The copulative sentences are those that are formed by the verbs ser, estar, and appear, as well as some verbal periphrasis formed by these verbs. In these sentences there is always an attribute that accompanies the verb. Thus, "Sara is Japanese", "Manuel is secretary" or "Luisa is from Barcelona", the verb form is accompanied by some attribute (an attribute can be a noun phrase, an adjectival phrase or a prepositional phrase).
In copulative sentences the predicate is not verbal, but is of the nominal type
These sentences are called copulative because their verb forms do not by themselves have a full meaning and their function is to unite the subject and the attribute or the predicate. The sentence "Gabriela is my friend" is copulative because it uses the verb to be, which unites the subject with an attribute.
It should be noted that the predicate in copulative sentences is called a noun predicate.
Predicative sentences
Predicative sentences are made up of the verbs other than ser, estar, or appear. However, these sentences can also be made up of copulative verbs with predicative value. Thus, "María is from Bogotá" and "María is in Bogotá", the first is a copulative sentence because being from Bogotá implies an inherent quality to the subject and in the second being in Bogotá is a circumstantial situation.
These sentences are always made up of a subject and a verbal predicate, as long as the core of the verbal predicate is not a copulative verb. In this sense, we speak of a verbal predicate when the verb of the sentence is not to be, to be or to seem.
In the sentence "Sara dances" it is predicative because the verb used is not to be, to be or to seem and, furthermore, because the verb to dance has a full meaning and does not need any type of attribute for the sentence to make sense.
Different criteria for classifying sentences
The distinction between copulative and predicative sentences is based on the nature of the verb. However, sentences can be classified in other ways:
1) if we take into account the intention of the speaker, there are enunciative, interrogative, exclamatory, doubtful, imperative or wishful sentences,
2) if we take into account the need for a direct object, we will talk about transitive or intransitive sentences,
3) if the members that form a sentence are contemplated, we will speak of a single or double prayer and
4) if the action expressed in the verb falls on oneself it is a reflective sentence and if the action is shared it is a reciprocal sentence.
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