Subject Complements & Predicate Adjectives

Subject Complements

Linking Verbs—such as be, appear, become, feel, grow, seem, smell, sound, and taste—always need a subject complement to complete their meaning in a sentence.

There are two kinds of complements: predicate nominatives (nouns that follow linking verbs) and predicate adjectives (adjectives that follow linking verbs).

            Predicate nominatives rename, identify, or refer to the subject of the sentence.

                        Those people are tourists. (predicate noun)

                        This magazine is mine. (predicate pronoun)

            Predicate adjectives modify the subject of a sentence.

                        The food is spicy. (predicate adjective)

           

            Predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives can be compound.

                        Those people are tourists and explorers.  (compound predicate nominative)

            The food is spicy and hot. (compound predicate adjective)

Exercise #3:  In the following sentences, underline the subject once and the verb twice.  Label S for Subject and V for Verb.  Circle the subject complements, labeling predicate nominatives PN and predicate adjectives PA.

Put all prepositional phrases between parentheses.

 1.      The author C. S. Lewis has been an amazing writer and teacher.

2.      The main characters in his books are two brothers and two sisters. 

3.      The central character is Aslan, a lion.

4.      Aslan is not at all tame.

5.      Lucy, the youngest sister, seems adventurous.

6.      The oldest brother seems at times bossy.

7.      Edmund is the younger brother.

8.      Mr. Tumnus, Lucy’s first friend in Narnia, is afraid of the White Witch.

9.      The Beavers are life savers for the Pevensy children.

10.  An empty wardrobe can be an amazing place.

Predicate Adjectives

Section A - Underline the predicate adjective in the following sentences. Hint: There are 20.

1. The trip was long, tiring and boring.

2. You are brilliant and strong.

3. The weather is frightening.

4. The boat was shiny, new and fast.

5. The bear is asleep in his cave.

Section B - Underline the linking verb in the following sentences:

1. His new car is Japanese.

2. That story was very funny.

3. Plane flights are often bumpy.

4. Our guest could be late.

5. Any donations will be appreciated.

Section C - Underline the predicate adjective and circle the subject it modifies in the following sentences:

1. We were afraid of the dark

2. The news was shocking and unbelievable.

3. Carol and Ginger were ecstatic.

4. As the storm approached, the clouds grew black.

5. Love can be unstoppable.

Section D - Write five sentences using these predicate adjectives and linking verbs. You do not have to use them all, but do not repeat one.

Predicate adjectives: distraught, concerned, remarkable, funny, sour, sweet, spoiled brilliant, squeaky, ageless

Linking verbs: sounds, appear, become, would be, can

Sentence Patterns -- N-LV-Adj

NAME:  ________________________________

The Equation for a Sentence:

     Subject (Noun)

     Verb

+   Complete Thought

     SENTENCE

Every complete sentence (independent clause) must have these components.  Additionally, all sentences start with capital letters and have an end punctuation mark. (i.e. period, question mark, exclamation mark.)

Predicate Nouns Sentence Pattern:  N-LV-ADJ

This sentence pattern uses a linking verb (LV) with the subject noun to an adjective in the predicate.  The linking verb acts as an equal sign (=) between the subject and the adjective in the predicate.

Exercise #1:

In the chart below, fill in the boxes with a subject noun and a predicate noun.  The two nouns should be different words/expressions for the same idea/item.  Put a single word in each box.

Subject Noun	Predicate Adjective
EX:  book	boring
EX:  movie	exciting
1.
2.
3.

Using your subject nouns and predicate adjectives from the chart above, build a sentence by adding a linking verb.  You can add adjectives if you like.  Below your sentence, write an equation with the subject and the predicate noun.  Do not add any more subject nouns, direct objects, or verbs.

EX:  The big book was boring.                                    The movie seems exciting.

         Book = boring                                                    movie = exciting

1.

2.

3.

Exercise #2:

In the chart below, fill in the boxes with a subject noun and a predicate adjective.  The adjectives should describe the noun in the box.  Put a single word or phrase in each box.

Subject Noun	Predicate Adjective
EX:  dinner	delicious
1.
2.

Using your subject nouns and predicate adjectives from the chart above, build a sentence by adding a linking verb.  Add adjectives and prepositional phrases.  Below your sentence, write an equation with the subject and the predicate noun.  Do not add any more subject nouns, direct objects, or verbs.

EX.  My dinner is delicious.

            Dinner = delicious

1.

2.

Exercise #3:

In the chart below, fill in the boxes with a subject nouns and a predicate nouns.  The two nouns should be different words/expressions for the same idea/item.  Put more than one word if the box is labelled “Compound” and put a single word if the box is labelled “Simple.” 

Compound Subject Nouns (plural)	Simple Predicate Adjective
EX:  squirrels, rabbits	frisky
1.
Simple Subject Noun	Compound Predicate Adjectives (plural)
EX: car	new, economical
2.

Using your subject nouns and a predicate nouns from the chart above, build a sentence by adding a linking verb.  Add adjectives and prepositional phrases.  Below your sentence, write an equation with the subject and the predicate noun.  Do not add any more subject nouns, direct objects, or verbs.

EX.  The happy little squirrels and rabbits seem frisky in the spring.

The cars on the lot were new and economical. 1.

2.