Difference Between Verb and Predicate

Verb vs Predicate

Composing a sentence can be tricky at times with having to make sure that each of its parts are agreeing with each other to make it sensible. There are two main parts of a sentence; the subject, which is usually a noun or a pronoun, and the predicate which usually contains a verb or a verb clause. Although predicates contain verbs, they do not exactly mean the same thing.

A verb is a word which indicates an action or a state of being of the subject of the sentence. It has many forms and can be modified to specify the aspect, mood, tense, voice, person, gender, and number of its subject or object.
There are also several kinds of verbs, namely; transitive and intransitive, auxiliary and lexical, dynamic and stative, finite and infinite, regular and irregular verbs. Verbs have many uses in a sentence, and one of their uses is as part of a clause that makes up the predicate of the sentence.

Here are some examples of verbs used in sentences:
He broke the mirror. (transitive) Joan arrived two hours late. (intransitive)
The dog slept under the tree. (lexical) The dog is sleeping under the tree. (auxiliary)
I love dogs. (finite) Sleeping early is advised to make one’s skin healthy and glowing. (infinite)

A predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence or word clause which is used to modify the subject, object, and phrases which are governed by the verb. It is used to express something about the subject; its actions, state, and property.

It should always agree with its subject, but it is independent from other parts of the sentence. Predicates are classified according to structure (simple or compound) and morphology (verbal or nominal). Each of them may vary according to the sphere of their uses.

Predicates always need verbs to indicate the action of their subjects. Verbs, on the other hand, can stand on their own as predicates. A sentence with just a subject and a verb can be a complete sentence in itself although a sentence may also contain more than one verb as in the case of predicates with verb clauses.

Here are some examples:
Sarah’s voice is loud. “Sarah’s voice” is the subject and “is loud” is the predicate.
She lives. Here the verb “lives” is the predicate, and the sentence is complete without needing any additional words.
The job was finished early. The predicate in this sentence is the verb clause “was finished early” which contains two verbs, “was” and “finished.”

Summary:

1.A verb is a word which indicates the action or state of being of the subject in a sentence while a predicate is a word or word clause which modifies the subject or object in a sentence.
2.A verb specifies the mood, tense, aspect, voice, person, gender, or number of the subject while a predicate expresses something about the subject.
3.Predicates need verbs to make sense while verbs can be predicates by themselves, or they can be used with other verbs.

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