A predicative complement describes or identifies a subject or object through a verb. It is not itself an object, so it does not take accusative -n merely because the phrase it describes is accusative. This creates one of Esperanto's most informative contrasts: la pordon ruĝan means “the red door,” while la pordon ruĝa can mean that the door becomes or is judged red. The broader adjective distinction is developed on the attributive and predicative adjectives page.
All core patterns here are neutral standard Esperanto. Where historical usage and modern pedagogical recommendations differ, they are labeled explicitly.
Subject predicatives never copy object case
After linking verbs such as esti, fariĝi, resti, and ŝajni, a noun or adjective supplies information about the subject. It is a subject predicative, not a direct object.
Mia najbaro estas arkitekto.
My neighbour is an architect.
Post la reorganizo ŝi fariĝis la nova direktoro.
After the reorganization she became the new director.
La fenestroj restis fermitaj dum la ŝtormo.
The windows remained closed during the storm.
Arkitekto identifies mia najbaro, la nova direktoro identifies ŝi, and fermitaj describes la fenestroj. None is an object receiving an action, so none has -n. Adjectival predicatives still agree in number with the subject: singular fermita, plural fermitaj.
English offers little warning here because English nouns and adjectives do not show accusative morphology. The reliable test is structural: if the phrase tells what the subject is, becomes, remains, or seems, it is predicative.
Ĉu tiuj rezultoj ŝajnas fidindaj al vi?
Do those results seem reliable to you?
Object predicatives: the object has -n, its description does not
Some verbs connect a description to their direct object. The object itself keeps accusative -n, but the separate predicative complement remains unmarked.
Mi trovis la proponon nepraktika.
I found the proposal impractical.
La komitato elektis lin prezidanto.
The committee elected him president.
La longa atendado igis la infanojn malpaciencaj.
The long wait made the children impatient.
In the first sentence, la proponon is the object of trovis, and nepraktika states the speaker's judgment about it. In the second, lin is the person elected, while prezidanto is the role assigned to him. In the third, la infanojn is the object of igis, while plural malpaciencaj describes the resulting state.
The number of an adjectival or nominal predicative reflects the participant it describes: ŝi estas preta, ili estas pretaj; mi trovis ĝin utila, mi trovis ilin utilaj. Case, however, does not copy from that participant.
Ni konsideras tiujn du proponojn tro riskaj.
We consider those two proposals too risky.
Kial vi nomis min mensoganto?
Why did you call me a liar?
This construction is foundational and well attested. Object predicatives are sometimes called “object predicates” or “object complements” in English-language grammars; PMEG describes them as verbal descriptions of the object.
The minimal contrast: modifier or separate assertion?
An attributive adjective is part of the object noun phrase and therefore agrees in accusative case. A predicative adjective is a separate clause element and remains without -n. The visible contrast can change meaning.
Mi trovis la pordon malfermitan.
I found the open door.
Mi trovis la pordon malfermita.
I found that the door was open.
In la pordon malfermitan, malfermitan helps identify which door was found; it belongs inside the noun phrase. In la pordon malfermita, the finding includes a judgment about the door's state. Context sometimes makes both interpretations plausible, so the ending does real semantic work.
The same contrast appears with a result caused by the verb:
Ni farbis la blankan pordon antaŭ la festo.
We painted the white door before the party.
Ni farbis la pordon blanka antaŭ la festo.
We painted the door white before the party.
Blankan describes the door selected for painting; blanka describes the result of the painting. Word order may vary, but case distinguishes membership in the object phrase from a predicative relation.
Predicatives with igi, lasi, nomi, elekti, and opinii
Several frequent verbs support an object plus a predicative complement:
| Verb | Object | Predicative meaning |
|---|---|---|
| igi | thing caused to change | resulting property or role |
| lasi | thing left | state in which it remains |
| nomi | person or thing named | name or classification assigned |
| elekti | person chosen | office or role assigned |
| opinii/konsideri | thing evaluated | evaluation asserted |
Bonvolu lasi la pordon neŝlosita ĝis mi revenos.
Please leave the door unlocked until I return.
La infanoj nomis la hundidon Nubo pro ĝia blanka felo.
The children named the puppy Nubo because of its white fur.
La nova programo igis la laboron multe pli rapida.
The new software made the work much faster.
