English Grammar Redefined: The Scientific Theory of Verbal Nouns and Key Predicate Words
Sabarimuthu
Vyakappan
Lecturer in
Chemistry (Retd.)
Department of
Chemistry
Lekshmipuram
College of Arts & Science,
Neyyoor
Tamil Nadu
India
ABSTRACT
Dictionaries do not state whether a verb inherently
contains “does”, “do”, or “did”. When a dictionary-form verb enters a sentence,
it either carries one of these elements within it or it does not. If it
contains one, it functions as a predicate; if it does not, it becomes a verbal
noun. In English, action is expressed through these verbal nouns, not through
verbs as traditionally defined. As verbs do not actually appear in sentences,
the notion of “supporting verbs” also disappears. The true structural and logical
core of a sentence lies in the “key predicate words”, a category that replaces
what mainstream grammar calls auxiliaries. This re-conceptualization leads to a
redefinition of fundamental grammatical concepts. A direct, objective
comparison shows that mainstream grammar is incorrect and that this framework
provides the accurate account. This grammar is “original, clearer, more
scientific, and law-based” than conventional grammar.
Key
words: Real
subjects, Imaginary subjects, Defunct subjects, Inert subjects, Key subject
word, Key predicate word, Real key
predicate word, Imaginary key predicate word, Latent key predicate word,
Defunct predicates, Defunct key predicate word, , Inert key predicate word,
Defunct sentence, “Is” class key predicate words, “Does” class key predicate
words. Continuous nature, Habitual nature, Question-answer rearrangement,
Pseudo complex sentences, Environmental factors, and Blended simple sentences.
Introduction
The mainstream grammar proclaims that the verb is the most important part of a
sentence. It operates on the unwritten principle that a simple sentence must
contain one verb—and not more than one.
It provides a complex definition of the verb and
identifies certain verbs as “finite verbs”. However, this definition fails to
explain the structural difference between “verbal nouns” and “verbs”. Moreover,
it overlooks the influence of interfering modifiers (environmental factors)
within sentences. This neglect has led to many ambiguities and has made
learners believe that there is something intangible or mysterious in English
grammar.
The present author asserts that the “key predicate word” is, in fact, the
most important element of a sentence. Therefore, a simple sentence must contain
one key predicate word. The author classifies all “verbal nouns” as “nouns”,
which means that no true verbs appear in any sentence.
Since verbs do not exist in this framework, the
concept of “supporting verbs” also disappears.
In earlier times, grammarians informally divided
words such as “comes” into “does + come”, “come” into “do + come”, and “came”
into “did + come”. This division is likely as old as the English language
itself. It is surprising that mainstream grammar does not use this essential
clue to distinguish between the “past tense” and the “past participle” forms.
The present author has used this very clue as the
foundation of the current theory. Consequently, this work explains traditional
grammar more effectively while revealing its limitations.
The only difference lies in the introduction of
several new “terminologies” that
emerged naturally during classroom teaching (as given in YouTube under
Sabarimuthu English grammar class). These terms arose spontaneously because two
postgraduates in English literature were among the learners. They scrutinized
each session carefully and occasionally raised questions. To clarify concepts
convincingly, suitable expressions were coined—and these have been retained in
this thesis. They are essential for precise and effective grammar teaching.
Thesis
Noun
Noun is a naming
word.
Nouns do not show tense. Therefore, they cannot be inflected for tense.
Nouns modify other
nouns. In the sentence “He arrived at California Santa Monica Airport”, Monica
modifies Airport, Santa modifies Monica Airport and California modifies Santa
Monica Airport. Airport, Monica, Santa and California are nouns.
Verb
Verb is a doing
word.
Subject
Subject is a noun or a noun phrase
that supplies a key predicate word
to another noun or noun phrase to declare its nature.
Subject is the most important matter in a sentence.
It must come before the predicate in a sentence. The
sentence must be reconstructed when the subject tends to come on the right-hand
side of the predicate.
Anything that performs the function of the subject
must be interpreted as a noun.
In the sentence “Does is a key predicate word”,
“does” functions as the subject.
Conversion of a noun into a
subject; and a “verb” into a predicate
When a verb (present in dictionaries), say “come”- ,
comes near to a noun, say “Peter”, we get the sentence “Peter comes”.
Peter + come = Peter comes.
Here, Peter gives “s” to “come”. As a result, Peter transforms
into the subject and the “come” transforms into the predicate, “comes”.
What does “s” mean? The meaning of “s” is does. When
we remove the “s” from the predicate and place it separately, we get a key
predicate word “does” and a noun “come”.
Comes
(predicate) = does (key predicate word) + come (noun)
Thus, the predicate is formed by the combination of a key predicate word and
a noun.
does
(key
predicate word) + come (noun) = comes (predicate)
Peter comes = Peter does come.
In “Peter does come”, “come” is called bare
infinitive. It is a noun because it cannot
be inflected for tense.
The predicate belongs to the subject. Predicate is
the property of the subject and the former obeys the latter.
Predicate alone knows the nature of the subject.
Therefore, there is subject-predicate concord.
Further, the predicate alone knows the time of
action. Therefore, predicate alone shows tense.
English does not recognize the future. Therefore,
there is no real predicate for the
future tense.
Classification of subjects
The subjects are classified into:
1.
Real subjects.
2.
Imaginary subjects.
3.
Defunct subjects.
4.
Inert subjects.
Real subjects are real in nature. In the sentence
“He is teaching English.”, “He” is the real subject.
Imaginary subjects are imaginary in nature. In the
sentence “He will come.” “He” is the imaginary subject.
Defunct subjects are non-functional subjects. In the
sentence, “What he said is true.”, “he” is a defunct subject.
Inert subjects are non-reactive in nature. In the
sentence “She is to sing a song tomorrow.”, “She” is an inert subject.
Key Subject Word (KSW)
The most important word in the subject is called
“key subject word.”
In the sentence “Peter is a doctor”, Peter is the
subject word. The key subject word also is Peter.
In the sentence “Daughter of Nancy is
singing.” the noun phrase “Daughter of Nancy” is the subject and “Daughter” is the key subject word.
In the sentence “Daughters of Nancy are
singing.” The noun phrase “Daughters of Nancy” is the subject and “Daughters” is the key subject word.
Defunct Subjects
Defunct subjects are non-functional subjects.
They remain non-functional because of the presence
of “interfering modifiers”. In other words, the subject becomes non-functional
owing to “environmental factors” within
the sentence.
Consider the sentence:
“What Mrs. Theresa May said is true.”
In this sentence, “What Mrs. Theresa May said”
functions as a noun phrase and serves as the “subject”, while “is true” is the
“predicate”, and “is” is the “key
predicate word”.
