The Predicate of
Nominal sentences
The Predicate of
Nominal sentences
The predicate of a nominal sentence is what provides information about the subject. It is called الخَبَر, and takes one of the following three forms:
- a noun/adjective
Examples are:
- البنت طالبة
- البنت ذكية
- a preposition followed by a noun, or an adverb of time/place
Examples are:
- السائق في السيارة
- السيارة أمامَ المنزل
- المباراة بعدَ الامتحان
- another sentence, which can be either verbal or nominal
Examples are:
- العلم أطرافه مترامية
- العلم يرفع منزلة صاحبه
Subject-Predicate order
The predicate is normally placed after the subject, but sometimes it occupies the first place in a nominal sentence and causes the subject to come after it. This is compulsory when:
- it is an interrogative particle, like:
ما اسمك ؟
مَن أنتَ ؟ - it is a preposition followed by a noun, or an adverb of time/place while the subject is indefinite. If not, it takes it usual second place.