science

Secondary predicate

Secondary predicate is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Secondary predicate rather than just read about it. In short: A secondary predicate is a (mostly adjectival) predicative expression that conveys information about the subject or the object but is not the main predicate of the clause. This structure may be analysed in many different ways.

Key takeaways

Secondary predicate belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Secondary predicate to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Secondary predicate from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A secondary predicate is a (mostly adjectival) predicative expression that conveys information about the subject or the object but is not the main predicate of the clause. This structure may be analysed in many different ways. These may be resultative, as in (1) and (2) or descriptive (also called "depictive") as in (3) and (4).

(1) She painted the town red (2) The film left me cold (3) Susan walked around naked. (Depictive over the subject, or "subject-oriented depictive") (4) John ate the meat raw. (Depictive over the object, or "object-oriented depictive")

Alternative views Optional depictive secondary predicates are viewed as "predicative adjuncts" by some linguists. (Huddleston & Pullum 2002)

References Monica-Alexandrina Irimia (2005) "Types of secondary predication". Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics 25: 20–29. R. Huddleston and G. K. Pullum (2002). The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43146-8.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Secondary predicate

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Secondary predicate claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Secondary predicate before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Secondary predicate ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Secondary predicate

In research: Secondary predicate appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Secondary predicate in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Secondary predicate is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Grammar, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Secondary predicate outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Secondary predicate in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Secondary predicate means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Secondary predicate out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Secondary predicate in simple terms?

Why does Secondary predicate matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Secondary predicate?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Secondary predicate.