Here, the word “what” renders the inner sentence
“Mrs. Theresa May said” defunct. Consequently, the “subject” within that inner
sentence also becomes defunct in the larger construction. Therefore, “is” alone serves as the “key predicate
word” in the entire sentence.
In contrast, mainstream grammar asserts that there
are two “finite verbs”—“said” and “is”—in the sentence, implying the existence
of a functional inner sentence -“Mrs. Theresa May said”. This interpretation is
incorrect. It exposes the flawed nature of the finite-verb theory in
conventional grammar.
Predicate
Predicate is a word or a group of words that
announces the nature of the subject. It is formed by the combination of a noun or a noun phrase and a key
predicate word. Each subject has only one predicate.
The dictionary defines “predicate” as to “tell,
reveal, proclaim, assert, or affirm.”
Consider the sentence: “Ben runs.”
Here, “Ben” is the subject and “runs” is the
predicate.
The predicate “runs” understands the nature of the
subject and therefore announces it. In essence, the predicate exists to
proclaim the nature of the subject.
There exists a bond—a sense of friendship,
relationship or affection —between the subject and the predicate. Because of
this relationship, the predicate is influenced by the nature of the subject.
The predicate changes when the subject changes.
Thus, the subject and predicate not just appear side
by side but they interact.
For example, when the subject “Ben” changes to
“They,” the predicate “runs” adjusts to “run.”
Thus, we say: “They run.”
Since the predicate expresses the nature of the
subject, it deals only with the “present and the past.” Hence, the predicate
alone shows tense.
The predicate never equivocates. It does not speak with
a double tongue or make guesses. It does not talk about the future because the
nature of the subject is ever-changing. The predicate is always truthful.
Therefore, English has no real predicate
for the future tense.
The widely accepted mainstream grammar interprets
predicates - “runs” and “run”- merely as verbs and, further, asserts that
English possesses a future tense. Both assumptions are incorrect.
Key Predicate Word (KPW)
The “key”
word that reveals the nature of the subject is called “key predicate word (KPW)”. They are: am, are, is, was, were, does, do, did, will, would, shall, should, can,
could, may, must, might and ought to.
A simple sentence can express “only one complete
action”, determined by its key predicate word. It is called “One Action Rule”.
Classification of Key Predicate
Words
The key predicate words are classified into:
1.
Real key predicate words.
2.
Imaginary key predicate words.
3.
Latent key predicate words.
4.
Defunct key predicate words.
5.
Inert key predicate words.
Real Key Predicate Words (RKPW)
The real key
predicate words reveal the real
nature of the subject. They show subject predicate concord.
In the sentence “He is teaching English.” “He” is
the real subject, “is teaching English” is the predicate and “is” is the real key predicate word.
There are eight real key predicate words in English. They are: am, is, was, are, were, does, do and did.
These words alone show tense. In
other words, they alone can be inflected for tense.
Imaginary
Key Predicate Words (IKPW)
The “key predicate word” present in an “imaginary
predicate” is called an “imaginary key predicate word”.
If the modal “will” is more powerful than “does”, it
displaces the latter in a sentence, as shown below:
Peter does come + will → Peter will come + does
In this construction, “will” occupies the position
next to the subject “Peter.” This disrupts the natural bond between “Peter” and
“does”. However, “will” cannot function as a real key predicate word because it
merely expresses possibility. It does not reveal the true nature of the subject
and, therefore, it does not show tense.
It cannot be inflected for tense.
Who is “Peter”? “Will” knows nothing about him.
Will “Peter” come? “Will” does not tell.
It does not even distinguish between singular and
plural subjects. Thus, when “Peter” changes to “they,” “will” remains
unchanged, as in “They will come.”
Therefore, in the sentence “Peter will come,” there
exists only an “imaginary predicate”. There is no genuine “subject–predicate
interaction” or “concord”, and the sentence does not convey a “complete
thought”.
Conversely, if “does” is more dominant than “will,”
it will displace the latter:
Peter will come + does → Peter does come + will
Modals words such as “will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must, and ought to” convert a “real predicate”
into an “imaginary predicate”.
For example: “He would come” and “He shall come.”
The sentence “He would come” refers simultaneously
to the past, present, and future, and, therefore, it cannot be considered an
instance of the future tense.
The imaginary key predicate words - (modals) - cannot be inflected for tense because
no action takes place in modal constructions.
Latent Key Predicate Word (LKPW)
The key predicate word that remains as a latent one is called latent key
predicate word.
In the sentence “He comes”, “does” remains as the
latent key predicate word. The sentence
can be expanded as “He does come.”
Similarly,
They come
= They do come
He came
= He did come
Thus, “does”,
“do” and “did” alone function as
the latent key predicate words.
Even if the key predicate word is not explicitly
written, it exists implicitly in every predicate, controlling the habitual
aspect. They govern the sentence’s habitual nature. Conventional grammar
ignores this semantic and aspectual depth.
Defunct
predicates
Defunct predicates are non-functional predicates.
They remain non-functional due to the presence of “interfering modifiers”. In
other words, a predicate becomes non-functional as a result of “environmental
factors” within the sentence.
Consider the sentence:
“He is coming today.”
In the above sentence, “He” is the “subject”, “is
coming today” is the “predicate”, and “is”
is the “key predicate word”. Here, the key predicate word “is” remains “defunct”, and, therefore, the entire predicate -“is
coming today”- functions as a “defunct predicate”.
In this construction, “is” behaves like a “modal”,
expressing only “possibility” rather than certainty. It becomes a “functional
predicate” only when the modifier -“today”- is removed. Thus, “He is coming” is
a “simple sentence” consisting of a subject and a functional predicate.
The sentence “He will come today” is “incorrect”,
because “today” denotes a fixed time, and “will”—which conveys possibility—does
not agree with it.
The widely accepted mainstream grammar classifies “is” in “He is coming today” as a “finite verb”. This interpretation is
erroneous and further illustrates the “flawed nature of the finite-verb
theory”.
Inert predicate
The “inert predicates” never announce the real
nature of the subject.
In the sentence “She is to sing a song today”, “She
is the subject, “is to sing a song today” is the predicate and “is” is the key predicate word. The key
predicate word “is” shows tense.
Therefore, the sentence can be written as “She was to sing a song yesterday.”
However, the sentence does not convey
a whole thought.
If we remove “today” from the sentence “She is to
sing a song today”, the key predicate word never becomes active due to the
infinitive “to sing”. Thus, the sentence
“She is to sing a song” again does
not give a complete thought. Therefore, such predicates are called “inert” predicates.
The mainstream grammar considers “is” in the above sentence a finite
verb. It is wrong. Mainstream grammar simply fails to reckon the environmental
factors.
Defunct sentence
The defunct sentences are the non-functional
sentences within sentences.
