Predicator vs. Predicate
Solution 1:
From the wikipedia article you linked:
This understanding sees predicates as relations or functions over arguments. The predicate serves either to assign a property to a single argument or to relate two or more arguments to each other. Sentences consist of predicates and their arguments (and adjuncts) and are thus predicate-argument structures, whereby a given predicate is seen as linking its arguments into a greater structure.[7]
For example:
- Bob laughed. → laughed (Bob) or, laughed = ƒ(Bob)
- Sam helped you. → helped (Sam, you)
- Jim gave Jill his dog. → gave (Jim, Jill, his dog)
Now for the answer:
Remember that anything which is not an argument, viz...
Other function words - e.g. auxiliary verbs, certain prepositions, phrasal particles, etc. - are viewed as part of the predicate [Wikipedia]
Now,
- The butter is in the drawer.
This one's easy: is in(the butter, the drawer)
- You should give it up.
Perhaps your confusion arises from the fact that the words aren't together.
Remember, in certain phrasal verbs (including give up), a pronoun must split the phrase and can't follow the verb.
So, let's have:
2a. You should give up the car.
And, by predicate calculus, we have:
should give up (you, it)
2a. should give up (you, the car)
- Susan is pulling your leg
Now, pulling someone's leg is an idiom that means To make a playful attempt to fool or deceive someone.
[TFD]. She isn't literally holding your leg and pulling it. So, leg can't be an argument. (It's not a typo.)
We have: is pulling leg(Susan, your)
However, if it were:
3a. Susan is pulling your hand
We'd have: is pulling(Susan, your hand)
I hope this makes it clear for you. in
, up
and leg
were part of the predicate indeed