8.5 Predicate nominatives and adjectives

Definition and Function

A predicate nominative is a noun (or pronoun) that renames the subject, while a predicate adjective is an adjective that describes the subject. Both appear with linking verbs instead of action verbs, and both stand in the nominative case to match the subject. Without them, a linking verb like est would be incomplete: Caesar est ("Caesar is...") leaves you hanging. You need the predicate to finish the thought: Caesar imperator est ("Caesar is a commander").

These constructions are different from direct objects. A direct object receives the action of a verb and goes in the accusative case. A predicate nominative or adjective doesn't receive any action; it simply tells you what or how the subject is.

Role in Sentences

• Complete the meaning of linking verbs by renaming or describing the subject
• Equate or characterize the subject in a more specific way (Marcus agricola est tells you Marcus's profession)
• Provide essential information that can't be removed without breaking the sentence's meaning
• Allow for concise expression in both Latin prose and poetry

Relationship to the Subject

Because a predicate nominative renames the subject, the two are often interchangeable. In Caesar imperator est ("Caesar is a commander"), you could also say Imperator Caesar est ("The commander is Caesar") and the basic truth stays the same. This reversibility is a good test: if you can swap the two nominative nouns and the sentence still makes sense, you're likely looking at a predicate nominative rather than some other construction.

Predicate adjectives work similarly but describe rather than rename. In Puer bonus est ("The boy is good"), bonus refers directly back to puer and tells you a quality of the subject.

Agreement with the Subject

The core rule is straightforward: predicate nominatives and adjectives must agree with the subject in number, gender, and case (nominative).

Number Agreement

• Singular subjects require singular predicates: Puer bonus est ("The boy is good")
• Plural subjects take plural predicates: Pueri boni sunt ("The boys are good")
• Collective nouns may use singular or plural agreement depending on whether you're emphasizing the group as a unit or its individual members

Gender Agreement

Predicate adjectives must match the subject's grammatical gender, not what might seem "logical" in English:

• Masculine: Vir fortis est ("The man is brave")
• Feminine: Femina pulchra est ("The woman is beautiful")
• Neuter: Templum magnum est ("The temple is large")

Some adjectives use the same form across genders. Third-declension adjectives like felix look identical in the masculine and feminine nominative singular: Felix puer est / Felix puella est.

Case Agreement

• Predicate nominatives and adjectives always appear in the nominative case to match the subject
• This holds true even when the subject is implied rather than stated
• This case distinction is what separates predicates from direct objects: Marcus bonus est (nominative predicate) vs. Marcum video (accusative direct object)

Types of Predicate Nominatives

Nouns as Predicate Nominatives

These rename or classify the subject:

• Caesar imperator est ("Caesar is a commander") identifies a role
• Marcus agricola est ("Marcus is a farmer") indicates profession
• Tempus magister vitae est ("Time is the teacher of life") expresses a figurative relationship
• Cicero orator eloquens erat ("Cicero was an eloquent orator") combines a predicate nominative noun with a modifying adjective

Pronouns as Predicate Nominatives

Pronouns can also serve as predicate nominatives, often for emphasis or identification:

• Hic est ille ("This is that man") uses demonstrative pronouns to point someone out
• Tu es qui fecisti ("You are the one who did it") uses a personal pronoun for emphasis
• Demonstrative, personal, and relative pronouns all appear in predicate constructions

Types of Predicate Adjectives

Descriptive Adjectives

These are the most common type. They characterize the subject's qualities, states, or conditions:

• Physical attributes: Mons altus est ("The mountain is tall")
• Emotional states: Puer laetus erat ("The boy was happy")
• Group qualities: Milites feroces sunt ("The soldiers are fierce")
• Comparatives and superlatives work here too: Hic liber optimus est ("This book is the best")

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives (meus, tuus, suus, noster, vester) can function as predicate adjectives:

• Haec domus mea est ("This house is mine")
• Ille frater tuus est ("That man is your brother")

Note that Latin can also express possession with the genitive case: Hic liber Marci est ("This book is Marcus's"). Here Marci is a genitive noun, not a predicate nominative, even though the English translation looks similar.

