The predicate is one of the components of a sentence.
The predicate is one of the components of a grammatical sentence according to linguistics and grammar . Before proceeding to determine the meaning of the term, it is necessary to record its etymological origin. In this sense, we can establish that it emanates from Latin and that it is the result of the sum of several components of said language:
- The prefix pre- , which indicates "forward" .
- The verb dicare , which can be translated as "indicate or consecrate."
- The -ado suffix, used to establish that something has been received.
Predicate function
In school , we usually learn to separate sentences into subject and predicate . In this article we will focus on the second concept: what is the predicate?
The function of the predicate is to unite the action (the verb) that is part of the sentence with the person who performs it (the core of the subject), using a series of complements (direct, circumstantial, regime and predicative).
The easiest way to separate a sentence into subject and predicate is by locating the verb and asking who does the action. For example: "Claudio plays soccer." In this sentence, the verb is "play" (play). Therefore, to the question "who plays football" , the answer is "Claudio" . This means that "Claudio" is the subject and "plays football" is the predicate.
It is common for school to teach separation into subject and predicate.
Importance of analysis
Through the analysis of the predicate, therefore, we can know what the subject referred to in the sentence does, where and for what purpose .
According to the discipline with which it is analyzed, the predicate can be the constituent part, the sentence that provides information about the subject (for syntax ) or the expression that denotes a class that allows us to know the state of things and the relationship. with the subject (for semantics ).
Other components of the predicate
It should be noted that sentences, and also predicates, can include many other components: indirect object, direct object, adverbs, etc. Returning to the previous example, the sentence could indicate that "Claudio plays football in his neighborhood square" , so the predicate would be composed of "he plays football in his neighborhood square" . At the other extreme, the predicate can be formed only by a verb: "Claudio plays."
The direct object is the one that receives the action indicated by the verb, while the indirect object is the person, thing or animal in which what is established by the aforementioned verbal form is fulfilled. In this way, the aforementioned indirect object is the one who benefits from the benefit indicated by the verb or is the one who has to deal with its damages.
In the sentence "Eve wrote a letter to Mary" , the direct object is the "letter" while "Mary" is the indirect object.
There are many confusions that exist when ruling on the CD or the CI. However, a trick to differentiate them is that the first can be replaced by the forms "lo", "la", "los" or "las" . The CI, for its part, can be replaced by "le" or "les" and is also always preceded by the following prepositions: "a" or "para" .
Circumstantial complements, for their part, can be very varied: time, place, cause, manner, company, quantity, instrument...
Classification according to type
Bimember sentences (those statements that say something about someone) can have two types of predicate: verbal predicate (its nucleus is a verb) and non-verbal predicate (its nucleus is not a verb).
When the predicate includes a verb , it acts as the nucleus of this phrase and is linked to the nucleus of the subject through different complements.
The verb present in the predicate can be copulative or non-copulative . In the first case, it functions as a link between the grammatical subject and the attribute. If the verb is non-copulative, however, a verbal predicate is constituted with the verb as the nucleus.
For their part, non-verbal predicates are divided into several groups, among which two should be highlighted:
- Nominals : The nucleus is a noun , an adjective, or a construction that begins with a preposition . They are usually sentences with commas, where this usually replaces the verb ser or estar. Example. «You, evil (are/are)»
- Adverbials : The nucleus is an adverb or a circumstantial expression. Ex: "My parents' house, on the beach" (is).
Another concept linked to the one we are analyzing is that of predicative sentences . These are called simple statements whose predicate has a nucleus that is a predicative verb; This means that it is not a copulatory verb nor can it be replaced by the verbs ser or estar. Within this group there are three types of sentences.
- Active: the subject performs the action or presides over it (known as the agent subject). In turn, they can be active transitive (the verb requires a complement to specify its meaning) and active intransitive (they do not have a complement because the verb has a full meaning).
- Passive predicatives: the verb is written in the passive voice and the subject is patient (it is affected by the action but does not perform it). It is worth mentioning that the verb in the passive voice is constructed using the verb ser or estar, which functions as an auxiliary. For example: "Apartment for sale" (by someone).
There are other predicative sentences but the ones mentioned are the most common.
The notion of predicate, on the other hand, can also appear in the field of mathematics , logic or computer science , as a function or a relationship between two or more terms.