Because simple predicates are your best friends for clear writing. Ever read a sentence that felt like a tangled Christmas light? Something like: “After the long, exhausting game in the pouring rain, the exhausted team eventually and triumphantly scored the winning goal.” Phew. The simple predicate is just “scored.” See? The sentence breathes.
They help you spot the core action in any sentence. And that’s huge when you’re trying to write punchy, confident stuff. No fluff. Just the good stuff. You want to be a crisp writer, right? Of course you do. We all do.
PPT - Subjects and Predicates PowerPoint Presentation, free download
How to Find a Simple Predicate (No Sweat)
Here’s your secret weapon: ask yourself, “What is the subject doing?” Or, for a state-of-being verb, “What is the subject?” Let’s test it. Sentence: “The sneaky squirrel has been hiding my car keys.” What’s the action? Hiding. But wait—it’s a verb phrase! “Has been hiding” is the complete verb. So the simple predicate is the whole phrase: “has been hiding.” Simple predicates can be one word or a bunch of helping verbs plus the main verb.
Another example: “I will be the champion.” The simple predicate? “Will be.” It’s a verb phrase, and it’s all you need to know about what’s happening. The subject “I” and the action “will be.” That’s the heartbeat of the sentence.
Watch out for tricky stuff. Like the sentence: “She is a brilliant astrophysicist.” What’s the simple predicate? “Is.” Just “is.” Not “is a brilliant astrophysicist.” That’s the complete predicate. The simple predicate is just the verb that links her to the description. Mind blown yet?
And what about commands? Like “Run!” The subject is implied—it’s “you.” So the simple predicate is just “Run.” Short, sweet, and ready to go. You’ve been using these since kindergarten.
PPT - Sentence Combining PowerPoint Presentation, free download - ID
