prädikatives

Prädikatives, in German grammar often referred to as prädikativ or Prädikativum, are elements that complete the predicate of a sentence by ascribing a property, state, or identity to the subject or sometimes to the object. They occur with linking verbs or quasi-linking verbs, and their role is to express what is predicated of the subject or object rather than to modify it attributively.

There are several types of prädikatives. An adjective used predicatively (adjektivisches Prädikativum) accompanies a copular verb such as sein, bleiben, or werden: Der Apfel ist rot. Sie wirkt müde. Here the adjective does not take the usual attributive endings and functions as part of the predicate. A predicative noun phrase (prädikatives Nomen, auch Prädikativum substantiv) identifies or reclassifies the subject: Er wurde Lehrer. Das bleibt ein Rätsel. With verbs like gelten oder erscheinen, a predicative element may appear after als or similar prepositional phrases: Er gilt als Experte. Sie ist eine Ärztin.

Predicatives differ from attributive modifiers in that they do not attach to the noun within the noun phrase but rather complete the meaning of the sentence as a whole. They can follow a variety of verbs, not only sein, and they often govern case and article choices differently from attributive forms. In practice, prädikatives are a central mechanism for expressing properties, roles, identities, or states within German clauses, contributing to the flexibility and clarity of predication in the language.