Grammar Smart 3rd Edition - Princeton Review 2014

C. Predicate: The Sequel
Part 2. The Sentence

Let’s look at a simple sentence and see how far we can go with it, by complicating the predicate.

Wanda walked.

Wanda is the subject; walked is the predicate, the verb telling what Wanda did. Let’s dress up our sentence with an adverb.

Wanda walked quickly.

So far, so good. Let’s dress it up even more with a group of words, called a phrase.

Wanda walked quickly to the beach.

Wanda is still the subject; the predicate is walked quickly to the beach. The predicate now includes the verb walked, the adverb quickly, and the prepositional phrase to the beach, which tells where Wanda walked.

We can add even more prepositional phrases.

In a snit, Wanda walked quickly with a towel to the beach.

The prepositional phrases are: In a snit, with a towel, to the beach. These phrases further describe Wanda and what she was doing. Now, let’s really go wild.

Because she was in a snit, Wanda walked quickly with a towel to the beach, which was deserted after the weather service announced an impending tidal wave.

The subject is still Wanda; the predicate is everything else, including the clauses Because she was in a snit, which was deserted, and after the weather service announced an impending tidal wave. Remember that the predicate’s job is to tell something about the subject. See how adding to the predicate told us more and more about Wanda and her walking?

The predicate may be full of all kinds of descriptions, modifiers, and extra information such as direct and indirect objects—or the predicate may be quite simple: an undecorated, lonely verb. Let’s look closely at some of these elements of the predicate.

The Direct Object

The direct object is not the subject of the sentence, it is the noun receiving the action. A sentence doesn’t need a direct object to be a sentence. Instead of doing something, the direct object has something done to it.

Wanda threw the flowers.

Wanda is the subject; she’s the one doing the throwing. Flowers is the object; they aren’t doing anything, but something is being done to them—they are being thrown.

Max loved money. (What did Max love? Money is the direct object.)

Thelma and Louise robbed a store and stole a car. (What did they rob? A store. What did they steal? A car.)

The Indirect Object

You need a direct object to have an indirect object. An indirect object is really an understood prepositional phrase. For example:

Wanda threw Max the flowers. (flowers is the direct object; Max is the indirect object)

Or: Wanda threw the flowers to Max. (flowers is the direct object; to Max is a prepositional phrase)

Marlene gave him a dog biscuit. (him is the indirect object)

Tell me a riddle. (me is the indirect object)

Quick Quiz #18

Finding Direct and Indirect Objects.

In the following sentences, note the direct objects and put a triangle around the indirect objects. Not every sentence has an indirect object.

1. The mother hid the matches in a drawer.

2. The child found the matches and started a bonfire in the living room.

3. The fireman gave the boy a bucket of water.

4. As the flames leapt higher the boy threw himself on the ground and cried.

5. Later the mother bought him a new toy fire truck and then told him the story of Prometheus.

Click here to download a PDF of Quick Quiz 18.