In the sentence “What Mrs. Theresa May said is
true”, “Mrs. Theresa May said” is a defunct sentence.
Classification of real key
predicate words
The real key predicate
words are classified into:
1.
“Is”
class key predicate words.
2.
“Does”
class key predicate words.
“Is” class key predicate words reveal the continuous nature of the subject.
They are: am, is, was, are and were.
For example:
1.
He is running.
2.
He is a doctor.
“Does” class key predicate words reveal the habitual nature of the subject.
They are: does, do and did.
For example
1.
He does come.
2.
She goes to college.
Thus, this framework classifies all actions into:
(1) Continuous actions and (2) Habitual actions.
Distinguishing
the predicate from the verbs
The dictionaries are replete with
verbs. However, they do not specify whether a verb inherently contains “does”,
“do”, or “did”. Further, they do not distinguish between an activity, and the
name given to the activity.
Take, for instance, the word “run”.
When a dictionary considers it a verb, it says “to go quickly by moving the legs”. When it considers “run” a noun,
it says, “an act of running”. It does not say what makes the former
different from the latter. It does not tell the structural difference, if any,
between verb and its noun form.
To distinguish the former “run” from the latter
“run”, all dictionaries will have to be rewritten.
The present condition would prompt one to think that
a verb –present in a dictionary- is the hybrid
of the run (noun) and run (predicate)
run (noun) ↔
run (verb) ↔ run (predicate)
Does, do and did as predicates
When “does”, “do” and “did” function as predicates,
they can be expanded into a key predicate word and a noun, “do”, as given
below.
1.
Does (predicate) = does +
do (noun)
2.
Do (predicate) =
do + do
(noun)
3.
Did (predicate)= did + do (noun)
In the above equations, “do” alone functions both as a
key predicate word and as a noun.
Thus,
He does his duty = He does do his duty
They do their duty = They do do their duty
They did their duty = They did do their duty.
Has, have and had as predicates
When “has”, “have” and “had” function as predicates,
they can be expanded into a key predicate word and a noun, “have”, as given below.
1.
Has (predicate) = does +
have (noun)
2.
Have (predicate) = do + have (noun)
3.
Had (predicate) = did
+ have
(noun)
“Have”
alone can function both as a predicate and
as a noun. Thus,
I have (predicate) a pen. = I do have (noun) a pen.
Be,
Being, and Been
The words “be,” “being,” and “been” are nouns.
The word “be” is an abbreviation of the noun form of
“become.”
“Being” is the present participle of “be,” and
“been” is the past participle of “be.”
Their structural compositions can be illustrated as
follows:
1. Becomes (predicate) = does + become (noun)
2. Become (predicate) = do + become (noun)
3. Became (predicate) = did + become (noun)
The word “be” functions similarly to “is” when a
sentence expresses possibility.
For example, in the sentence “He will be a doctor,” “is” cannot replace “be,” because “is” serves as a real key predicate word. When “is” replaces “will be,”
the sentence becomes “He is a doctor,” which conveys a present fact, not a
possibility.
Past participles do not have “-ing” forms. The word
“being” is used to convert them into such forms.
For example: “He is being killed.”
Here, the past participle “killed” functions as a
noun, and is therefore modified by another noun, “being.”
The word “been”
occurs only with “has,” “have,” or
“had.” It is not found elsewhere.
“Has”
inherently contains “does,” which
indicates habitual action. To combine this habitual aspect into one, “been” is employed as a post-modifier.
He has been running = He does have been running.
The mainstream grammar incorrectly classifies “be,”
“being,” and “been” as “verbs”.
Imperative Sentences
Imperative sentences are not true sentences, as they
contain no key predicate words and
therefore fail to express a complete thought. This means that no action takes
place in the grammatical sense.
Consider the following sentences:
1. He opens.
2. They open.
3. They opened.
In these sentences, “opens,” “open,” and “opened”
function as predicates. Their structures may be represented as follows:
Opens (predicate) = does + open (noun)
Open (predicate) = do + open (noun)
Opened (predicate) = did + open (noun)
Now consider the imperative sentence “Open the
door.”
Here, “open”
is the noun form of predicate “open”—a “bare
infinitive” functioning as a “noun”.
There is no subject–predicate interaction or concord
in this sentence. The word “open” does
not show “tense”, and the
construction does not convey a “complete thought”. It cannot be expanded into
“Do open the door.” Therefore, imperative sentences lack both subjects and
predicates.
Similarly, one-word commands such as “Open.” or
“Sing.” also exhibit no subject–predicate interaction.
Mainstream grammar, however, interprets “Open the
door.” as a sentence with an imaginary subject “you” and identifies “open the
door” as it’s predicate. This interpretation is incorrect.
Consider another example:
“Make learning and speaking English a hobby.”
In this sentence, “make” is a noun, “learning” is a
noun, “speaking” is another noun, “English” is a noun, and “hobby” is yet
another noun. This imperative sentence, therefore, is composed entirely of five
nouns, along with a conjunction and an article.
Hence, imperative constructions cannot be
categorized as true sentences within the framework of real predicates.
Subject and predicate in
interrogative sentences.
The interrogative sentences are not sentences with
subjects and predicates. The sentences do not convey a complete thought.
However, the mainstream grammar strives to locate
subject and predicates in interrogative sentences. It is wrong.
The effect of “if”
“If “destabilizes the predicates. It takes the
sentence to the future.
In the sentence “If it is a working day, he will go
to school,” the “If” takes the sentence to the future.
It even destabilizes the assertive “does”.
In the sentence “If he does not study well, he will
fail in the examination.” it destabilizes the assertive “does”.
Question-answer rearrangement
Consider the following questions and answers
Am I
running? I am running.
Is he
running? He is running.
Was
he running? He was running.
Are
they running? They are running.
Were they
running? They were running.
Does he
run? He does run
Do
they run? They do run.
Did
he run? He did run.
The words in the above questions and their
corresponding answers are conserved.
Here, am, is, was, are, were,
does, do and did are equivalent
to one another. In the questions, these great words function as questioners, and in the answers they
function as the key predicate words.
The mainstream grammar treats the questioners - that seek the nature of
the subject - and the key predicate words - that proclaim the
nature of the subject - as verbs. It is wrong because the interrogative
sentences do not convey a complete thought.
Distinguishing Predicates from
Nouns
Predicates show tense, whereas nouns do not.
In the sentence “He comes,” “He” is the subject and
“comes” is the predicate. In the past tense, the predicate “comes” changes to
“came,” producing the sentence “He came.”
In the sentence “He does come,” the word “come”
does not show tense. When the sentence is changed into the past tense, it
becomes “He did come.” This serves as
a “confirmatory test” to distinguish predicates from nouns.
