Predicates

Simple Predicates

Unsurprisingly, a simple predicate has few frills attached.

Understanding the main verb is simple enough. In the following examples, the main verb is highlighted in pink.

However, not all verbs are so barren. Take the future continuous tense, which includes the words “will + be.”

In this sentence, “flying” is the main verb, of course. However, it can’t stand on its own.

Doesn’t make any sense, right? This is because, in the future continuous tense, “flying” is part of a compound verb. A compound verb is a verb requiring more than one word. The parts of a compound verb that aren’t the main verb are auxiliary verbs (in green).

So, to identify a simple predicate, you simply identify the main verb and any necessary part of that particular verb tense. Sometimes, this will be one word, and sometimes this will be as many as four words, such as the future perfect continuous tense, which not confusingly at all combines “will + have + been” with a present participle (purple).

The simple predicate is a good place to start with understanding predicates, as it helps you see some verbs require extra words to work. However, there is more to the story: the compound predicate and the complete predicate.

Three Types of Predicates

There are three types of predicates in all, although they are not mutually exclusive: the simple predicate, the compound predicate, and the complete predicate. Each is merely a way of classifying all or part of a sentence’s predicate.

Complete Predicate

A complete predicate is, for all intents and purposes, the predicate. A complete predicate completes the action(s) of a subject. It is any verb, any helping verbs, and any phrases that accomplish this. The complete predicate is highlighted here in pink.

In this sentence, the complete predicate (and the predicate) contains the main verb “running,” the auxiliary verbs “had been,” and the prepositional phrase “for ages.”

Here are some more examples, with the predicate (and complete predicate) highlighted in pink:

In each highlighted instance, the complete predicate is also the predicate. So, what gives? Why are the predicate and complete predicate the same?

Fig. 2 - How can the same thing said about a guitar be classified as two distinct things?

Here's the answer.

The complete predicate is merely a way of describing a predicate in contrast to the simple predicate. A simple predicate contains the most vital parts of a predicate, while you can say the complete predicate contains all parts of a predicate. This distinction exists as a result of grammatical study, as the simple predicate is more fundamental to the existence of a predicate than any larger construction, so it’s worth identifying on its own.

Consider this. You know that a simple predicate might not function without an object or whatnot. However, a complete predicate never functions without a simple predicate. Take a look again at our examples of complete predicates. Do you notice something? They all have simple predicates within them (highlighted purple).

When studying anything, you want to break things down to a fundamental level to understand them. Thus a grammarian can identify a predicate, a simple predicate, a complete predicate, and even say when they’re all the same. In the following example, the pink highlighted verb is a simple predicate, a complete predicate, and, well, the predicate!

There is one final classification to consider in the realm of predicates, the compound predicate.

Compound Predicate

A compound predicate contains more than one main verb accomplished by the subject. Here’s what that looks like using only simple predicates.

Here, “and” is a coordinating conjunction linking two main verbs within the predicate. Yes, a predicate can contain two or more main verbs! Here’s a compound predicate that contains more than simple predicates.

Like the simple predicate, a compound predicate is always a complete predicate. The compound predicate is worth distinguishing because it multiplies the vital main verb — a procedure with its own grammatical rules. Compounds are a vital part of English grammar, from compound subjects to compound predicates. You will find the use of coordinating conjunctions in all compound constructions.

Subjects and Predicates

When identifying subjects and predicates, there are three things to identify in actuality: the subject(s), the predicate(s), and the clauses and phrases that aren’t either one!

Above, it’s been stated that a predicate completes a sentence. This is true in simple sentences, which contain only an independent clause. However, more precisely, a predicate is what completes an independent clause, which can be combined with dependent clauses and phrases to create compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

Everywhere you read “independent clause” above contains a subject + predicate, which defines an independent clause. However, complex sentences contain things that aren’t independent clauses, including dependent clauses and types of phrases.

An independent clause (subject + predicate) is the core of any complete sentence, but it can contain more than that, which is the “third thing” you need to identify: clauses and phrases that aren’t the independent clause.

This is easier than it sounds. Look for the comma! If something is set aside by a comma, isn't part of a compound construction, and can’t stand on its own as a complete sentence (in other words, it can’t be an independent clause), then it is a dependent clause or some kind of phrase, meaning it contains no predicate. Predicates only exist in independent clauses!

Take this example again.

Here, “angry with me” is an adjective phrase. It cannot stand on its own, so it’s not the subject or predicate of the sentence. “Jack” is the subject because “angry with me” modifies it and because Jack accomplishes the main verb “ran.”

Here are some examples with a subject (purple), a predicate (pink), and clauses or phrases that aren’t either (green).

Predicate Adjectives

A predicate adjective is an adjective that receives the action of the main verb. In other words, it’s the adjectival object of the main verb. Here’s a simple example:

Here, “is” is the main verb, while “happy” is the predicate adjective. Here’s another predicate adjective (in pink).

Here, “know” is the main verb, while “kindness” is the predicate adjective, being the object of “know.”