ADJECTIVES IN RUSSIAN NOMINAL PREDICATIONS

The article examines the syntactic structure of Russian nominal predicates with adjectives functioning as the nominal part of the predicate. The question of the exact structures behind predicative adjectives is relevant for any language where adjectives represent a distinct lexical and grammatical category. The article attempts to answer this question on the basis of Russian data. The so-called «attributive hypothesis» is studied in detail. This hypothesis claims that adjectives in predicative position are a result of the transformation of attributive adjectives into a noun phrase. The main arguments in favor of and against such an analysis are considered. Finally, we conclude that this attributive analysis is wrong.

Another topic covered by the article is the comparison of predicates with long and short forms of Russian adjectives. The study concludes that predicative long-form adjectives in Russian (as well as adjectives in languages such as English) are formed as a projection of the adjectival phrase. Predicative long forms are not part of a noun phrase; rather, they are similar to one due to the presence of case features. Short forms are much more similar to verbal projections, above all due to their ability to assign semantic roles to their participants.