Another confirmatory test is that predicates can be
expanded into a key predicate word and a noun, whereas nouns cannot.
For example:
Rama killed = Rama did kill.
In contrast, the sentence “Ravana was killed” cannot
be expanded into “Ravana was did kill.” Therefore, the word “killed” in this sentence is a noun. Consequently, all past
participles are nouns.
Similarly, present
participles are also nouns,
since they too cannot be expanded into a key predicate word and a noun.
The present participle –running- in the sentence “He
is running” cannot be expanded further because it is a noun.
This distinction is crucial for redefining the
structural nature of predicates in English.
However, mainstream grammar classifies bare
infinitives and past participles as verbs, and treats present participles
either as nouns or verbs. This interpretation is incorrect.
Active and Passive Voices
The vital change that occurs when an active voice
sentence is converted into its passive voice counterpart lies in the
transformation of the key predicate
word.
Consider the sentence:
Rama killed
Ravana.
When expanded, it becomes:
Rama did kill
Ravana.
In this active voice construction, “Rama” is the
subject, “did kill Ravana” is the predicate, “did” is the key predicate word, and “kill Ravana” functions as a
noun phrase.
If “Ravana” is omitted from the noun phrase, the
sentence becomes:
Rama did kill.
Here, the word “kill”
is a noun, as it originates from the
noun phrase “kill Ravana.”
In the passive voice, the sentence transforms into:
Ravana was
killed by Rama.
In this construction, “was” serves as the key predicate word.
Thus, in the active voice sentence, the key
predicate word is “did,” while in
the passive voice sentence, it becomes “was.”
This observation, further, reinforces that voice
change is not merely a matter of word order, but a transformation in the
predicate structure itself.
The mainstream grammar fails to recognize this
subtle yet significant transformation in the key predicate word, thereby overlooking the true nature of the
structural shift between active and passive voices. As a result, learners are
deprived of a deeper understanding of this crucial grammatical relationship.
Pseudo Complex Sentences
A true complex sentence must contain both a main
clause and a subordinate clause. Therefore, it must include two
subject–predicate pairs.
However, many sentences traditionally taught as
complex sentences in schools and colleges do not satisfy this requirement. They
are frequently presented for conversion into compound or simple sentences, yet
they lack two subject–predicate pairs. Such sentences are, therefore, “pseudo complex sentences” and they do
not constitute true complex sentences.
Examples include:
1. As I am not doing well, I cannot attend the
meeting.
2. If it rains, the meeting will be cancelled.
3. I cannot remember what I said yesterday.
4. Venu was so poor that he could not buy a cycle.
5. The headmaster will admit him.
6. Since no one could help us, we walked.
7. Latha is coming today because she is to sing a
song.
8. As the college reopens tomorrow, I am leaving for
London.
9. Revi should attend the class because it is an
important one.
10. If you are rich, you can buy a car.
11. If you eat too much, you will fall ill.
12. If you work hard, you will get a prize.
13. As the children are innocent, the teachers must
tell the truth to them
Analysis:
A careful examination of the above examples reveals
that none of the sentences contain two complete subject–predicate pairs. In
each case, either the so-called dependent clause contains a defunct predicate
or the independent clause is a modal construction. As a result, these sentences
fail to meet the structural requirements of a true complex sentence, which
demands the presence of a functional main clause and a subordinate clause, each
with its own subject–predicate concord. Therefore, these examples are better
classified as pseudo complex sentences,
highlighting the limitations of conventional grammar in accurately identifying
the true nature of sentence structures taught in schools and colleges.
Blended Simple Sentences
Many simple sentences are, in fact, blends of two
sentences. Such blended constructions are very common in English.
A blended sentence contains a subject and a
predicate, as in any simple sentence, but it also carries within it a latent
subject and a latent predicate. When the latent elements are made explicit, the
sentence expands into a complex sentence. Further expansion can lead to the
formation of a compound sentence, ultimately yielding two independent
sentences.
Consider the following example:
“The
questions given were tough.”
In this sentence, “The questions given” is the
subject, “were tough” is the predicate, and “questions” is the key subject word
(KSW). The word “The” serves as a pre-modifier and the word “were” functions as the key predicate
word (KPW).
The word “given” is a noun, being the past
participle of “give”. It modifies the key subject word “questions” and,
therefore, functions as an adjective in this structure. Importantly, “given”
and “were” cannot be grouped together and described as a verbal phrase because
they belong to different structural domains—one to the subject and the other to
the predicate.
If we rearrange the sentence slightly, it becomes:
“The given questions were tough.”
This rearrangement confirms that “given” and “were” are independent components and not part of a single
predicate unit.
When the latent meaning of the sentence is fully
expanded, we obtain:
“A teacher gave the questions to the students. The
questions were tough.”
Here, the noun “given”
in the original sentence transforms into the predicate “gave” in the expanded form.
Thus, what appears to be a simple sentence is
actually a compressed blend of two sentences, one embedded within the other.
This insight reveals how apparently simple constructions often encapsulate
multiple layers of subject–predicate relationships that remain hidden in
traditional grammatical analysis.
This phenomenon illustrates that many English
sentences operate on two structural planes simultaneously—a visible grammatical
surface and a latent conceptual layer. Recognizing the presence of blended or
compressed clauses strengthens the argument that mainstream grammar overlooks
the true functional composition of sentences, particularly the hidden
predicates that determine syntactic and semantic completeness.
The Ultimate Truth
A sentence is a group of words that conveys one or
more complete and real meanings.
A simple sentence is a group of words that conveys a
single complete and real meaning.
Every simple sentence contains a subject and
a predicate.
The subject is a noun that
supplies a key predicate word to another noun to declare its nature.
This noun may represent any idea and may appear as a single word or a group of
words. Once a noun becomes the subject, it ceases to function
merely as a noun and assumes the qualities or characteristics of the subject.
Similarly, once a noun accepts a
key predicate word, it acquires the characteristics or qualities of a
predicate. Thus, predicate is formed by the combination of a key predicate word
with a noun or a noun phrase.
The most essential element of a
sentence is the key predicate word, for it reveals the nature of the
subject.
To express a complete and real
meaning, a simple sentence must therefore contain a functional key predicate
word.
Consider the following examples:
Example 1: “Does is a key predicate word.”
In this sentence, “does”
functions as a “noun” because it serves as the subject. When we say that
the word “does” is a noun, we grasp the idea of a noun. When “does”
becomes the subject, we grasp the idea of the subject.
The moment the noun “does”
supplies the key predicate word “is” to another noun, it becomes the
subject. In this sentence, “is a key predicate word” forms the
predicate.
Example 2. “He is John.”
