The immediate constituents of the sentence

     Compound Nominal Predicate

     It consists of a link verb and a predicative (nominative part). The link verb is the structural element of the predicate, as it joins the subject and the predicative. It expresses the grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect and mood.

     It consists of link verb: a) of being (be, feel, sound, look, appear, seem), b) becoming (become, grow, turn, get, make), c) remaining (remain, keep, stay), d)

     The predicative can be expressed in different ways.

1. A noun in common case, occasionally in the possessive case.

     I am an active humanist [, 4].

     It was the highest figure since 1941 [,11].

     The overriding sound track is silence [5,6].

     2. By an adjective or an adjective phrase.

     Barack Obama as Person of the Year was insightful, interesting and original [, 6].

     The truth is instructive, especially now [5,6].

     We are more resilient than we think [5,7]

     The rest of us, case studies say, become obedient and quiet [5,6].

     No, people were pretty calm, actually [5,6].

     (Was full of enthusiasm, was difficult to convince)

     3. by a pronoun – personal, possessive, negative, interrogative, reflexive, indefinite, defining. 

     ……

4. By a word of the category of state (stative).

     Aware

     Afraid

     Was wide awake

5. By a numeral, cardinal or ordinal.

Was 60

Am the first

6. By an infinitive, infinitive phrase, an infinitive construction.

Which is not to say they were not terrified [5,6]

The only real solution is to decriminalize drug use [173, 4].

The Bush Administration decided to have Sere trainers instruct its interrogation teams on how to torture prisoners [173,111].

Was to run, Is to go, Is for you to whip him

          7. By Participle II or very seldom Participle I; the latter is generally adjectivized.

     They know that I am very pretty demanding [2 ,4].

     Seemed strangely chosen, sounded quite distressing

     8. By a gerund, gerundial phrase, or a gerundial construction.

     My industry is magazine publishing [1,4].

     Was his being away

     It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten [173,7].

     9. A prepositional phrase.

     Is on our side.

     South Africa is on a roll too at least when it comes to sport [173,5].

     10. An indivisible group of words.

     The price tag for that crisis is already in the hundreds of billions [173,9].

     It’s nine o’clock already [5,7].

     11.  A clause.

     This is just what the Israeli government is doing [5,6].

     Those who fare best are usually those who are prepared [5,6].

     Compound nominal double predicate

     It consists of two parts, both of which are notional. The first one is verbal and is expressed by a notional verb. Also it links its second part to the subject. The second part is expressed by a noun or an adjective. The first part is expressed by a number of verbs that most often occur in this type of predicate, performing the double function of denoting a process and serving as link verb at the same time. They are: to die, to live, to lie, to marry, to return, to rise, to sit, to stand to shine.

     In a New York City federal Court, where the former Nasdaq chairman stands accused of masterminding a S50billion Ponzi scheme, is congressional hearings, and in the Manhattan office of the French financier who killed himself after Maldoff milked him and his clients out of more than S1billion [173,9]. Sat silent

     The compound verbal predicate

     The compound verbal predicate can be divided into two types according to the meaning of the finite verbs: the compound verbal modal predicate and the compound verbal aspect (phasal) predicate.

     The compound verbal modal predicate

     The compound verbal modal predicate shows whether the action expressed by an infinitive is looked upon as possible, impossible, obligatory, necessary, desirable, planned, certain, permissible. In most cases it denote to the action of the person non – person by the subject. It consists of a modal part and an infinitive (or sometimes a gerund).

     It may consist of the following components:

     1. A modal verb and an infinitive. Here belong the combinations of such verbs as can, may, must, should, would, ought, dare, need with an infinitive:

     You must clearly choose between these two sides [ ,14].

     Wickrematunge could not accept that kind of thinking [ ,14].

     It should be careful that it does not become what it seeks to defend itself against [5,6]

     But maybe it should be [5,7].

     This shouldn’t be the responsibility of another country [173,8].

     The modal part may have two modal verbs or a modal verb and a modal expression.

     Then they’d have to live with official acknowledgement of their ignominy in perpetuity [173,11].

     She must be willing to come [3,9].

     He may have to return [3,9].

     2. Modal expressions (that are synonymous with modal verbs or verbs with a modal meaning) and an infinitive. Here belong the combinations of such expressions as to be able, to be allowed,  to be obliged, to be bound, to be willing, to be anxious, to be capable, to be going with an infinitive.

     “They always say that they’re going to investigate these things, but nothing ever happens” [ ,14].

     But that’s not going to happen [173,11].

