Page 107 - DENG101_Communication Skills-I

Communication Skills-I

Notes Predicate: The predicate is that part of the sentence that shows an action or a relationship. It
shows what the subject is doing or being.
A simple predicate has only one verb or verb phrase, while a complete predicate has a verb, or
verb phrase with a modifier, along with words that get the action or complete the verb.

Examples:
1. Birds fl y.
2. I gave you a pen.

3. I gave you a pen that was green in colour.
In the examples given above, the part italicized in each sentence represents its predicate.

A subject is that which is being talked of and a predicate is what is being talked.
Apart from these, there are the following components of a sentence.
Object: An object can be of two types namely direct and indirect.

A direct object is a noun, pronoun or a group of words which acts as a noun that receives the action
of a transitive verb without a linking preposition.
A direct object gives answer to the question– whom? or what?
An indirect object is a noun, pronoun or a group of words which acts as a noun that answers the
question–
to whom/what ? or
for whom/what ?

the action expressed by a transitive verb was done.

Examples:
1. I drank soup.

2. I gave you a pen.
In the Example 1 above, the word soup is the object. Needless to say, it is the direct object (no
indirect object in the sentence)

In the Example 2, there are 2 objects: pen (direct object) ; you (indirect object)
Clause: A clause is a pair or group of words that consist of a subject and a predicate. Clauses are
divided on different bases into many categories, but the main categorisation is into dependent
and independent clauses.
A dependent clause (subordinate) clause is that part of the sentence which contains a subject and
verb but does not express a complete thought. It can make sense on its own, but, is essentially
dependent on the rest of the sentence for context and meaning. It is usually joined to an
independent clause to form a complex sentence.
An independent clause is that part of the sentence which may very well stand alone. This means
that if taken out from the sentence, an independent clause makes a complete sentence in itself.
It contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought in both context and meaning.

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