Question

What is the predicate of a sentence? What does that mean?

Answer 1

Hint: It is part of a sentence. It refers to a function that takes an argument and returns a truth value in semantics.
Example: The dog is sleeping in the sun. The predicate is the clause sleeping in the sun; it specifies what the dog is doing.

Complete answer:
The predicate is the part of a sentence that makes a point about the subject in conventional grammar and syntax. For example, the predicate in "Mary drinks beer" will be the verb phrase "drinks beer." The predicate is viewed as a constituent by some syntactic constructs, but not by others. The term refers to a function that takes an argument and returns a truth value in semantics.

In semantics, it refers to a function that takes an argument and returns a truth value.
For example: The dog is sleeping in the sun. The predicate is the clause sleeping in the sun; it specifies what the dog is doing.
Another example: “He reads”. In this sentence, the subject is “he” and the predicate is “reads”. the predicate specifies what “he” is doing.

The predicate gives details about the subject, such as what it is, what it does, and how it is. A nexus is a term used to describe the relationship between a subject and its predicate. A predicative nominal is a noun phrase, such as the phrase the king of England, which is the predicative nominal in the sentence George III is the king of England.

Note: The term predicate can also refer to properties as well as the words or phrases that describe them. This use of the word is derived from the logic idea of a predicate. Predicates are symbols in logic that are translated into relations or functions over arguments. Some linguistic expressions' denotations are studied along similar lines in semantics.