After a linking verb, the word that completes the sentence points back to the subject. Grammar calls it a subject complement, and it comes in two kinds.
- A predicate noun renames the subject: “Ana became captain.” (Ana = the captain.)
- A predicate adjective describes the subject: “Ana is tall.” (a tall Ana)
Key idea
After a linking verb, nothing receives an action. A noun there renames the subject (predicate noun); an adjective there describes it (predicate adjective).
Why it works
This explains choices that sound odd at first. After a sense verb, standard usage takes an adjective, not an adverb: “The soup smells good” describes the soup. And formal writing has traditionally used the subject form of a pronoun after be (“It was she who called”), though “It was her” is common and widely accepted in speech; usage guides differ on how formal to be.
Worked example: Direct object or predicate noun?
“Leo painted the fence” and “Leo became the painter.”
- Painted is an action; the fence receives it: direct object.
- Became is linking; the painter is Leo: predicate noun.
Answer: direct object, then predicate noun
Common mistake
Calling a predicate noun a direct object. In “Ana became captain,” captain is Ana, so it renames her; nothing receives an action. Check the verb first: linking or action?