A predicate is a fundamental part of a sentence that tells us what the subject does or what happens to the subject. It usually includes a verb and can also contain objects, complements, or modifiers. For example, in the sentence "The dog barked loudly," the phrase "barked loudly" is the predicate, describing the action of the subject, which is "the dog." Predicates can be simple or compound. A simple predicate consists of just the verb, while a compound predicate includes two or more verbs that share the same subject. For instance, in "The cat slept and dreamed," both "slept" and "dreamed" are part of the compound predicate, providing more information about what the subject, "the cat," is doing.