Lesson 3: Describing Words
Pattern #4: S-Vl-PN/A
Pattern number four is S-Vl-PN/PA, and based on the previous step, you now know what all of those pieces are!
Subject - Linking Verb - Predicate Noun/Predicate Adjective
Let’s look at some examples and learn how to diagram this pattern. Our first sentence is another modified piece of our Super Sentence.
”Be happy.”
Example number one is quite a short sentence! Let’s start by parsing it, using The Grand List of Questions from the previous step.
1. Who or what is the subject? you [implied]
2. What is the verb? be
3. Is the verb a definitive linking verb (“to be”, “to become”, or “to seem”)? yes!
Now we know we have a linking verb, so we will look for a predicate noun or adjective. The word that follows the linking verb is “happy.” Since “happy” describes (versus renaming) the subject, we know it is an adjective.
So we have a predicate adjective (PA).
”Blackbeard smelled fishy.”
1. Who or what is the subject? Blackbeard
2. What is the verb? smelled
3. Is the verb a definitive linking verb (“to be”, “to become”, “to seem”)? no
4. Is there a word after the verb that renames or describes the subject? yes, “fishy” describes Blackbeard
Since we know we have a linking verb, we will look for a predicate noun or adjective. “Fishy” follows the linking verb and describes the subject, so again we have a predicate adjective (PA).
”Blackbeard will be the leader.”
1. Who or what is the subject? Blackbeard
2. What is the verb? will be
3. Is the verb a definitive linking verb (“to be”, “to become”, “to seem”)? yes, “to be”
We have a linking verb and again look for a predicate noun or adjective. The word “leader” follows the linking verb, but this time renames it. So we have a predicate noun (PN).
Diagramming PN and PA
Now let’s learn how to diagram the predicate noun/adjective. And guess what? You already know how! Predicate adjectives and nouns use the stative shelf, just like object complements. Given the similarities between OCN/A and PN/A, this is not surprising. The stative shelf is for complements, either object complements (OCN/A) or subject complements (PN/A).
Let’s diagram one of the sentences we just parsed.
You may be noticing that diagramming is not quite as specific as parsing. While we can see the verb type by noting whether it is followed by the direct object shelf (Vt), stative shelf (Vl), or neither (Vi), there is no visual distinction between a predicate noun and a predicate adjective. The focus of parsing is to define the role of each word in a sentence, but the focus of diagramming is to give you a more visualization of the structure of the sentence. Can you diagram our other two sentences? (You will be able to check your answers on the next step.)
Diagram “Blackbeard smelled fishy.”
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Diagram, “Blackbeard will be the leader.”
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