Revised as of
15 Feb 2023
Every complete sentence contains two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tells something about the subject.
This grammar explanation goes deeper than “The Sentence” to look more closely at the predicate and the ways it can be used within the sentence.
Grammar Explanations is . . .
. . . an evolving list of the structural rules and principles that determines where words are placed in phrases or sentences as well as how the language is spoken. Sometimes I run across an example that helps explain better or another “also known as”. Heck, there’s always a better way to explain it, so if it makes quicker and/or better sense, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone on an area of grammar with which you struggle or on which you can contribute more understanding.
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| Predicate | |||
Definition: The predicate tells something about the subject (what or whom); both together create a complete the sentence.
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| Types of Predicates | |||
| Simple Predicate | Definition: Always the verb or verbs that link up with the subject. | ||
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Judy runs.
Judy and her dog run on the beach every morning. I have tried to do it several times. The audience littered the theatre floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn. A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger. Legend:
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| Complete Predicate | Definition: The verb with its modifiers and object/complement. | ||
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Judy and her dog run on the beach every morning.
I have tried to do it several times. The audience littered the theatre floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn. A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger. Legend:
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| Compound Predicate | Definition: More than one predicate (and sometimes more than one subject, a.k.a. a compound subject). | ||
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We shall run and not be weary.
We laboriously climbed, slipped, slithered, found precarious toeholds and handholds, and at last pulled ourselves over the edge of the cliff. Team pennants, rock posters, and family photographs covered the boy’s bedroom walls. Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired the powerful sculptures exhibited there. Legend:
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| See Predicate Adjective | |||
| See Predicate Noun | For more information on predicate nouns — single noun or a noun phrase that renames the subject of a sentence and follows. | ||
| Resultative | Definition: Appears as predicates of sentences and expresses that something or someone has undergone a change in state as the result of the completion of an event.
A.k.a. RES Credit to: Resultative). |
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Legend:
The man wiped the table clean. Mary painted the fence blue. |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Grammar Explanations by exploring its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Predicate
“Resultative.” Wikipedia. 27 Jan 2022. Web. 14 Feb 2023. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resultative>.
Skillin, Marjorie E, Robert M Gay, and other authorities. Words into Type. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc: 1974. Third edition. <https://amzn.to/3KcrVL0>. Print.
“Subject-Predicate.” Hypergrammar. Writing Center. University of Ottawa. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/subjpred.html>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
MitJetLeto by RAF RRC and Man Sitting Under Beach Umbrella by Johntex, 18 February 2006. Both are licensed under CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
