prepredicative

Prepredicative is a term used in linguistics to describe a predicative element that occurs before the main predicate of a clause. It denotes a position in predication in which the semantic property denoted by a word or phrase is available to function as a predicate but surfaces in clause-initial or pre-copular positions rather than following the copular verb. The term is derived from pre- "before" and predicative, and is mainly found in descriptive or typological grammars rather than as a universal grammatical category.

Usage and scope: In languages with flexible word order or with copular constructions, various elements—often adjectives, participles, or small clauses—may bear predicative meaning while appearing before the verb of predication. In such cases linguists may label the element as prepredicative to distinguish its predicative function from a later, post-copula predicative. Prepredicative phenomena are closely connected to the study of predication, mood, and aspect, and are often analyzed within small-clause or predication frameworks.

Notes: The term is relatively specialized and not universally employed; definitions and tests for prepredicativity vary across grammars. Some scholars treat prepredicative positions as variants of prenominal (attributive) or predicative constructions, while others see them as a distinct typological phenomenon in languages with noncanonical order or copula placement.

See also: predicative, copular sentence, predication, small clause.