With igi + adjective/noun, this property-result use is normal modern Esperanto. PMEG notes that Zamenhof used igi with an infinitive rather than this adjectival pattern, so the extension is post-foundational but established and standard—not an informal novelty. The adjective remains unmarked because it expresses the result, as in igi ĝin nigra.
With lasi, context distinguishes “allow to remain” from “permit to act.” Lasu la fenestron malfermita describes the state to preserve; lasu min paroli has an infinitive describing the action permitted.
Description of an infinitive or clause: use -e
An adjective agrees with a noun-like participant, but an infinitive or whole subordinate clause has no grammatical number or case. A predicative description of such content is therefore normally adverbial in -e.
Mi opinias necese, ke ni kontrolu la ciferojn denove.
I consider it necessary that we check the figures again.
La kuracisto trovis konsilinde, ke ŝi restu hejme.
The doctor considered it advisable that she stay home.
Older and literary texts contain adjectival necesa (historical/literary in this construction). The Akademio has regarded both analyses as defensible, but recommends -e in teaching materials when the described object is an infinitive or subordinate clause. For contemporary learners, Mi opinias necese foriri and Mi opinias necese, ke... are therefore the clearest model. This is a genuine area of accepted variation, not a reason to put accusative -n on the description.
A predicative is not an omitted second object
Seeing two phrases after a verb can tempt English speakers to mark both with -n. Esperanto instead marks the participant as object and leaves the identity, state, or result predicative unmarked. This avoids treating two expressions for the same participant as two independently affected entities.
La membroj elektis Markon kasisto, ne sekretario.
The members elected Mark as treasurer, not secretary.
Markon, kasisto, and sekretario do not refer to three people. Kasisto and sekretario are competing roles for the same object, Marko. Their lack of -n exposes that relationship.
By contrast, coordinated true objects each receive -n:
La membroj elektis Markon kaj Sofian.
The members elected Marko and Sofia.
Here the committee selected two people. The distinction follows meaning, not simply the number of postverbal phrases.
Common Mistakes
Marking a subject predicative as an object
❌ Mia onklino estas kuracistinon.
Incorrect — the phrase identifies the subject after estas.
✅ Mia onklino estas kuracistino.
My aunt is a doctor.
Copying the object's case onto a predicative adjective
❌ Mi opinias la planon tro multekostan.
Incorrect for the judgment reading — multekosta is a separate predicative description.
✅ Mi opinias la planon tro multekosta.
I consider the plan too expensive.
Losing number agreement while correctly omitting -n
❌ La novaĵo igis la gepatrojn maltrankvila.
Incorrect — the predicative has no -n, but it is plural because it describes la gepatrojn.
✅ La novaĵo igis la gepatrojn maltrankvilaj.
The news made the parents worried.
Confusing an existing attribute with a result
❌ Ni farbis la muron bluan.
Incorrect if you mean that blue was the new result; bluan describes an already-blue wall.
✅ Ni farbis la muron blua.
We painted the wall blue.
Using an adjective for a whole clause in the recommended modern model
❌ Mi konsideras necesa, ke ni respondu hodiaŭ.
Not the recommended pedagogical form — the description applies to a clause, not a noun.
✅ Mi konsideras necese, ke ni respondu hodiaŭ.
I consider it necessary that we reply today.
Key Takeaways
- Subject predicatives after linking verbs have no accusative -n.
- In an object-predicative construction, the object takes -n, but its separate description does not.
- La pordon blankan contains an attributive adjective; la pordon blanka predicates a state or result.
- Predicatives still agree in number with a noun or pronoun they describe.
- For a predicative description of an infinitive or clause, modern teaching recommends an adverb in -e.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Direct ObjectsA1 — Learn which Esperanto verb complements are direct objects, how -n marks them, and how object marking remains stable when word order changes.
- Adjective Agreement in the AccusativeA1 — Learn when Esperanto adjectives copy the accusative -n, how -ajn is built, and why predicative adjectives normally remain without -n.
- Ambiguous TransitivityA1 — Learn how to decide whether an Esperanto verb takes a direct object, distinguish omitted objects from intransitive uses, and avoid English transfer.
- Attributive and Predicative AdjectivesA2 — Distinguish adjectives inside noun phrases from adjectives that assert a subject's or object's state, and choose agreement endings accordingly.
- Adjectives after EstiB2 — How predicative adjectives after esti describe the subject, agree in number, and remain outside the accusative.
- Copular ClausesB1 — Use esti and related linking verbs to connect a subject with an unmarked description, identity, location, origin, or other predicative expression.