Here, “He” is the subject because it supplies
the key predicate word “is” to another proper noun, “John”. The
noun “John” is the nature of the subject “He”. The key predicate
word “is” declares that “He is John.”
Example 3. “John is running.”
In this sentence, “John” is the subject, and “running”
is the nature of the subject – a verbal noun. The key predicate word “is”
affirms that “John is running.”
How, then, can we say that the word “running”
is a verb and not a noun?
To claim that “running” is a
verb in sentence (3) is like saying that “John” is a verb in sentence
(2)—which is illogical.
Just as proper nouns cannot function
as verbs, verbal nouns likewise cannot function as verbs.
Therefore, “present participles”,
“past participles”, and “infinitives” must always function as “nouns”
within sentences.
Consider now the sentence:
Example 4: “John does sell.”
Here, “John” is a noun, and “sell”
is another noun. “John” serves as the subject, and the nature of the
subject is expressed by the noun “sell”.
The key predicate word “does”declares
that “John does sell.”
This is the ultimate truth of
English grammar.
If “sell” in the sentence “John
does sell” can logically be treated as a verb, then this entire grammatical
framework could be invalidated.
Such invalidation, however, is not
possible.
Objective Comparison with
Mainstream Grammar
To demonstrate that mainstream grammar is largely
flawed and that the present systematic analysis provides a more accurate
explanation, it is essential to examine the theory with empirical evidence.
Example:1. Peter is a doctor.
According to mainstream grammar, “Peter” is the
“subject”, and “a doctor” is the complement. Since every simple sentence is
said to require a verb, the word “is”
is described as a stative verb.
However, this interpretation is conceptually
inconsistent. Learners are taught that a verb denotes an “action” or “doing”,
yet “is” in this sentence does not
express any action. The word “is”
does not depict movement, performance, or process. Its actual function is
entirely different.
The essential role of “is” is to declare or proclaim the nature of the subject. In the
sentence, “Peter” is the subject, and the nature of the subject is expressed by
the noun phrase “a doctor”. The word “is”
serves as the key predicate word (KPW)
because it announces the relationship between the subject and its defining
quality.
Hence, in structural terms:
Peter → Subject
“is a doctor” → Predicate
“is” → Key
Predicate Word (KPW)
“a doctor” → Noun Phrase
Thus, the sentence expresses a proclamation, not an
action. The word “predicate” itself means “to proclaim”. Therefore, there is no
verb in this sentence in the traditional sense of a doing word. The mainstream grammatical classification of “is” as a verb fails to capture its
true functional and semantic nature.
Analytical Commentary:
This example reveals a fundamental error in
conventional grammar—the confusion between “action” and “declaration”. The word
“is” does not perform an action but rather asserts a state of identity or being. Recognizing “is”
as a “key predicate word” instead of
a verb clarifies that English sentences function through proclamation and
relation, not necessarily through verbal action. This reorientation challenges
the traditional verb-based foundation of grammatical analysis and opens the
path for a more logically coherent and pedagogically clear linguistic model.
Example 2: “John is running”
In the simple sentence “John is running,” “John” is
the subject, and “is running” is the predicate.
If both “is”
and “running” were verbs, the
sentence would contain two verbs. However, a simple sentence expresses only one
complete thought or one action; therefore, it cannot logically contain more
than one verb. To address this contradiction, mainstream grammar classifies “is running” as a verbal phrase—a term
created to accommodate an inconsistency rather than explain it.
All major dictionaries
recognize “running” as a noun. The word denotes an ongoing
action and inherently expresses continuity; it requires no auxiliary support to convey that meaning. Nevertheless,
mainstream grammar resists this interpretation and insists on treating “running” as a verb in this context.
Interestingly, the same grammar acknowledges “running” as a noun in sentences such
as:
Running
is
a hobby.
He likes running.
He saw a running
boy.
If “running”
is a noun in these examples, then a verb cannot logically “support” it to form
what is termed an auxiliary or helping verb. The mainstream position that “running” suddenly becomes a verb in
“John is running” is therefore
untenable.
Furthermore, if “running”
is truly a verb, it must show tense, but it does not. Some grammarians argue
that “running” is the main verb,
while others claim “is” is the main
verb because it indicates tense. These conflicting interpretations expose the
conceptual weakness of the conventional explanation.
The truth is straightforward:
“John”
is a noun functioning as the subject.
“Running”
is a noun expressing the nature or state of the subject.
“Is”
is the key predicate word (KPW) that
declares or proclaims this state.
Thus, the sentence “John is running” means that
nature of John is “running”. The
structure is logical, consistent, and semantically complete. Recognizing “is” as the declarative key predicate word and “running” as a noun resolves all
grammatical ambiguities that
mainstream grammar leaves unexplained.
Analytical Commentary:
This example exposes how mainstream grammar
artificially sustains the notion of auxiliary verbs to preserve its
verb-centered framework. By redefining “running”
as a noun and “is” as the
declarative element, the analysis restores logical coherence: every simple
sentence contains only “one predicate”,
governed by a single key predicate word.
This interpretation reinforces the thesis that English sentences operate
through proclamation, not through multiple
layers of verbal action.
Example 3: “John is coming today.”
The presence of the temporal modifier “today” in the above sentence locates
the event in time. Consequently, the word “is”
becomes “defunct”, as it no longer
carries its usual force of tense anchoring. When “today” is removed, “is”
regains its function as the key
predicate word (KPW).
Thus, “is”
operates much like a “modal element” in meaning. However, it can be activated or deactivated depending on the contextual environment. This
interpretation provides a precise and logical explanation for the shifting functional role of “is”, a phenomenon that mainstream
grammar has not adequately accounted for.
Analytical Commentary:
This example clearly demonstrates how “environmental factors”, such as
temporal modifiers related to time (here “today”), can neutralize or activate
the predicate function of certain words. By viewing “is” as a context-sensitive key
predicate word rather than a fixed verb, the analysis reveals a dynamic
mechanism within English sentence structure—one that mainstream grammar
overlooks due to its rigid classification of tense-bearing verbs.
Example 4: “She is to sing a song
today”
The mainstream grammar classifies the word “is” as a finite verb because it shows tense.
In the past tense, the sentence becomes “She was to sing a song yesterday.”
However, despite this apparent shift in tense, no action actually
occurs. The sentence does not express a complete or whole thought and therefore
cannot be regarded as a true sentence. This exposes a significant interpretive
gap within the framework of mainstream grammar.
In contrast, the present framework identifies “is” in this construction as an inert key predicate word (KPW). The crucial point lies in the infinitive “to sing”, which, by its very form, implies endlessness or inactive
potential. The infinitive, unlike a
finite verb, has no temporal or time related boundary—it points toward action
without fulfilling it. Thus, even if the word “today” is omitted, the key predicate word remains inactive because
the infinitive “to sing” extends indefinitely toward an unrealized act, unable to
declare or proclaim any real or completed state. Consequently, there is only an
inert key predicate word in this
sentence.
