 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
238
He seemed to understand everything I said.
Money just doesn’t happen to interest me.
No one appears to have noticed his escape.
2. Some verbs in the passive voice:
a) Verbs of saying:
to say, to declare, to state, to report, to rumour.
This country is said to be rich in oil.
The rocket is reported to have started its night at 6.30.
b) Verbs of mental activity:
to believe, to consider, to expect, to find, to know, to mean, to presume, to regard, to suppose, to think,
to understand.
Mr. Sharp was always expected to say he preferred cold meat.
He has never been known to lose his temper before.
c) Verbs of perception:
to feel, to hear, to see, to watch.
My dog was heard to bark in the yard.
The lady was seen to leave the house.
3. Phrases with some modal meaning:
to be (un) likely, to be sure, to be certain.
The adjectives likely, unlikely, sure and certain indicate the speaker's attitude to the future:
The weather is not likely to change.
This event is certain to produce a sensation.
If you don’t post the letter at once, it is unlikely to arrive in time.
George is sure to see Mary. (Sure indicates the attitude of the speaker, it is the speaker rather than George
who is sure)
The compound nominal predicate
The compound nominal predicate proper
§ 54. The compound nominal predicate consists of a link verb and a predicative (nominal part). The link
verb is the structural element of the predicate, as it joins the subject and the predicative. It expresses the
grammatical categories of person, number, tense, aspect and mood.
The predicative is the notional part of the compound nominal predicate. It characterizes the person or non-
person expressed by the subject. The characterization may concern the following:
1. The properties of the person or non-person (the state or quality or quantity of it).
The girl looked tired but pretty.
I felt sore for a minute.
But he is not always alone.
The visibility seemed very good.