Is It Really Simple?

“What’s a simple predicate?” Tommy asked me as he did his homework.

My mind went blank.

For some reason I pictured a unicorn.

“A simple predicate is...is...um...simple...and, a, um...predicate,” I answered.

Tommy stared at me as though I admitted that I was temporarily one of Charlie Sheen’s goddesses.

“Well, you see, it’s...it’s...” I scrambled to grab my phone so I could look it up. How embarrassing! And I call myself a writer. All writers should know what a simple predicate was. How could I have forgotten?

I knew the predicate had something to do with the subject. And…and…

Oh man, I’m not always the best with grammar.

I figured out what a simple predicate was and tried to explain it to Tommy.

“That’s weird,” he said as he wrote down his answer on his paper. He read the next part. “What is a simple subject?”

“Er…a subject that’s…simple…”

“MOM!”

Crap. Back to looking it up on the phone. How could I forget what a simple subject was? It was so...SIMPLE! Right?

I need to get back to school.

It’s embarrassing to become baffled over fourth grade homework.