Wil-! to her. (Lindsay) son)
to come
The nightmare of my life had come Giles and Beatrice were coming for the true. (Buck)
night but nobody else. (Du Maurier) to go
Philip Baring stiffened in his chair. His face went tense. (Wilson)
Dda gone atnua one more. (ame: worthy)
No one was there to meet him. (Lind- say)

 Chapter XV. The Simple Sentence • 279
There are some verbs which, though fully preserving their con- crete meaning, perform the function of link verbs: they are used with a predicative and form a compound nominal predicate. Here belong: ot lie, to sit, ot die, ot marry, ot return, ot leave, ot come, to stand, ot fall, to go, etc.
After many adventures Iand a little girl lay senseless in the Bad Lands. (Haggard)
The poor woman sat amazed. (Trollope)
Istood transfixed with awe and joy. (Haggard)
Here the important thing is not that the speaker stood but that he stood transfixed with awe and joy.
Happily, too, the greater part of the boys came back low- spirited. (Dickens)
Sometimes the predicative does not immediately follow these verbs but is separated from them by an adverbial.
One evening she came home elated. (O. Henry)
Thus the same verb when used as a link verb may either lose its meaning or fully preserve it.
Irene's hair was going gray. (Galsworthy) (link verb)
Tom went home miserable. (Twain) (notional verb performing the function of a link verb)
According to their meaning link verbs can be divided into two large groups: (1) link verbs of being and remaining; (2) link verbs of becoming.
The first group comprises such verbs as to be, to remain, to keep, to continue, ot look, ot smell, ot stand, ot sit, ot lie, ot shine, ot seem, ot prove, ot appear, etc. The latter three verbs have some modal colouring.
Cotman was a nice-looking fellow, of thirty perhaps... (Maugham)
Do not delay, there is no time. Teacher Williams lies dead, al- ready. (Buck)
The Western powers stood aloof. (Buck)
Idris. aged five, at a litte desk all by himself near the fire. was looking extraordinarily pleased with life. (Cronin)
He felt exhausted not with physical fatigue, but with the weight of vague burdens. (Lindsay)

 280 • Part II. Syntax
Either course seemed unthinkable, without any connection with himself. (Lindsay)
The door remained wide open; the voices inside were louder than ever. (Priestley)
... the dancing continues fast and furious. (Douglas)
That sounds not unsatisfactory. (Wilde)
The second group comprises such verbs as ot become, ot get, ot grow, to come, to go, to leave, to run, to turn, to make, etc.
Oh, Adolphus Cusins will make a very good husband. (Shaw) This becomes uninteresting, however, after a time. (Jerome) How can Iget married without my best man? (Lindsay)
And every month of his life he grew handsomer and more interest- ing. (Burnett)
The great day dawned misty and overcast. (Du Maurier)
§ 13. The predicative.
The predicative is the significant part of the compound nomi