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Concept
Predicate (grammar)
Summary
A predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies). For the simple sentence "John [is yellow]", John acts as the subject, and is yellow acts as the predicate, a subsequent description of the subject headed with a verb.
In current linguistic semantics, a predicate is an expression that can be true of something. Thus, the expressions "is yellow" or "is like broccoli" are true of those things that are yellow or like broccoli, respectively. This notion is closely related to the notion of a predicate in formal logic, which includes more expressions than the former one.
The notion of a predicate in traditional grammar traces back to Aristotelian logic. A predicate is seen as a property that a subject has or is characterized by. A predicate is therefore an expression that can be true of something. Thus, the expression "is moving" is true of anything that is moving. This classical understanding of predicates was adopted more or less directly into Latin and Greek grammars; and from there, it made its way into English grammars, where it is applied directly to the analysis of sentence structure. It is also the understanding of predicates as defined in English-language dictionaries. The predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies). The predicate must contain a verb, and the verb requires or permits other elements to complete the predicate, or it precludes them from doing so. These elements are objects (direct, indirect, prepositional), predicatives, and adjuncts:
She dances. — Verb-only predicate.
Ben reads the book. — Verb-plus-direct-object predicate.
Ben's mother, Felicity, gave me a present. — Verb-plus-indirect-object-plus-direct-object predicate.
She listened to the radio. — Verb-plus-prepositional-object predicate.
She is in the park. — Verb-plus-predicative-prepositional-phrase predicate.
She met him in the park. — Verb-plus-direct-object-plus-adjunct predicate.
Official source
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