Writing New Predicates Worksheet

Every complete sentence has two halves: the subject, which names who or what the sentence is about, and the predicate, which tells what that subject does or is. Third graders can usually point to the subject long before they can name the whole predicate, because the predicate is not just the verb – it is the verb and everything that travels with it. This writing new predicates worksheet works on both halves of that idea at once: first the student finds the complete predicate in a sentence, then writes a brand-new predicate of their own for the same subject.

Each of the four items gives a sentence, two full-width writing lines, and nothing else to lean on. The student draws a line under the complete predicate, then rewrites the whole sentence on the lines with a different predicate, keeping the subject exactly as it was. A worked example at the top of the page models both steps, so a student who has never been asked to compose a predicate can see what the finished answer looks like before starting. Use this predicate practice worksheet as a grammar warm-up, as independent work during a writing block, as homework, or as a quick check before a sentence-structure unit test.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 4 sentences to mark and rewrite, with two writing lines each
• 1 worked example showing both steps

Three things make this page do more than a labeling drill. First, underlining the complete predicate forces students to decide where the subject ends, which is the judgment the skill actually tests. Second, inventing a replacement predicate turns a recognition task into a writing task, so students practice subject-verb agreement, past tense, and end punctuation while they are thinking about sentence parts. Third, because the subject must stay the same, students can see that one subject can carry many different predicates – the insight that makes their own writing more varied.

Teachers and parents can keep the activity going after this writing new predicates worksheet is finished. Write a subject on a strip of paper and let students take turns adding a predicate out loud, then vote on the most interesting one. Cut apart old sentences and mix the halves so students rebuild sentences that make sense. Ask students to find a sentence in their independent reading book and change its predicate without changing the subject. For a quick review, have students underline the predicate in the first three sentences of anything they wrote that week.

Related Resources

• Complete Sentences with Subject and Predicate Activity
• Rewriting Subject Predicate Sentences Worksheet
• Subject and Predicate Song
• Subject and Predicate Song (Original Music Video) – Have Fun Teaching