English Language Arts
Grade 5
15 min
Identify the complete predicate of a sentence
Identify the complete predicate of a sentence
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1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Define the term 'complete predicate' in their own words.
Differentiate between a complete subject and a complete predicate.
Identify the main verb or verb phrase that begins the complete predicate.
Accurately locate and underline the complete predicate in simple and compound sentences.
Explain why the complete predicate is essential for forming a complete thought.
Construct original sentences and correctly label the complete predicate.
What's the difference between saying 'The superhero' and 'The superhero flew over the city at lightning speed'? 🦸♂️ One is just a person, the other is a whole story!
Today, we're going to become sentence detectives! We will learn about the 'action' part of a sentence, cal...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
SentenceA group of words that expresses a complete thought. A sentence must have a subject and a predicate.The clever fox jumped over the lazy dog.
SubjectThe part of the sentence that tells who or what the sentence is about. It's the 'doer' of the action.In the sentence 'The team won the game,' the subject is 'The team'.
PredicateThe part of the sentence that tells what the subject is or does. It contains the verb.In the sentence 'The team won the game,' the predicate is 'won the game'.
Complete PredicateThe verb and all the words that go with it. It tells the complete story about what the subject is doing.In 'My dog happily chewed on his new toy,' the complete predicate is 'happily chewed on his...
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Key Rules & Conventions
The Subject-First Method
1. Find the subject. 2. Everything else is the complete predicate.
The easiest way to find the complete predicate is to first identify who or what the sentence is about (the subject). Once you've found the complete subject, the rest of the sentence is the complete predicate.
The Verb is the Starting Line
The complete predicate always begins with a verb or a verb phrase.
Look for the action word (like 'ran', 'jumped') or state-of-being word (like 'is', 'was', 'seems'). The complete predicate starts there and includes everything that follows.
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Challenging
In the command, "Finish your homework before dinner," the subject is understood to be "You." What is the complete predicate of this sentence?
A.Finish your homework before dinner
B.You finish
C.your homework before dinner
D.before dinner
Challenging
A student divides the sentence "My little sister is learning to ride her bike" into two parts: "My little sister is" (Subject) and "learning to ride her bike" (Predicate). According to the 'Verb is the Starting Line' rule, what is the mistake?
A.The subject should only be 'sister'.
B.'learning' is not a verb, so it can't start the predicate.
C.The predicate must include the helping verb 'is'.
D.The entire phrase 'is learning' is a noun phrase.
Challenging
Which option correctly identifies the TWO complete predicates in the sentence: "The chef cooked the meal, and the waiter served it to the guests."?
A."cooked the meal" and "served it to the guests"
B."The chef cooked" and "the waiter served"
C."cooked the meal" and "it to the guests"
D."the meal" and "it to the guests"
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