     3. Modal expressions: to be + Infinitive, to have + Infinitive.

We’ll have to see [2,4].

If I want to get depressed, all I have to do is watch CNBC [173,4].

4. A verb with a modal meaning (to hope, to expect, to intend, to attempt, to try, to endeavour, to long ,to wish, to want, to desire) and an infinitive or a gerund.

If Obama doesn’t want to make that statement, perhaps it could be done in the form of a Bush Memorial in Washington [173,11].

5. verbs and expressions used in the predicate of sentences  containing the Subjective Infinitive construction (Nominative – with – the Infinitive Construction)

………….

The compound verbal aspect (phasal) predicate

     It denotes the beginning, duration, repetition, or cessation of the action expressed by an infinitive or a gerund. It consists of a phasal verb and an infinitive or a gerund.

     It first component is a phasal verb of:

1. Beginning: to begin, to start, to commence, set about, to take to, to fall to, to come.

………………

2. Duration: to go on, to keep, to proceed, to continue.

………………

3. Repetition: would, used (denoting a repeated action in the past).

……………

     4. Cessation: to stop, to finish, to cease, to give up, to leave off.

…………..

     Mixed types of the predicate:

     There is a type of predicate in which we have elements of two types of predicates. Such predicates contain three components.

1. The compound modal nominal predicate. (I mean to be unkind).

         Michelle may turn out to be the most stylish First lady since Jackie [ ,3].

Just as broken window creates work for the glazier at the expense of the window owner, money that Kinsley hopes to inject into the economy must first be taken out of it [173,4].

Couldn’t to be happy

Must feel better pleased

2. The compound aspect nominal predicate. (I began to feel rather hungry).
3. The compound modal aspect/phrasal predicate.

(He had to keep on resisting).239

Ought to stop (doing)

Can’t continue (training)

4. The phasal nominal predicate.

His methods and motives remain cryptic, but the carnage unleashed by Bernard Madoff is beginning to be revealed [173,9].

Began to be ashamed, was beginning to look desperate

5. The compound nominal predicate of double orientation.

He seemed a bit disappointed by the lack of rigor when it came to stress positions [173,11].

It seems probable that nothing much is going to happen to the Bush Administration officials [173,11].

Is said to be very ill, Seems to be happy

     Compound verbal predicate of double orientation

     It consists of two parts. The first part is a finite verb which denotes the attitude of the speaker to the content of the sentence. The second part denotes the action which is performed by the person/non – person expressed by the subject. The first component is a verb or phrase belonging to one of the following three groups:

1. Intransitive verbs of seeming or chansing with the general meaning of evaluation in the active voice: to seem, to appear, to prove, to turn, to happen, to chance.

………………

2. Some verbs in the passive voice:

1. verbs of saying: to say, to declare, to state, to report, to rumour.

……………….

2. Verbs of mental activity: to believe, to consider, to expect, to find, to know, to mean, to presume, to regard, to suppose, to think, to understand.

………………….

3. Verbs of perception: to feel, to hear, to see, to watch.

……………………

3. Phrases with some modal meaning: to be likely, to be sure, to be certain. The adjectives likely, unlikely, sure, and certain indicate the speaker’s attitude to the future.

…………….

     Yet few Sri Lankan journalists have been permitted to report on these successes – or on their human toll [ ,14]. ? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Conclusion 

     The main task of this paper was to take a close look at the primary parts of the sentence. An attempt was carried out in this research to analyze different ways of  expressing primary parts of the sentence.  The primary parts of the sentence can be expressed in four ways, that is, by a single word – form or a word form preceded by a formal word, by a phrase, by a predicative complex, or by a clause. The verbal predicate can be neither a predicative complex nor a clause.

1. A word – form (any form of the grammatical paradigm of the word).
2. A phrase (a group of two or more notional words functioning as whole) may contain one or more formal words. They may be divided into two kinds: phrases divisible syntactically and semantically, phrases indivisible  syntactically and semantically.
3. Predicative complexes (contain two words with predicative relation, that in their turn may have one or more words dependent on them). The predicative relation within a complex is grammatically only implicit.
4. Clauses (that like predicative complexes contain two words connected predicatively, but unlike predicative complexes the predicative relation in complexes is expressed explicitly in the grammatical forms of the subject and the predicate).

     The difference in the way of expression of the parts of the sentence lies in their structure.

     In this paper, functions of the primary task were discovered (YOUR EXAMPLE.)  Structural and grammatical classification of the predicate was provided, and ways of expressing primary parts were shown. All this was complimented by a number of examples taken from various authors.