An objective linguistic analysis confirms that the
sentence conveys only a possibility or intention, not an actual occurrence.
Recognizing “is” as an inert declarative element rather than a
real key predicate word offers a
more precise and logically consistent interpretation of its structure.
Analytical Commentary:
This example highlights a crucial limitation of
conventional grammar: its failure to distinguish between potentiality and
actuality in sentence structure. The so-called finite verb “is” functions here as a syntactic placeholder, not as an active key predicate word. By
redefining “is” as an inert key predicate word, the analysis
reveals that English accommodates non-functional and inert key predicate words to express expectation or intent—states
suspended in infinite potentiality rather than realized action—an insight that
mainstream theory entirely overlooks.
Example 5: “Being sick, he did not
go to school.”
According to mainstream grammar, the word “being” is the present participle of
the verb “be”. Hence, the sentence
“Being sick, he did not go to school” is described as a “simple sentence”.
However, this explanation creates confusion, since learners are taught to
regard “being” as a verb, though it
conveys no action.
In contrast, the present framework interprets “be” as an abbreviated form of noun “become” - [become (predicate) = do + become (noun)]- and identifies “being” as a noun (“being” is the present participle of “be”) rather than a verb. This interpretation resolves the
conceptual inconsistency and offers a logically coherent explanation of the
sentence structure.
Analytical Commentary
This analysis exposes a major inconsistency in
mainstream grammar, which labels “being”
a verb although it is not a “doing word”.
By redefining “being” as a noun
derived from the noun “become”, the
sentence attains semantic clarity and structural balance. The reinterpretation
also reinforces the present framework’s central thesis that the so-called verbs
are, in fact, verbal nouns.
Example 6: “Nandini noticed a boy
sell flowers”
It is a simple sentence that conveys a complete
thought.
Mainstream grammar often struggles to distinguish
between the verb-like words “noticed”
and “sell”.
In contrast, the present framework explains that the
latent key predicate word (KPW) “did” is embedded in “noticed”. The word “noticed” can be expanded as follows:
noticed (predicate) = did + notice (noun)
Here, “did”
functions as the key predicate word, while “notice” is a noun.
By contrast, the latent key predicate word “did” is
not embedded in “sell” as it cannot
be expanded into “do sell” or “did sell”. According to the criterion
that a word which cannot be divided into a latent
key predicate word and a noun is
a noun, “sell” functions as a noun
in this sentence.
Therefore, if “noticed” is treated as the predicate,
the sentence contains no verb in the traditional sense. This interpretation
resolves the ambiguity that mainstream grammar faces and provides a logically
consistent understanding of sentence structure.
Analytical Commentary:
This example illustrates how mainstream grammar’s
verb-centered approach obscures the true structure of the sentence. By
identifying “noticed” as a predicate
containing a latent key predicate word “did”
and recognizing “sell” as a noun,
the analysis clarifies that the sentence conveys a complete thought without
requiring multiple verbs. This reinforces the thesis that English sentences
operate through subject–predicate proclamation rather than the conventional
verb-based framework.
7. “He is running with a mango.”
According to mainstream grammar, “He” is the subject
and “is running with a mango” is a verb phrase. It groups the “is” with the participial phrase
“running with a mango,” resulting in an awkward and incomplete explanation.
In this analysis, “He” is the subject, and “is
running with a mango” is the predicate. Within this predicate, “running with a
mango” functions as a noun phrase, while “is”
serves as the key predicate word.
The key predicate word, “is”,
declares the nature of the subject. The nature of the subject is –“running with
a mango”. This interpretation is both logical and structurally consistent.
Analytical Commentary:
The distinction made here reveals that the true core
of predication lies not in the
action word “running,” but in the
key predicate word “is,” which
connects the subject to the entire
event expressed by the noun phrase - “running
with a mango.” By recognizing “is”
as the key predicate word, the sentence gains logical unity — it shows the
existence of the subject in a specific state or action rather than merely describing motion. This analysis thus provides a
more coherent, pedagogically clear and
philosophically grounded understanding of the predicate.
8. “The boy killed a spider.”
When the above active voice sentence is converted
into its passive form, we get “A spider
was killed by the boy.”
According to mainstream grammar, the word “killed” in the active voice is a verb,
while in the passive voice it is its past participle. This explanation,
however, leaves learners unable to perceive the real structural difference
between the word “killed” in the
active sentence and the same word in the passive sentence, though the
difference is quite clear when properly analyzed.
In contrast, the present framework interprets the
word “killed” in the active voice
sentence as containing the latent key predicate word “did.” Hence, “killed”
expresses the idea of “did kill.” On
the other hand, in the passive construction, the word “killed” functions as a noun, containing no latent key predicate
word. According to this interpretation, there is no verb in either sentence;
instead, the predicate is structured around the key predicate word or its
latent form. This explanation makes the underlying logic of the structure clear
and easily understandable to learners.
Analytical Commentary:
This analysis highlights that what appears to be a
verb in traditional grammar is, in fact, a compound expression that conceals an
unrecognized structural element — the latent
key predicate word “did.” In the passive form, this latent element
disappears, and the word “killed”
merely names the state or result of the action, functioning as a noun. Such an approach dissolves the
confusion created by conventional categories like “verb” and “participle” and
offers a consistent, pedagogically clear and logically transparent model of
sentence structure.
9. “He will come.”
In the above sentence, the imaginary subject “He”
does not interact with the imaginary key predicate word “will.” The relation
between them remains purely hypothetical and, therefore, non-actualized. In the
absence of any real subject–predicate
concord, no process or event is realized in time. What is expressed is
merely a projection of potentiality, not an occurrence; hence, the grammatical category of tense does not
properly arise. The above sentence has no
tense in the grammatical sense because nothing happens.
Mainstream grammar classifies this as a simple
sentence and treats “will” as a
finite verb although it cannot be inflected for tense. This interpretation is erroneous, for a true simple sentence
must express a complete thought, and any form that falls short of this
completeness cannot logically be a simple sentence. Further, the finite verbs must show tense. However, “will” cannot be inflected for tense.
In contrast, the present framework interprets “will” as an imaginary key predicate word that cannot be inflected for tense.
Accordingly, the above sentence cannot be regarded as a true simple sentence,
since it conveys only a notional or projected meaning rather than an actual
one. Furthermore, the present framework does not recognize any sentence
containing a modal as a true sentence. In this framework, modals are “imaginary key predicate words”, and
they show no tense. The imaginary
key predicate words –modals – cannot be inflected
for tense. This offers a consistent
and reasonable explanation of their function and meaning.
