Prädikativums

Prädikativum is a term from German grammar describing the predicative complement of a sentence. It is the element that follows a copular or linking verb and provides a property or identity of the subject. Typical linking verbs are sein (to be), werden (to become), bleiben (to remain), scheinen (to seem), and heißen (to be called). The Prädikativum completes the meaning of the predicate and helps to describe or equate the subject with a value such as a state, quality, or role.

Predicatives come in two main forms: adjectival predicatives (Adjektivprädikativ) and nominal predicatives (Nominal-/substantivisches Prädikativum). Adjektival predicatives are adjectives used in the predicative position, for example Der Mann ist müde (müde = predicative adjective). Nominal predicatives are noun phrases that name a class or identity, for example Er ist Lehrer or Er wurde Schriftsteller. In nominals, the predicative phrase is typically in the nominative case, and it can appear without an article or with an indefinite article, as in Er ist Lehrer or Er ist ein Lehrer.

In usage, the predicative element is distinct from attributive modifiers inside noun phrases and from objects or other sentence parts. Predicatives often show little or no inflection when used predicatively (for example, müde remains müde in Die Situation macht ihn müde). The concept of Prädikativum is common in German grammar and has parallels in other languages, where it is usually described as a predicative complement or subject complement.