Predicate Phrase

A predicate phrase is a linguistic phrase with a head word (typically a verb) that states something about the linguistic subject.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) not include a Phrase Subject.
  • It can range from being a Clause Predicate to being a Sentence Predicate.
  • It can have a Predicate Phrase Modifier, which is typically have a Sentence Object.
  • It can range from being a Simple Predicate Phrase to being a Complex Predicate Phrase.
• Example(s):
  • “ate” in “John ate.”
  • “walked home” in “John walked home.”
  • “barked very loudly” in “The dog barked very loudly”
  • “gave Joe a gift” in “Jay gave Joe a gift.” (with predicate-argument structure of [A0 Jay] gave [A2 Joe] [A1 a gift])
  • “Managers [expect increases in pay].” (with Predicate-Argument Structure of [A0 Managers] expect [A1 increases in pay]).
  • a Normative Predicate, such as “is good”.
  • a Descriptive Predicate, such as “is red”.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Verb Phrase.
  • a Referential Phrase.
  • a Subject (Grammar).
• See: Phrase Head, Phrase Modifier, Predicate Adjective, Being Verb, Verb Argument, Semantic Role Labeling.

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References

2015

• http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/predicate#Noun
  • The part of the sentence (or clause) which states something about the subject or the object of the sentence.

    1. In "The dog barked very loudly", the subject is "the dog" and the predicate is "barked very loudly".

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/predicate_(grammar) Retrieved:2014-7-25.
  • There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. The first concerns traditional grammar, which tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other part being the subject; the purpose of the predicate is to complete an idea about the subject, such as what it does or what it is like. The second derives from work in predicate calculus (predicate logic, first order logic) and is prominent in modern theories of syntax and grammar. In this approach, the predicate of a sentence corresponds mainly to the main verb and any auxiliaries that accompany the main verb, whereas the arguments of that predicate (e.g. the subject and object noun phrases) are outside the predicate. The competition between these two concepts has generated confusion concerning the use of the term predicate in theories of grammar. This article considers both of these notions.

2012

• (Canfield, 2012) ⇒ John Canfield. (2012). Chapter 2 - Formally Oriented Word in the Philosophy of Language.” In: Routledge History of Philosophy, 10(12).
  • QUOTE: As nominalized predicates, infinitive phases can be formally represented as abstract singular terms, which menas that in the case of a complex predicate phrase (such as 'see(s) a unicorn') we need a format variable-binding decices, such as Frege's or Russels, whereby the predicate phrase can be nominalsed and transformed into an abstract singular term.

2004

• (Hengeveld et al., 2007) ⇒ Kees Hengeveld, Jan Rijkhoff, and Anna Siewierska. (2005). “Parts-of-speech systems and word order.” In: Journal of Linguistics, 40(3). doi:10.1017/S0022226704002762
  • QUOTE: The four syntactic slots investigated are head and modifier of a referential phrase (i.e. noun phrase), and head and modifier of a predicate phrase. Heads are obligatory slots and modifiers are optional slots within phrases. The distinguishing uses of classes of lexemes may be represented as in figure 1.

    The four categories of lexemes in figure 1 may be defined as follows: a VERB (V) is a lexeme that can be used as the head of a predicate phrase only; a NOUN (N) is a lexeme that can be used as the head of a referential phrase; an ADJECTIVE (A) is a lexeme that can be used as a modifier within a referential phrase; and a MANNER ADVERB (MAdv) is a lexeme that can be used as a modifier within a predicate phrase.

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