THE PREDICATOR (P)

The Predicator is the clause element present in all major types of clause, including the imperative (in which the subject is not usually present in English).

The predicator is the clause function that largely determines the remaining structure of the clause, by virtue of being intransitive, transitive or copular.

The predicator may constitute the whole of the predicate, as in The plane landed, or part of it, as in The plane landed on the runway. It:

• is identified by position in relation to the subject.

• is realized by finite lexical (e.g. waits), primary (was) and non-finite (waiting)verbs.

• Finiteness is often carried by an auxiliary verb – such as is, was – to specify tense (past/present) and voice (be + -en), and is then followed by the predicator (is making, was made). For the Finite–Subject relation in interrogative structures.

Semantically, the predicator encodes the following main types of ‘process’:

• material processes of ‘doing’ with verbs such as make, catch, go;

• mental processes of ‘experiencing’, with cognitive verbs of perception (e.g. see), cognition (know), affectivity (like) and desideration (hope);

• relational processes of ‘being’ with verbs such as be and belong.

These, and certain subsidiary types. The following text illustrates realizations of the Predicator:

It [the Valley of the Kings] lies about six hundred kilometers south of Cairo, the present-day capital of Egypt, near the Nile.¹ Across the river is the city of Luxor,² once called Thebes and one of the greatest capitals of the ancient world.³ This dusty, dried up river valley is the most magnificent burial ground in the world.⁴ During the second millennium B.C., Egyptian workers quarried a series of tombs beneath this valley,⁵ decorating them with mysterious predictions of the underworld⁶ and filling them with treasures.⁷ There, with infinite care and artistry, they laid out the mummified and bejewelled bodies of their rulers⁸ and surrounded them with their belongings,⁹ making the valley one of the greatest sacred sites in history.¹⁰

                                                                        (Gerald O’Farrell, The Tutankhamun Deception)

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

سماحة السيد الصافي: عهد الإمام علي (عليه السلام) لمالك الأشتر ضرورة لكل قيادي وإداري في المجتمعات

قسم المعارف: كتاب (الكواكب السماوية) يقدم مادة علمية تخدم الباحثين في مجالات الأدب والعقيدة والبلاغة

قسم الصيانة يجري أعمال الإدامة الدورية لجدران حرم مرقد أبي الفضل العباس (عليه السلام) وصحنه الشريف

قسم الشؤون الفكرية يعلن انضمام الجامعة العراقية لمشروع حفظ النتاج العلمي العراقي

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

السجائر الإلكترونية والإقلاع عن التدخين.. نتائج متباينة تثير الجدل العلمي

مصر تحقق إنجازاً دولياً جديداً في منظمة الصحة العالمية

دراسة: السباحة فعّالة أكثر من الجري في الحفاظ على صحة القلب

عامل خطر في بداية الحمل يؤخر تطور الكلام والمهارات الحركية لدى الرضع

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

أحلامك ليست عشوائية.. إليك ما يفعله دماغك أثناء نومك

روسيا.. العلماء يضاعفون الاستقرار الحراري للألواح الشمسية ثلاث مرات

علماء يكشفون سر سرعة الدلافين في السباحة

سلمي أو دموي.. هكذا تنتقل السلطة في مجتمع الجرذان

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

BASIC SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES OF THE CLAUSE

CRITERIA FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF CLAUSE ELEMENTS Realizations of clausal elements

CRITERIA FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF CLAUSE ELEMENTS Ability to become the subject

CRITERIA FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF CLAUSE ELEMENTS Determination by the verb

SYNTACTIC ELEMENTS AND STRUCTURES OF THE CLAUSE SUMMARY

NO-NEGATION VS NOT-NEGATION + ANY

Interrogative clauses

CLAUSAL NEGATION

NEGATION AND EXPANSION NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE STRUCTURES

Syntactic elements of clauses

CLASSES OF UNITS Classes of clauses

Combining the three types of structure