predicate adjective

nounGrammar.

an adjective used in the predicate, especially with a copulative verb and attributive to the subject, as in He is dead, or attributive to the direct object, as in It made him sick.

Origin of predicate adjective

First recorded in 1880–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

In some of these examples, the predicate adjective has a modifier.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises | George Lyman Kittredge
A Subjective predicate adjective is an adjective that completes the verb and modifies the subject.
Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education | Ontario Ministry of Education
A predicate adjective completes the meaning of the predicate verb, but describes or limits the subject.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises | George Lyman Kittredge
In the second, the participle drenched expresses mere condition, and is therefore a predicate adjective.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises | George Lyman Kittredge
The past participle is often used as a predicate adjective expressing state or condition.
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises | George Lyman Kittredge

Browse