Common Linking Verbs

Forms of esse

The verb esse ("to be") is by far the most common linking verb. Here are its forms across the tenses you've learned:

Other Linking Verbs

Several other verbs also take predicate nominatives or adjectives instead of direct objects:

• Verbs of becoming: fio ("become," "be made"), evado ("turn out to be")
• Verbs of seeming: videor ("seem," "appear") — this is the passive of video but functions as a linking verb
• Verbs of remaining: maneo ("remain"), remaneo ("stay")

When you see any of these verbs, expect a nominative complement rather than an accusative object.

Identification in Sentences

How to Spot Them

Here's a step-by-step approach for identifying predicate nominatives and adjectives:

1. Find the verb. Is it a linking verb (a form of esse or one of the other linking verbs listed above)?
2. Find the subject. It'll be in the nominative case.
3. Look for another nominative-case word that isn't the subject. If it's a noun or pronoun that renames the subject, it's a predicate nominative. If it's an adjective that describes the subject, it's a predicate adjective.
4. Check agreement. The predicate should match the subject in number, gender, and case.

Position in the Sentence

• In standard Latin word order, the predicate often follows the linking verb, but Latin is flexible
• A predicate can be placed first for emphasis: Magnus est Caesar ("Great is Caesar")
• In poetry or rhetorical prose, the predicate may be separated from the verb by several words

Comparison with Direct Objects

This distinction trips up a lot of students, so it's worth being clear about it.

Compare these two sentences:

• Marcus consul est. ("Marcus is a consul.") Both Marcus and consul are nominative. You could reverse them: Consul Marcus est.
• Marcum video. ("I see Marcus.") Marcum is accusative. You can't reverse it the same way.

Some verbs can appear in both patterns with different meanings: Marcum bonum facio ("I make Marcus good," with accusative object) vs. Marcus bonus fit ("Marcus becomes good," with predicate adjective).

Translation Strategies

Word Order Considerations

Latin word order is flexible, but English usually requires subject-verb-predicate order. Follow these steps:

1. Identify the subject (nominative noun or pronoun)
2. Identify the linking verb
3. Identify the predicate nominative or adjective
4. Translate in English order: Subject + linking verb + predicate

Cicero consul est → "Cicero is a consul"

When two nominative nouns appear with est, use agreement and context to figure out which is the subject and which is the predicate. The predicate nominative often has no article equivalent in Latin, but you may need to add "a" or "the" in English.

Idiomatic Expressions

Some common Latin phrases use predicate constructions in ways that don't translate word-for-word:

• Homo sum ("I am a human being") — a famous line from Terence
• Mihi nomen est Marcus ("My name is Marcus") — literally "To me the name is Marcus," using a dative of possession alongside a predicate nominative
• Pater patriae ("Father of the country") — a predicate nominative used as a title

Common Mistakes

Confusion with Other Cases

• Accusative mix-up: Mistaking a direct object for a predicate nominative. Always check whether the verb is linking or transitive.
• Dative confusion: Mihi nomen est Marcus uses a dative (mihi) alongside a predicate nominative (Marcus). Don't confuse the dative of possession with the predicate.
• Ablative of description: Phrases like vir magnā virtūte ("a man of great courage") use the ablative, not a predicate adjective. These describe the subject differently from predicate adjectives.

Agreement Errors

• Forgetting to match number between subject and predicate (Pueri bonus sunt should be Pueri boni sunt)
• Neglecting gender agreement, especially with neuter nouns (Bellum magnus est should be Bellum magnum est)
• With compound subjects of mixed gender, Latin typically defaults to masculine for people or neuter for things

Practice Exercises

Sentence Completion

• Fill in the blank with the correct form of the predicate adjective or nominative to agree with the subject
• Choose between nominative and accusative forms to test whether you can distinguish predicates from direct objects
• Identify and correct agreement errors in sample sentences

Translation Practice

• Translate Latin sentences containing predicate nominatives and adjectives into natural English
• Convert English sentences with predicate constructions into Latin, paying attention to agreement
• In reading passages, identify each predicate nominative or adjective and explain how it agrees with its subject