Analytical Commentary:
This interpretation redefines the grammatical and
logical status of modal auxiliaries. Instead of viewing modals as verbs that express tense or mood, the analysis treats them as “conceptual indicators”
pointing to imaginary situations. By
doing so, it distinguishes between sentences that express real states of being and those that merely imagine them. This approach resolves
the confusion of traditional grammar, which mistakenly attributes verb status to modals that do not convey actual
predication.
10. “He will be coming.”
According to mainstream grammar, “will be coming” is
a verbal phrase, and the word “be”
is treated as a verb. Some grammarians claim that there are three verbs in this
sentence (will, be, and coming), while others maintain that there are two. Such
interpretations, however, fail to reveal the true structural and logical nature
of the sentence.
In contrast, the present framework explains that the
word “be” is not a verb, but a noun
that represents the idea of “is” in
the present tense. In this sense, “be”
acts as a substitute for “is”, used
when the notion of possibility is introduced by the modal “will”. Since the English language does not recognize any sentence
that talks of possibility as a real or actual sentence, “He will be coming”
cannot contain a real key predicate word.
Thus, as per this framework, this sentence also contains no verbs, and its
apparent verbal forms merely serve as imaginary expressions of predication.
Analytical Commentary:
This reinterpretation exposes the logical
inconsistency in conventional grammar, which attributes verbal status to modals
– (here “will”)- and participial forms that do not show tense. By identifying “be” as a noun substitute for “is”,
the analysis reveals that the modal constructions merely express imaginary
states of being, not actual ones. Therefore, the sentence “He will be coming”
is structurally incomplete as a real assertion of fact; it exists only as a
projection in thought. This approach brings coherence to the explanation for
modal constructions, which mainstream grammar fails to achieve.
11. “Open the door.”
The sentence “Open the door” is traditionally
classified as an imperative sentence, in which one person instructs or commands
another to perform an action. However, the sentence expresses only an imaginary
or projected event, not a real or complete thought. Therefore, it cannot be
regarded as a simple sentence, since a true simple sentence must convey an
actual and complete meaning.
According to mainstream grammar, the word “open” in this sentence is a verb, and the implied subject “you” is considered understood though
not expressed. Some grammarians further describe “open” as the “base form”
of the verb “open.” Such
explanations, however, leave learners unable to perceive the structural
difference between “open” as a verb and “open” as a base form.
In contrast, the present theory regards “open” in this sentence as a noun, not a verb [open (predicate) =
do+ open (noun)]. The word contains
no latent key predicate word such as “does,”
“do,” or “did.” Consequently,
there is no subject–predicate interaction in the sentence. Since predication is
absent, “Open the door” cannot be treated as a real sentence in the grammatical
sense. When interpreted this way, the structural problem that perplexes both
teachers and learners is resolved in a pedagogically clear and logically
satisfying manner.
Analytical Commentary:
This reinterpretation reveals that imperative
constructions do not assert reality but merely project intention or desire. The
so-called verb “open” does not perform the function of predication; it names an
intended act rather than an actual one. Thus, the imperative
sentences belong to the realm of imaginative or mental propositions, not
factual statements. By recognizing this distinction, the analysis eliminates
the ambiguity surrounding the imperative mood and restores logical clarity to
sentence classification.
12. “What is your name?”
The sentence “What is your name?” is traditionally
classified as an interrogative sentence. It expresses a question, not a
statement of fact. Since nothing actually happens or is asserted, the sentence
does not convey a real meaning or a complete thought. Therefore, it cannot be
regarded as a simple sentence, for a true simple sentence must express a
complete and real predication.
According to mainstream grammar, the sentence
contains a subject and a verb, and attempts are often made to identify them
precisely. However, such efforts lack logical consistency and lead to
confusion. The supposed grammatical explanations fail to show how “is” and “your name” interact meaningfully to form a predicate in the real
sense.
Further, the general rule is that the subject must come before the predicate. However, in interrogative constructions, the
supposed subject does not always precede the supposed predicate. This
inversion, often taken as a mere syntactic rearrangement, in fact indicates a
deeper logical shift—the movement from assertion
to inquiry.
In contrast, the present theory treats “What is your
name?” as an interrogative construction without subject – predicate
interaction. In this structure, the word “is”
does not function as a key predicate
word; rather, it operates as a “questioner”—a
linguistic element that merely initiates inquiry. It does not express any real
or latent predication. Hence, the sentence contains no predicate in the true grammatical sense. This interpretation yields
a coherent, pedagogically clear and logically consistent explanation of its
structure.
Analytical Commentary:
This refined interpretation reveals that in
interrogative forms, words like “is”
function not as key predicate words
but as instruments that seek the nature of the subject. They initiate the act
of questioning without asserting existence or establishing a relationship. The
sentence therefore belongs wholly to the realm of cognition, not assertion.
Recognizing “is” as a “questioner” clarifies the nature of
interrogative sentences and eliminates the confusion created by traditional
grammar, which incorrectly treats them as real sentences with subjects and verbs.
13. “As he is sick, he is not going
to school today.”
Mainstream grammar classifies this as a “complex
sentence” consisting of a dependent clause and an independent clause. This
interpretation is incorrect.
In contrast, the present author identifies it as a “pseudo-complex
sentence”, because the key predicate word “is”
in the so-called independent clause - “he is not going to school today”-
becomes “defunct” owing to the
presence of the time-indicator “today.”
The key predicate word, therefore, loses its full functional value, and the sentence does not qualify as a true
complex sentence.
14. “I have been watching him for
the last five years.”
According to mainstream grammar, there are three
verbs in the sentence — have, been,
and watching — and the group - “have
been watching”- is described as a verb phrase. This explanation blurs the
distinction between verb and noun, leaving learners unable to grasp the true
structural nature of the expression.
In contrast, the present theory expands the sentence
into “I do have been watching him
for the last five years,” since “have” logically equals “do + have.” In the
expanded sentence, “I” is the subject, “do”
is the key predicate word revealing the habitual nature of the subject, “have” is a noun functioning as the perfective element, “been” is another noun
functioning as a “post-modifier” that combines the habitual nature of “do” into one, and “watching” is
yet another noun — the name of an
action. Nouns thus modify other nouns to express continuity and duration. Thus,
three nouns- have, been and watching fit well with the noun phrase- “him for the last five years”.
In the expanded form, “have been watching him for
the last five years” functions as a noun
phrase, not a verb phrase.
Analytical Commentary:
This reinterpretation resolves the confusion
surrounding tense and aspect in English. By identifying the latent key
predicate word “do” and treating
progressive and perfective elements as nouns, the analysis clarifies how
habitual and continuous actions are clubbed without relying on conventional
verb categories. The structure becomes transparent: what appears as a complex
verb sequence is, in fact, a noun phrase anchored by a key predicate word, providing a logically consistent and pedagogically clear explanation of
English aspectual constructions.
