Predicate Nouns and Predicate Adjectives

Instructions:

1) Find all prepositional phrases and mark them out completely. (Words like in, around, for, with, and of all signal the beginning of a prepositional phrase.

2) Find the verb! Remember, the verb signals the start of the predicate.

3) Look for any nouns or adjectives in the predicate that compliment the subject (this means they either describe the subject or re-name it.)

4) If the subject compliment you found is an adjective describing the subject, it is a predicate adjective. If the subject compliment you found is a noun that re-names the subject, it is a predicate noun.

Carrie is such a drama queen.

• There are no prepositional phrases, so lets go to step 2 and find the verb. The verb is “is”.

• Now let’s locate the entire predicate. The entire predicate is “is such a drama queen.” What word describes or re-names Carrie?

• The word we are looking for is “queen.” We are renaming her, so queen is the predicate noun. “Queen” is a noun.

Oriental dances are very traditional.

Are there any prepositional phrases? The answer is no. Let’s move on to step 2. Where is the verb? The answer is “are”. So “are” and every thing after it is the predicate.

Predicate is “are very traditional.” Is there a word in this predicate that

compliments the subject? “Traditional” describes the subject, which is “dances.”

“Traditional” is the predicate adjective.