Definition:
One of the two main parts of a sentence or clause, modifying the subject and including the verb, objects, or phrases governed by the verb. In both grammar and logic, the predicate serves to make an assertion or denial about the subject of the sentence. Adjective: predicative. See also: Basic Sentence Structures.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "to proclaim" or "make known"Examples and Observations:
- "The subject of the sentence, as its name suggests, is generally what the sentence is about--its topic. The predicate is what is said about the subject. The two parts can be thought of as the topic and the comment."
(Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, Understanding English Grammar, 5th ed., 1998) - "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
(Mark Twain) - "The predicate typically describes a property of the person or thing referred to by the subject, or describes a situation in which this person or thing plays some role. In elementary clauses describing an action, the subject normally indicates the actor, the person or thing performing the action, while the predicate describes the action, as in Kim left and People complained."
(Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A Student's Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2006) - "The conventional placement of subject and predicate in conversation helps with the identification. We expect to find the subject (the who or what a sentence is about) at the beginning of the sentence, and once that is identified, we expect the rest of the sentence to tell what the subject does or is like."
(Thomas P. Klammer, Muriel R. Schulz, and Angela Della Volpe, Analyzing English Grammar. Pearson Education, 2007) - "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
(Eleanor Roosevelt)
Pronunciation: PRED-i-kat
