QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!
Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.
Question 1 of 7
“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
Origin of predicate
First recorded in 1400–50; (noun) late Middle English, from Middle French predicat or directly from Medieval Latin praedicātum, noun use of neuter of Latin praedicātus, past participle of praedicāre “to declare publicly, assert,” equivalent to prae- “before, in advance, early” (see pre-) + dicā(re) “to show, make known, indicate” (see indicate) + -tus past participle suffix; (verb and adjective) from Latin praedicātus; cf. preach
OTHER WORDS FROM predicate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use predicate in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for predicate
predicate
verb (ˈprɛdɪˌkeɪt) (mainly tr)
noun (ˈprɛdɪkɪt)
grammar
- the part of a sentence in which something is asserted or denied of the subject of a sentence; one of the two major components of a sentence, the other being the subject
- (as modifier)a predicate adjective
logic
- an expression that is derived from a sentence by the deletion of a name
- a property, characteristic, or attribute that may be affirmed or denied of something. The categorial statement all men are mortal relates two predicates, is a man and is mortal
- the term of a categorial proposition that is affirmed or denied of its subject. In this example all men is the subject, and mortal is the predicate
- a function from individuals to truth values, the truth set of the function being the extension of the predicate
adjective (ˈprɛdɪkɪt)
of or relating to something that has been predicated
Derived forms of predicate
predication, nounWord Origin for predicate
C16: from Latin praedicāre to assert publicly, from prae in front, in public + dīcere to say
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cultural definitions for predicate
predicate
[ (pred-i-kuht) ]
The part of a sentence that shows what is being said about the subject. The predicate includes the main verb and all its modifiers. In the following sentence, the italicized portion is the predicate: “Olga's dog was the ugliest creature on four legs.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.