In grammar, a predicative is an element of the predicate of a sentence that supplements the subject or object by means of the verb. A predicative may be nominal or adjectival (and also adverbial). If the complement after a linking verb is a noun or a pronoun, it is called a predicate nominative. If the complement after a linking verb is an adjective, it is called a predicate adjective.
Predicatives may also be termed complements. Although sometimes object predicatives may be omitted leaving a well-formed sentence, in many instances they are essential to the meaning of the sentence: