In traditional sentence analysis, an independent clause contains a subject and a predicate. The predicate contains the verb and makes a statement about the subject. Its grammatical core is the simple predicate: the main verb or complete verb phrase, including any auxiliary verbs. Learning to isolate this core helps students distinguish verbs from objects, complements, and modifiers and analyze sentences more accurately.
What is a Simple Predicate?
A simple predicate is the main verb or complete verb phrase in a clause. It may express an action, occurrence, state, or relationship. In school grammar, it includes helping or modal verbs but excludes objects, complements, and adverbial modifiers.
Download: Simple Predicate Worksheet
The simple predicate identifies the verb element that carries tense and other grammatical information about the clause. Finding it helps readers locate the predicate’s core before deciding which additional words belong to the complete predicate.
Examples:
- “She runs.” Here, “runs” is the one-word simple predicate associated with the subject “she.”
- “They have eaten.” Here, the auxiliary “have” and main verb “eaten” form the simple predicate.
Simple Predicate Examples
A simple predicate may consist of one verb or a chain of auxiliaries plus a main verb. Adverbs can appear inside that chain without becoming part of the simple predicate in the school-grammar framework used here.
1. Single Verbs as Simple Predicates
When a clause has no auxiliary verb, its simple predicate can be a single main verb expressing an action, event, state, or relationship.
Examples:
- “I saw a hawk out the window.”
- The action “saw” tells what “I” did. “Saw” is the simple predicate.
- “The movie featured salsa dancing.”
- The verb “featured” makes a statement about “the movie.” This single word is the simple predicate.
- “Masumi returned from her trip to Japan.”
- The word “returned” indicates the action performed by Masumi, making it the simple predicate.
2. Verbs Phrases as Simple Predicates
A multiword simple predicate contains one or more auxiliary verbs followed by a main verb. Primary auxiliaries include forms of be, have, and do; modal auxiliaries include words such as can, will, might, and must.
Download: Verb Phrases as Simple Predicates Worksheet
Examples:
- “Miles was helping his dad in the garage.”
- The phrase “was helping” combines an auxiliary verb “was” with the main verb “helping,” forming the simple predicate.
- “The cake had been baking for almost an hour.”
- “Had been baking” is the complete verb phrase and simple predicate, expressing an ongoing process before a past reference point.
- “Mom did enjoy the game a lot.”
- The phrase “did enjoy” includes the auxiliary “did” and the main verb “enjoy,” together forming the simple predicate.
3. Modifiers Within a Simple Predicate
Adverbs can appear between auxiliaries and a main verb. In the traditional school analysis used in this article, these modifiers are excluded when naming the simple predicate, even though they remain part of the complete predicate.
- “Lightning bugs will often appear in the sky on summer nights.”
- The simple predicate is “will appear.” The word “often” is an adverb modifying the action but does not belong to the simple predicate.
- “They did not get to the airport on time.”
- The simple predicate is “did get.” The word “not” is a modifier and is excluded from the simple predicate.
- “The family has frequently taken trips to go skiing.”
- “Has taken” is the simple predicate. The adverb “frequently” modifies the verb phrase but is excluded from the simple predicate in this analysis.
To identify the simple predicate, preserve every auxiliary and the main verb while setting aside adverbs, objects, complements, and prepositional phrases. This method also helps distinguish a multiword simple predicate from a compound predicate containing two coordinated verbs.
Simple Predicate vs. Complete Predicate
The simple predicate and complete predicate refer to different scopes within the same clause. The simple predicate identifies the verb core; the complete predicate contains everything the clause states about the complete subject.
The simple predicate is the main verb or full verb chain without its objects, complements, or modifiers. In “The dog may have barked loudly,” the simple predicate is “may have barked,” not only “barked.”
The complete predicate includes the simple predicate and all objects, complements, and modifiers belonging to it. In “The dog barks loudly at strangers,” the complete predicate is “barks loudly at strangers.”
Key Differences
- Scope: The simple predicate is just the verb or verb phrase, while the complete predicate includes the verb plus any modifiers, objects, or complements.
- Function: The simple predicate identifies the clause’s verb core, while the complete predicate expresses the full assertion about the subject.
Examples
1. “She was singing a song beautifully.”
- Simple Predicate: “was singing”
- Complete Predicate: “was singing a song beautifully.”
2. “He writes a letter every day.”
- Simple Predicate: “writes”
- Complete Predicate: “writes a letter every day.”
Download: Simple vs. Complete Predicate Worksheet
This distinction matters because an auxiliary belongs to the simple predicate, while an object, subject complement, or adverbial modifier belongs only to the complete predicate.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Common errors include naming only the final main verb and dropping its auxiliaries, including adverbs in the simple predicate, confusing a verbal with the clause’s finite verb, and treating a multiword verb phrase as a compound predicate.
To avoid confusion, consider these helpful tips:
- Identify the Clause: In a complex sentence, work with one clause at a time and locate its subject-verb relationship.
- Find the Verb Chain: Locate the main verb and scan left for auxiliaries that express tense, aspect, voice, mood, or emphasis.
- Exclude Modifiers: Set aside adverbs such as often and not, along with objects, complements, and modifying phrases.
- Practice Regularly: Compare single verbs, auxiliary chains, and coordinated verbs with Worksheetzone’s sentence structure worksheets.
Exercises to Practice Identifying Simple Predicates
Use the following sentences to practice identifying the simple predicate. Include every auxiliary and the main verb, but exclude adverbs, objects, complements, and other modifiers. Each item contains one simple predicate rather than a compound predicate.
Instructions
1. Read each sentence and identify its subject.
2. Locate the main verb, then include any auxiliary verbs that belong to the same verb chain.
3. Remove modifiers and complements, and write the remaining simple predicate exactly as it appears.
Sentences
1. The birds chirped loudly in the morning.
2. She has been studying for her final exams.
3. The little boy threw the ball across the yard.
4. We are planning a trip to the mountains.
5. The cat slept peacefully under the warm sun.
6. They will arrive at the station by noon.
7. The teacher explained the concept clearly to the students.
8. A group of friends went hiking in the forest.
9. He was laughing uncontrollably at the joke.
10. The stars twinkled brightly in the night sky.
Answers
1. chirped
2. has been studying
3. threw
4. are planning
5. slept
6. will arrive
7. explained
8. went
9. was laughing
10. twinkled
Continue practicing with this Worksheetzone Simple Predicate Worksheet, checking that each auxiliary remains connected to its main verb.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the role of auxiliary verbs in simple predicates?
Auxiliary verbs combine with a main verb to express tense, aspect, voice, mood, or emphasis. Primary auxiliaries are forms of be, have, and do; modal auxiliaries include can, will, might, and must. In “She has been running,” the complete chain “has been running” is the simple predicate.
2. Can a simple predicate be more than one word?
Yes. A simple predicate can contain several words when one or more auxiliary verbs accompany the main verb. In “He may have been waiting,” “may have been waiting” is one multiword simple predicate, not a compound predicate.
3. How does a compound predicate differ from a simple predicate?
A compound predicate contains two or more coordinated verbs or verb phrases that share one subject. “She sings and dances” has the compound predicate “sings and dances.” By contrast, “She has been singing” contains one simple predicate formed from a single verb chain.
4. Are imperative sentences different when identifying simple predicates?
Imperative clauses normally have the understood subject “you.” Identify the simple predicate by finding the base-form verb and any auxiliaries. In “Close the door,” the simple predicate is “close”; in “Do not touch the switch,” the school-grammar analysis used here identifies “do touch” as the simple predicate and treats “not” as an adverb.
In Summary
The simple predicate is the main verb or complete auxiliary-plus-main-verb chain in a clause. It expresses an action, occurrence, state, or relationship while excluding the objects, complements, and modifiers that belong to the complete predicate.
To identify it accurately, work within one clause, find the main verb, scan for auxiliaries, and set aside intervening adverbs. Then check whether coordinated verbs create a compound predicate rather than mistaking a single multiword verb chain for one.
Practice with statements, questions, negative constructions, and commands so that changes in word order do not hide the verb chain. Comparing the simple predicate with the complete predicate also clarifies how complements and modifiers extend the clause’s meaning.
Explore Worksheetzone’s printable and interactive sentence structure worksheets to practice identifying subjects, simple predicates, complete predicates, and compound predicates in context.
