Predicate Nouns (Nominatives)

Predicate nouns, or predicate nominatives, are nouns that complement the subject and are connected to the subject through a linking verb.  In the sentence, "I am a student," the subject is "I", the linking verb is "am" and the subject complement, or thing that explains that subject is "student"--"I" and "student" are the same thing.   That's the function of a linking verb.  Because the word "student" is a noun, meaning it's a person, place or thing, and because it follows a linking verb, it's called a predicate noun, or a noun that works in the predicate to help explain the subject.

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1) Oliver Evans was an inventor and a steam engine designer.

                              |                                          
   |    \     and        \an           
                              |                                               
                                                                                 \a    \engine
                                                                                              \steam
                                                                                  
2) Steam automobiles became the closest rival of the railroad.

                                                                     
   |    \      
           \steam                                                            \the   \closest       \of
                                                                                                                    \       railroad
                                                                                                                         \the

3) Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz were developers of the gasoline engine.

  | 
                     and    |     \  
  |                                                \of
                                                                                  \       engine               
                                                                                     \the   \gasoline
                                                                                 

4) The trunk of a car was a large, metal box originally.

|   \  
        \the   \of                  \originally              \a  \large   \metal
                   \     car     
                         \a

5) Two pedals are the brake and the accelerator.

                               |                                          
   |    \   and        \the       
         \two                |                                               
                                                                                 \the