predicate nominative vs predicate adjective

[Karlaina]

Good evening!

Could someone explain to me how to tell a Pred.Adj. from a Pred.Nom.? I think I kind of understand:

The table is brown. = Pred.Adj.

The table is mine. = Pred.Adj.?

The table is a flat board on four legs. = Pred.Nom.
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Is that right? I guess the thing I'm having trouble with is labeling the Pred.Adj.... Is the word that comes after the copulative verb considered an adjective or is it being used nominally? How would you label it?

Thanks for helping me understand.

Thanks so much!

 

[Joelline]

May I strongly recommend to you the Guide to Grammar and Writing. Both "predicate nominative" and "predicate adjective" are listed on their INDEX page.

 

[Karlaina]

Thank you, Joelline. That page was helpful, but I'm still not sure how to label a single word in a Predicate Adjective.

For example, in the fragments "the brown table" and "my table," the words "brown" and "my" are clearly adjectives modifying the noun "table."

Somehow, however, it does not seem so clear to me when these phrases are turned into sentences using copulative verbs:

"The table is brown." --> brown = adjective? pronoun?

"The table is mine." --> mine = possessive adjective or pronoun?

Could someone please help me clear this up?

Thanks very much.