Hello, little word explorer! We know every sentence has a star—the subject. But what does the star do? The part that tells us what the star is doing is called the predicate. The predicate is the action part of the sentence! It tells us what is happening. Today, we are action finders! We will hunt for predicates in one hundred fun sentences. Your guide is Percy the Action Engine. Percy says every sentence is like a cool car. The subject is the driver. The predicate is the engine that makes the car go! Let's find sentence engines at home, the park, school, and outside.
What Is a Predicate? The predicate is the part of a sentence that tells something about the subject. It is what the subject does, is, or has. If the subject is the "who" or "what," the predicate is the "does what." Think of it as the sentence's engine. In "The dog barks loudly.", 'barks loudly' is the predicate. What does the dog do? It barks loudly. In "My mom is a teacher.", 'is a teacher' is the predicate. What is my mom? She is a teacher. The predicate makes the sentence move and tells us the news!
Why Do We Need to Find the Sentence Engine? Finding the predicate helps you understand the full story. It helps your ears listen. You know what is happening in the sentence. It helps your mouth speak. You can tell people exactly what is going on. "My cat sleeps on the sofa." It helps your eyes read. You can follow the action in a story. It helps your hand write. You can write complete ideas, not just names of things. Knowing the predicate makes you a great storyteller.
Two Main Kinds of Sentence Engines. Predicates can do two main jobs. Let's look at them.
Action Predicate (The Doing Engine): This tells us an action. It has a strong action verb. "The bird flies. I run fast. She reads a book. We play ball."
State-of-Being Predicate (The Is-Engine): This tells us what the subject is or is like. It often uses 'is', 'am', 'are', 'was', 'were'. "The sky is blue. I am happy. You are my friend. They were loud."
How Can You Find the Sentence Engine? Ask Percy's two magic questions. They will always find the predicate.
First, find the subject. Ask: "Who or what is this sentence about?" That is the subject.
Second, ask: "What is the subject doing or being?" The answer is the predicate! "My little brother eats an apple." Who? My little brother. What is he doing? Eats an apple. 'Eats an apple' is the predicate.
Look for the action or being word. The main verb is the heart of the predicate. In "The big truck drives down the road.", 'drives' is the main verb. The whole predicate is 'drives down the road'.
Where Does the Predicate Go? How Do We Use It? The predicate usually comes right after the subject. The classic sentence formula is: [Subject] + [Predicate]. The subject starts the sentence, and the predicate finishes the idea. "I [subject] see a rainbow [predicate]." "The cake [subject] tastes yummy [predicate]."
The predicate must match the subject. If the subject is one person (he, she, it, a name), the action verb often gets an 's'. "He runs. Mom sings. The dog barks." If the subject is 'I', 'You', 'We', or 'They', the verb does not get an 's'. "I run. You sing. We bark."
Let’s Fix Some Sentences with Broken Engines! Sometimes sentences have no engine or a weak one. Let's fix them.
A Sentence with No Predicate. Wrong: "The happy, fluffy, white cat." This is just a subject. What about the cat? We need an engine! Right: "The happy, fluffy, white cat purrs." Now 'purrs' is the predicate engine.
A Predicate with No Real Action. Wrong: "I am to the park." 'Am' is a being word, not an action word for going somewhere. Right: "I go to the park." or "I am at the park." The predicate must make sense.
Forgetting the Verb in the Predicate. Wrong: "My sister very tall." 'Very tall' describes, but it needs a being verb to connect it. Right: "My sister is very tall." 'Is very tall' is the full predicate.
Using the Wrong Verb Form. Wrong: "She like ice cream." The subject 'She' needs the verb to have an 's'. Right: "She likes ice cream." The predicate 'likes ice cream' matches the subject.
Can You Be an Engine Finder? You are great at this! Let’s play. Find the predicate here: "The little bird sings a sweet song." Ask: What is the sentence about? The bird. What does the bird do? Sings a sweet song. The predicate is 'sings a sweet song'! Perfect. Now try: "My dad is very funny." Who? My dad. What is he? Is very funny. The predicate is 'is very funny'. You found it!
Percy's Predicate Parade: 100 Common Predicates. Here is a parade of one hundred common sentence engines. These are predicates you will see and use every day.
Action Predicates (The Doing Ones): run fast. / jump high. / play ball. / read a book. / draw a picture. / eat lunch. / drink milk. / see a bird. / hear a sound. / sing a song. / laugh loudly. / cry softly. / sleep in my bed. / wake up early. / brush my teeth. / wash my face. / put on shoes. / take off a coat. / open the door. / close the window. / find my toy. / want a cookie. / need a hug. / love my family. / help my mom. / clean my room. / cook dinner. / watch TV. / listen to music. / talk to a friend. / say "hello". / ask a question. / get a drink. / make my bed. / cut the paper. / give a gift. / hold the cup. / pull the wagon. / push the door. / ride a bike. / kick the ball. / catch the ball. / throw the ball. / build a castle. / dig in the sand. / climb the tree. / swing high. / slide down. / ride on the bus. / walk to school. / write my name. / color the sky. / paint a flower. / glue the pieces. / raise my hand. / listen to the teacher. / learn new things. / share my crayon. / sit in my chair. / stand in line. / work on a project. / fly in the sky. / swim in the pool. / bark at the mailman. / meow for food. / chirp in the morning. / grow in the garden. / blow in the wind. / shine brightly. / rain all day.
State-of-Being Predicates (The Is-Ones): is happy. / am six years old. / are my friends. / was at the park. / were so loud. / is a teacher. / are very kind. / is under the table. / am in my room. / are on the shelf. / is blue and green. / are big and small. / is soft and fluffy. / are yummy and sweet. / is funny and smart. / are fast and strong. / is hot. / are cold. / was tired. / were sleepy. / is full. / are empty. / is open. / are closed. / was here. / were there. / is mine. / are yours. / is ready. / are busy.
How Do We Use These Predicates? Let's Build Sentences!
At Home: "My dad cooks dinner. The baby sleeps soundly. I watch my favorite show. Our house is big and warm."
At the Playground: "We run and play. The kids laugh and shout. The sun feels warm on my skin. The slide is very tall and shiny."
At School: "The teacher reads us a story. You write your letters. Our class learns about animals. My desk is neat and clean."
In Nature: "The bird builds a nest. A frog jumps into the pond. Flowers grow in the spring. The river is clear and cool."
You Are a Master Predicate Finder! You did it! You know the predicate is the engine of the sentence. It tells what the subject does or is. You can find it by asking "What is the subject doing?" Percy the Action Engine gives you a mechanic's hat. You have seen one hundred common sentence predicates. You can now find the action in any sentence.
Here is what you learned from our engine hunt. You know the predicate is the part that tells the action or state. You learned about action predicates and state-of-being predicates. You can find the predicate by finding the subject first. You know the predicate must match its subject.
Now, let’s do some life practice! Your mission is today. Watch your pet or a family member for one minute. Then, say three sentences about what they did. Find the predicate in each sentence. Say: "My dog chewed his bone. My sister drank her juice. Mom is reading a book." You are a wonderful sentence mechanic!