noncopula

Noncopula is a term used in linguistics to refer to predication constructions that do not involve a copular verb linking the subject to a predicate. A copula is typically a form of the verb to be that equates or classifies the subject with a complement, such as an adjective, noun phrase, or participial phrase. Noncopula constructions thus express predication without using a dedicated linking verb; they rely on other verbs or word order to convey the relationship between subject and predicate. The category is a topic of cross-linguistic typology and semantics, and its exact boundaries vary by language.

Examples in English include intransitive predicates, where the verb itself expresses a state or action: The river flows. In other cases, a main verb can take a predicative noun phrase or adjective as a complement without a copula: They elected him president. The soup tastes salty. In these sentences, the predicate is not expressed by a linking be, but by the main verb or by a post-verbal complement.

Cross-linguistically, many languages have copulas that behave differently or omit them entirely in certain tenses or contexts. Some languages have zero-copula present or past forms, or rely on case marking, verb morphology, or adpositions to express predication. Others require an explicit copula in most contexts; in such languages, noncopula predication is expressed via nonverbal clauses or by using particular verbs that function as predicates rather than linking elements.

Relationship to other concepts: The distinction between copular and noncopular predication is central to analyses of equative and ascriptive clauses, predicative complements, and the syntax of adjectives and nouns. The term noncopula does not designate a single grammatical category like a part of speech, but a functional and typological description of how the subject-predicate relation is realized in a clause.