THE SIMPLE NOMINAL PREDICATE

Though there is no exclamation mark at the end of the sentence, it is clearly exclamatory. The idea expressed in it might also be expressed in this way: That such an old, old lady... should come so far, on a train called the Blue Mountain, out of the south, into the north. In our next example both sentences have a predicate infinitive without to: George mind tennis on SundayI George, after his education, distinguish between Sunday — (FORSTER) This is said in reply to a suggestion that George would refuse to play tennis on a Sunday.

Another type of sentence with a simple nominal predicate is that in which the predicative comes first, the subject next, and no link verb is either used or possible. Such sentences seem to occur chiefly, in colloquial style, for instance: "Splendid game, cricket," remarked Mr Barbecue-Smith heartily to no one in particular; "so thoroughly English" (HUXLEY) This is a sentence with a simple nominal predicate. There is inversion, no article with the predicative noun, and the style is very colloquial. The phrase representing the rheme comes first, and after it comes the word representing the theme. That it is the theme is made quite clear by the preceding context. Priscilla, the mistress of the house, is reading a newspaper at breakfast: "I see Surrey won," she said, with her mouth full, "by four wickets. The sun is in Leo: that would account for it!" Although the word cricket is not mentioned, it is quite evident, from the words Surrey (which here denotes a cricket team), won and wickets, that she has been reading about the latest cricket match. The latter part of Mr Barbecue-Smith's speech, so thoroughly English, adds another predicative to the first, splendid game, and also with no link verb to it. If changed into the usual compound nominal predicate pattern, the sentence would run: "Cricket is a splendid game; it is so thoroughly English"; the meaning would be quite the same as in the original sentence but the specific colloquial colouring would be gone altogether.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1483