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WORD GRAMMAR
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Verb
- Conjugation in indicative
- Person and number
- Tenses
- Voice
- Mood
- Verb categories
- Valency
- Semantic categories of verbs
- Finite / non-finite verb forms
- Noun
- Adjective
- Adverb
- Article
- Pronoun
- Preposition
- Conjunction
- Particle
- Interjection
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Verb
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SENTENCE GRAMMAR
- Clause types
- Complex clauses
- Constituents of a sentence
- Sentence structure
- Word order in a sentence
- Negation
The Predicate (Prädikat)
TA1
In the German language, all the verb types that are included in a sentence constitute its predicate. The predicate is a basic constituent of the sentence; all other constituents and arguments depend on it. It always contains one finite verb form and consists of one or more parts.
The predicate can determine the arguments that can or must complement it. This property is called valency.
For example the verb "schenken" requires three complements.
| Example | ||
| Ich schenke meiner Frau einen Ring. | ||
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sentence constituent
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1st obligatory complement
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ich
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subject
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2nd obligatory complement
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einen Ring
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accusative object
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3rd obligatory complement
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meiner Frau
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dative object
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The verb "essen" requires one complement. However, other optional arguments can be added.
| Example | ||
| Ich esse gerade eine Pizza. | ||
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sentence constituent
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1st obligatory complement
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ich
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subject
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1st optional argument
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eine Pizza
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accusative object
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2nd optional argument
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gerade
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adverbial
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There are simple and complex predicates. Simple predicates consist of one finite verb form; complex predicates consist of more than one verb forms, one of which must be finite.
| Examples | ||
| Peter isst eine Pizza. | simple predicate | |
| Laura hat einen Film gesehen. | complex predicate | |
Other elements of the predicate
Complex predicates consist of a number of elements that stand close to the finite verb form.
| Examples | ||
| past participle (Partizip II) | Ich habe drei Stunden auf ihn gewartet. | |
| Das Auto ist repariert worden. | ||
| infinitive | Paul will seine Oma besuchen. | |
| Gehen wir ein Bier trinken? | ||
| Er scheint beleidigt zu sein. | ||
| the prefix of a separable verb | Mach bitte das Fenster auf! | |
| noun phrase in an empty verb structure | Wir treffen heute eine endgültige Entscheidung. | |
| Sein Wunsch ging in Erfüllung. | ||
| reflexive pronoun * | In den Ferien habe ich mich erholt. | |
| predicative expression ** | Monika ist hübsch. |
* It refers to non-reflexive verbs of the category "Verbs that can also have a reflexive function, subcategory 2b". In this case, the reflexive pronoun functions as the verb object.
** The predicative expression is an independent sentence constituent. It can, however, be considered a part of the predicate.