Predicate (logic)

Imagine that you're sitting on the floor with a bunch of different toys in front of you. Some of them are shaped like animals, some like cars and some like dolls. You know which toy is which because you can see their features and colors.

In logic, we use something called a "predicate" to describe things in a similar way. A predicate is like a label that we put on something to describe it. For example, we might say that a toy with four wheels is a car. The predicate "has four wheels" helps us identify which toys are cars.

Similarly, in logic we might have a statement like "all dogs are mammals". The predicate "is a mammal" helps us identify all things that are dogs as also being mammals.

Using predicates helps make logic statements more clear and easier to understand, just like using labels on toys helps us know what they are.