15. “People know what they do.”
In the above sentence, “People” is the subject, and
“know what they do” is the
predicate. When the sentence is expanded to “People do know what they do,” the structure becomes clearer: “People”
remains the subject, “do” emerges as
the key predicate word, and “know what they do” functions as a noun phrase.
Thus, the original predicate is transformed into a noun phrase in the expanded
form.
The crucial distinction lies in the latent key
predicate word “do.” Recognition of
this key predicate word and its syntactic environment allows learners to
understand the underlying structure with clarity. Once identified, the
relationship between subject, predicate, and noun phrases becomes intuitively
accessible, even in sentences that initially appear complex.
Analytical Commentary:
This analysis demonstrates that predication is
fundamentally about the key predicate word, not merely the surface verb. The
latent key predicate word “do”
reveals the true logical backbone of
the sentence, converting what appears to be a verb-based predicate into a noun
phrase predicate in the expanded form. By focusing on the key predicate word
and its environment, learners can systematically decode sentence structure,
avoiding the confusion generated by conventional verb-centric grammar.
16. “Peter sang and danced.”
Mainstream grammar treats this sentence as having a
single subject and two verbs, often citing it as an example of a compound
predicate to challenge the validity of the One Action Rule, which posits that a
subject cannot have more than one predicate.
However, a careful analysis reveals that English
conveys that Peter sang and danced habitually, not simultaneously. The key
predicate words “does, do, and did”- indicate the habitual nature of
the subject. In this sentence, both -“sang” and “danced” contain the latent key
predicate word “did” (i.e., sang =
did + sing, danced = did + dance). The inclusion of “did” demonstrates that Peter performed both actions repeatedly
over time, rather than in a single, simultaneous occurrence.
To express simultaneous action explicitly, the
sentence should be reconstructed as: “Peter sang while dancing.” This
highlights that mainstream grammar fails to recognize the crucial role of does, do, and did in signaling habitual
actions. Traditional explanations obscure the true temporal and logical
structure of the sentence by overlooking this,
Analytical Commentary:
This analysis underscores the importance of
identifying the latent key predicate word in understanding habitual versus
simultaneous actions. The “One Action Rule” holds logically when the habitual
nature is accounted for, as multiple predicates merely reflect repeated actions
over time rather than concurrent predication. Recognizing “did” as the indicator of habitual
action resolves the confusion created by conventional grammar and provides
a consistent framework for interpreting compound predicates and aspectual constructions.
Example 17 “People know what they
do, frequently they know why they do what they do, what they do not know is
what what they do does.” — Michel Foucault
Mainstream grammar, in an often futile attempt,
identifies as many as ten verbs and nine subjects in this sentence, thereby
creating confusion rather than clarity. The reason is that it is unaware of the
crucial terminology –“defunct”.
In contrast, the present framework interprets the
sentence as comprising only three subject–predicate pairs, or “inner sentences”, each representing a
distinct act of predication:
1. “People know
what they do.”
2. “Frequently they know why they do what they do.”
3. “What they do not know is what what they do does.”
In the first inner sentence, “what they do” includes
a defunct inner sentence — “they
do.”
In the second, “why they do what they do” contains
two defunct inner sentences — “they
do” and “they do.”
In the third, “what they do not know” contains two defunct inner sentences — “they do” and
“they do not know.”
Further, within “what what they do does,” there are
three defunct inner sentences —
“they do”, “what they do does” and “what what they do does.”
Thus, the entire sentence contains three inner
sentences in addition to eight defunct
inner sentences. This may appear as a play upon sentences, but it reflects a
deeper structural truth.
Focusing on the third inner sentence — “What they do
not know is what what they do does” — the noun phrase “What they do not know”
functions as the subject, “is”
serves as the “key predicate word”
that reveals the nature of the subject, and “what what they do does”
constitutes a noun phrase expressing the essence or realized nature of the
subject.
By identifying the key predicate word and recognizing the defunct inner sentences, the apparent structural perplexity is resolved.
Learners can now perceive the logical design of the sentence rather than be
distracted by superficial counts of subjects and verbs. This restores logical
coherence to complex sentence analysis.
Analytical Commentary
This analysis shows that even seemingly intricate
sentences can be reduced to a limited number of subject–predicate pairs. The
focus on the key predicate word,
rather than the mechanical enumeration of verbs, establishes a scientifically
consistent and philosophically grounded framework for decoding meaning.
This framework opens the path to a scientific
redefinition of grammar founded on the dynamic functions of verbal nouns and key predicate words.
Conclusion
This
framework restores English grammar to its logical and philosophical foundation.
Conflict of interest statement;
There is no conflict of interest with respect to the
research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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Raymond Murphy “Murphy’s English Grammar, A self-study reference and practice
book for intermediate students of English with answers. Third Edition,
Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, CB2 2RU, UK.
9.MEGA
LIFCO DICTIONARY (ENGLISH –ENGLISH-TAMIL), LITTLE FLOWER CO, T. NAGAR::
CHENNAI, Reprint 2004.
Author : Sabarimuthu Vyakappan
Education:
B.Sc. (Chemistry), Scott Christian
College, Nagercoil
M.Sc. (Chemistry), Mar Ivanios
College, Trivandrum
Academic
and Professional Career:
Mr. Sabarimuthu Vyakappan began his
academic career in July 1974 as Lecturer in Chemistry at Lekshmipuram College
of Arts & Science, Neyyoor. He also served as Lecturer in Chemistry at
Poompuhar Peravai Kalloori, Melaiyur, and at Erode Arts College, Erode. His
publication on the “National Adult
Education Programme (NAEP)” was forwarded by Prof. L.R. Shaw, Adviser,
Department of Education, Government of India, to 80 universities and 700
colleges in India in 1980 as a model and pioneering work.
He authored the book “An Unconventional Approach to Inorganic
Chemistry” (1994), described by the American
International Publishers as “a
valuable addition to the resources of educators.”
In addition to his work in chemistry,
he has made notable contributions to English grammar teaching. Encouraged by
school authorities, he conducted English grammar classes for several years. His
unique approach to the logical and structural foundations of English led him to
develop the “Predicate Theory”, an
original and scientifically oriented framework for understanding English
grammar.
Publications
and Research Interests:
His research and writing span several
disciplines including inorganic chemistry, English grammar, law, history,
economics, politics, and human rights. He has published:
·
4
books on Inorganic Chemistry
·
4
books on English Grammar
·
1
book on History and
·
20
books on Law, Politics, Economics, Liberty, and Human Rights.
Sabarimuthu Vyakappan
India
10-12-2025
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