What is a Predicate?
The part of a sentence that expresses what the subject does or is.
Breaking Down the Predicate: Understanding How English Sentences Function
If the subject is the engine of a sentence, the predicate is the gas that fuels it along. Essentially, the predicate contains everything in a sentence that isn't part of the subject. In English, we often think of the predicate as consisting of the verb and any words that go along with it. For example, in the sentence 'My cat is sleeping peacefully,' the predicate is 'is sleeping peacefully.' It's important to note that the predicate doesn't have to be just a verb and its objects. It can also include any adjectives, adverbs, or prepositional phrases that help describe or modify the action. The predicate is essential to building a complete sentence - without it, we're left with nothing but a list of words that don't make any sense together.
Let's take a closer look at how the predicate is used in two famous works of literature.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the character of Boo Radley is rather mysterious and is only glimpsed briefly throughout the first half of the book, leading to much speculation about his true nature.
However, when he finally appears in the flesh, the descriptive predicate helps convey the significance of this moment:
"The front door of the Radley house opened, and the man came down the steps. His body was as thin as a stick, and he was wearing an outfit made entirely of denim. His head was down and he was shuffling his feet. He walked quickly, but in small steps, like a bird hopping forward. When he came within fifteen feet of us, he halted and pushed his hat back on his head." (Chapter 29)
In James Joyce's collection of short stories, Dubliners, the opening sentence of the final story 'The Dead' is a great example of how the predicate can build anticipation:
"Lily, the caretaker's daughter, was literally run off her feet." (Chapter 15)
With this sentence, we're immediately drawn into the setting and the action, eager to find out more about this caretaker's daughter and why she's so busy.