subject predicative

[Salva7]

hello everybody,
I really need help for this issue. The thing is that I can not identify the subject predicative when the verb is not "to be", I usually choose DO instead, like in this example:
"Carry felt a little less bold", for me ...a little less bold would be D.O. or perhaps Adverbial.

Are there any test to identify SP? any trick... please

Thank you.
Salva

[Buddhaheart]

In "Carry felt a little less bold", the subject is obviously ‘Carry’. The predicate is ‘felt a little less bold’ in which the main verb is ‘felt’ and the subject complement "a little less bold". Some might consider "a little less bold" an adverbial modifying the verb ‘felt’. I don’t believe there’s a DO here for one simple reason that DO should be a noun or noun-equivalent which you don’t have.

[Buddhaheart]

Further to my 17:00 hr post, I’ve to say "a little less bold" doesn’t even function as an adverb but as a group of words doing the job of an adjective (describing the subject ‘Carry’).

[Salva7]

Thanks Buddhaheart,
I am starting with a grammar course, and i find it very difficult, perhaps, like everything at its start, there is too much influence of my L1, and its grammar rules.

The question is wether in the proposed example the "whole" subject predicate could be replaced for the pronoum "it", then, modestly, I dare say that it could function as Direct Object. So the key must be in the verb, and in the ability to detect when it fuctions with copular valency patterns.

Thank you.
Salva.

[Buddhaheart]

I know the feeling. Don’t be discouraged. We‘ve been there before. We’re also learning by talking to student like you.

You’re right. Depending on the sense use of the verb ‘felt’, you can indeed have a DO &/or even an IO in the predicate. If you say, “Carry felt bold,” ‘bold’ is a predicative adjective describing the subject ‘Carry’ and the verb ‘felt’ is a copula. If you say, “Carry felt boldly,” ‘boldly’ is just an adverb modifying the verb ‘felt’. If you say, “Carry felt emptiness,” ‘emptiness’ is a noun complement of ‘felt’.

Now if you say, “Carry felt (~experienced) it to be intimidating,” ‘it’ now functions as a DO and ‘to be intimidating’ is the complement. ‘Felt’ here is no longer a linking verb. In ‘Carry was feeling (~purposely touching to learn about) his shirt to see whether it’s appropriate for the occasion,” again ‘shirt’ is the DO. Note the progressive is possible and is used here as the verb is not functioning as a stative verb.

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

Originally Posted by Buddhaheart

Further to my 17:00 hr post, I’ve to say "a little less bold" doesn’t even function as an adverb but as a group of words doing the job of an adjective (describing the subject ‘Carry’).

Yes, it is an adjective (not an adverb) because the verb "feel" is a linking (copula) verb here (not an action verb). So it cannot be replaced by "do" since "do" is an action verb. The problem is some verbs can have a dual status (be action and link). Linking verbs like stative verbs are not used in the continuous tense. Even verb "to be" which is the most prominent linking verb ever can be used in the continuous aspect:
He is being nasty to me.
Interestingly "nasty" as an adjective doesn't change to an adverb since verb "to be" cannot be changed to an action verb.