Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other part being the subject. The job of the predicate is to modify the subject. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus (predicate logic, first order logic) and is prominent in modern theories of syntax and grammar. On this approach, the predicate of a sentence corresponds mainly to the main verb and any auxiliaries that accompany the main verb, whereby the arguments of that predicate (e.g. the subject and object noun phrases) are outside of the predicate. The competition between these two concepts has generated confusion concerning the use of the term predicate in theories of grammar. This article considers both of these notions.
Read more about Predicate (grammar): Predicates in Traditional Grammar, Predicates in Modern Theories of Syntax and Grammar, Predicators, Carlson Classes
Famous quotes containing the word predicate:
“The only thing that one really knows about human nature is that it changes. Change is the one quality we can predicate of it. The systems that fail are those that rely on the permanency of human nature, and not on its growth and development. The error of Louis XIV was that he thought human nature would always be the same. The result of his error was the French Revolution. It was an admirable result.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)