naamwoordelijke

Naamwoordelijk is an adjective in Dutch grammar, derived from naamwoord (noun) with the suffix -elijk, meaning nominal or predicative. The form naamwoordelijke is the inflected variant used before feminine singular nouns or plural nouns in attributive position, and it also appears in discussions of predicative grammar.

In grammar, the term is closely tied to the concept of the naamwoordelijk gezegde, or nominal predicate. This is the part of the predicate that follows a copular verb (such as zijn, worden, blijven, lijken) and either names the subject or describes a property of it. The naamwoordelijk gezegde can consist of a predicative noun phrase (a nominal element), or a predicative adjective (a description) attached to the subject through the linking verb. For example: Zij is een kunstenaar (nominal predicate), De acteur bleef boos (predicative adjective). In both cases the predicative element is considered naamwoordelijk.

Morphology and agreement: as an attributive adjective, naamwoordelijk takes the ending -e when modifying feminine singular or plural nouns, yielding forms such as naamwoordelijke uitdrukking (feminine singular) or naamwoordelijke gezegden (plural). When used predicatively, the form is determined by standard Dutch adjective agreement rules in the predicate position.

Relation to other terms: naamwoordelijk contrasts with het werkwoordelijk gezegde, the verbal predicate formed by the main verb and auxiliaries that expresses action or process rather than naming or describing the subject. The concept is central to descriptions of predication in Dutch grammar and is discussed in grammar handbooks and linguistic descriptions of sentence structure.

See also: naamwoordelijk gezegde, werkwoordelijk gezegde, bijvoeglijk naamwoord.