Predikaattikomplementti

Predikaattikomplementti is a grammatical term used primarily in Finnish and other Finnic languages to refer to the element that completes the meaning of a predicate. The concept is analogous to the predicate complement found in many Indo‑European languages, yet it has specific features that arise from the typological properties of the Finnic language family.

In Finnish sentences, the predikaattikomplementti usually follows the main verb and may be expressed as an adjective, a noun phrase, a prepositional phrase, or a clause. It provides essential information that describes the subject, object, or the state established by the verb. For example, in the sentence *Hän on opettaja* ("He is a teacher"), *opettaja* functions as a predikaattikomplementti by identifying the subject. Similarly, in *Talo näyttää juhlavaltaiselta*, the adjective *juhlavaltaiselta* completes the serving verb *näyttää*.

There are two main varieties of predikaattikomplementti. Identificational complements link an entity to a class or role, whereas descriptive complements express a property or state. Finnish allows certain verbs to take only one type of complement, while others accept both. Some verbals can also combine a predikaattikomplementti with a secondary complement, such as a direct object, forming a complex predication structure.

Analysis of predikaattikomplementti plays an important role in linguistic research on Finnish syntax and semantics. It informs studies of agreement, part of speech classification, and the interaction between morphology and syntax. Comparative work shows corresponding structures in other Uralic languages, where the precise realization of predicative completions may differ in morphological marking or word order.

In teaching contexts, understanding predikaattikomplementti helps learners grasp how Finnish expresses relationships between subjects, verbs, and attributes. It also assists in relative clause formation, complement clause analysis, and the proper use of copular verbs. By distinguishing predikaattikomplementti from other parts of the sentence such as adverbials or direct objects, speakers can construct clearer, more grammatically robust statements.