A predicate is the part of a sentence or clause that describes the action but not the subject. In other words, it explains what the subject does. A predicate includes all the words in a sentence or clause except the subject and words that modify the subject. Predicates are one of the core building blocks of English sentences, so it’s important to understand how they work.

Here are some key points about predicates:

• A predicate must always contain a verb, but it can also include objects, either direct or indirect, and different types of modifiers, such as adverbs, prepositional phrases, or objects.
• A complete predicate includes the simple predicate as well as all other words that describe the action.
• Predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives are special types of predicates used only with linking verbs like be, seem, or become.
• A predicate adjective is when the words following a linking verb are adjectives or adjective phrases that modify the subject.
• A predicate nominative (also called a "predicate noun") is a word or group of words that completes a linking verb and renames the subject.

Being able to identify subjects and predicates will help with many of the mechanical errors people often struggle with, like comma splices, sentence fragments, and run-on sentences.