What is a predicative? What is the main difference between predicate and predicative? Context: The noun has certain syntactical characteristics. The chief syntactical functions of the noun in the sentence are those of the subject and the object. But it may also be used as an attribute or a predicative. The sun was rising in all his splendid beauty. (Dickens) (SUBJECT) Troy and Yates followed the tourists. (Heym) (OBJECT) He (Bosinney) was an architect... (Galsworthy) (PREDICATIVE) Mary brought in the fruit on a tray and with it a glass bowl, and a blue dish... (Mansfield) (ATTRIBUTE; the noun glass is used in the common case) The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his fath er’s yacht. (Mansfield) (ATTRIBUTE; the noun father is used in the genitive case)