Predicate: Definition, Types & Examples

Have you heard of the term ‘predicate’ in English grammar? Learn what it means, its definition and usage in this article. To have a complete grasp of how a predicate is used and positioned in a sentence, examples have been given. You can check them out and try the practice exercise as well.

Table of Contents

• What Is a Predicate? – Meaning and Definition
• Forming and Using Predicates – Points to Remember
  • One-word Predicates
  • Short Predicates
  • Long Predicates
  • Compound Predicates
• Examples of Predicates
• Check Your Understanding of Predicates
• Frequently Asked Questions on Predicates in English Grammar

What Is a Predicate? – Meaning and Definition

Every sentence should have a subject and a predicate. Like you already know, a subject is one or more nouns and pronouns that happen to be the doer of the action stated in the sentence. If that is what a subject is, you can easily guess that the rest of the sentence is the predicate, right? A predicate is the latter part of the sentence which has a verb and more information about the subject or the action that is being performed. Let us also look at a few dictionary definitions to have a deeper understanding of what a predicate is.

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a predicate as “a part of a sentence containing a verb that makes a statement about the subject of the verb, such as ‘went home’ in John went home”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, “the predicate of a clause is the part of it that is not the subject”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides a broader and much detailed definition which would help you clearly learn what the term represents. According to it, “the part of a sentence or clause that expresses what is said of the subject and that usually consists of a verb with or without objects, complements, or adverbial modifiers” is a predicate.

Forming and Using Predicates – Points to Remember

Now that you know what a predicate is, learn how predicates can be formed and used in various ways. Predicates can consist of just a verb, short clauses, longer clauses as well as compound predicates. Each of these types has been explained in detail with examples. Check them out.

One-word Predicates

Sentences with SV as their sentence structure come under this category of predicates. Seeing such a short sentence might make you feel something’s missing but you should know that even two words (a noun and a verb) can be a complete sentence as long as it conveys a complete thought. Take a look at the following examples to learn how just two words can still be a sentence that makes complete sense.

Examples of One-Word Predicates

• She / laughed.

Subject / Predicate

• He / lied.

Subject / Predicate

• Prasanth / cried.

Subject / Predicate

• I / fell.

Subject / Predicate

• It / rained.

Subject / Predicate

Short Predicates

Short predicates refer to predicates that have more than two words. It can consist of a verb and an adjective or an adverb, a determiner, another noun or even a prepositional phrase. Such predicates are normally found in sentence structures such as SVC, SVO and SVA. Here are a few examples of sentences with short predicates for your reference.

Examples of Short Predicates

• She / is a teacher.

Subject / Predicate

• It / had been raining all night.

Subject / Predicate

• I / found a puppy.

Subject / Predicate

• Noorin / went to the grocery store.

Subject / Predicate

• The computer / is not working properly.

Subject / Predicate

Long Predicates

Long predicates, as the term suggests, are longer than short predicates. Sentences with long predicates provide a lot more information rather than just one aspect of the subject. It can have a verb, an adjective and an adverb, a verb, a noun and an adverb, a verb, a noun, an adverbial phrase and a prepositional phrase and so on. Sentence structures such as SVAA, ASVO, ASVC, ASVAA, SVAAA, SVIODO, ASVIODO, etc. can be seen to have long predicates. Let us look at a few examples.

Examples of Long Predicates

• It / has been raining for weeks in Bangalore.

Subject / Predicate

• They / dropped me at the railway station by 9 p.m.

Subject / Predicate

• Chandler and Joey / decided to drive to Las Vegas all by themselves.

Subject / Predicate

• The students / presented their favourite teacher a mobile phone for Teacher’s day.

Subject / Predicate

• Preetha / brought home the little bird she saw on the side of the road.

Subject / Predicate

Compound Predicates

Just like sentences have compound subjects, they can also consist of compound predicates. Compound predicates are characterised by two or more actions performed by the same subject, often connected by a conjunction such as ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘but’. A few examples of sentences with compound predicates are given below. Go through them and analyse how they are structured.

Examples of Compound Predicates

• The little boy / was hungry but did not eat anything.

Subject / Predicate

• I / went home and rested.

Subject / Predicate

• We / reached early but did not get tickets.

Subject / Predicate

• She / will have a few slices of bread or drink some fresh fruit juice.

  Subject / Predicate

• Arjun / jumped thinking he would land on the sofa but fell down.

Subject / Predicate

Examples of Predicates

All the examples given must have given you an idea of how each type of predicate is formed and used. Now, let us look at some common sentence structures and analyse how predicates are used.

• Marley / plays for the International Volleyball Team.
• Mazeeka, Raimy and I / are meeting next weekend.
• The school / is closed today.
• Jenita and her sister / will be moving to Hyderabad by the end of this month.
• My mom / takes care of our every need.
• The children / were playing cricket.
• No one / had arrived.
• The pencil tip / was broken.
• I / baked a cake and gave it to my friends.
• This / is everything I expected.

Check Your Understanding of Predicates

Read through the following sentences, underline the predicates and also identify what type of predicates they are.

1. My friends and I rescued a baby elephant from a pit.

2. My aunt went to the Vintage Car Museum along with her sister.

3. Basheer picked up his son from school.

4. Farsana was sad.

5. The bell rang.

6. We will be going to the salon in the evening.

7. Veena gave Lalitha a microwave oven as an anniversary gift.

8. Priya likes dark chocolates.

9. She called me as soon as she reached home.

10. Tom and Jerry fought all the time but loved each other as well.

Here are the answers for the above questions. Check to find if you have identified the predicates accurately.

1. My friends and I rescued a baby elephant from a pit. – Long predicate

2. My aunt went to the Vintage Car Museum along with her sister. – Long predicate

3. Basheer picked up his son from school. – Long predicate

4. Farsana was sad. – Short predicate

5. The bell rang. – One-word predicate

6. We will be going to the salon in the evening. – Long predicate

7. Veena gave Lalitha a microwave oven as an anniversary gift. – Long predicate

8. Priya likes dark chocolates. – Short predicate

9. She called me as soon as she reached home. – Long predicate

10. Tom and Jerry fought all the time but loved each other as well. – Compound predicate