SUBJECT & PREDICATE

The Subject A subject tells whom or what the sentence is about. A subject tells whom or what the sentence is about.  Aunt Louise found a beautiful antique lamp at the garage sale.  The kitten with the white paws is called Boots.  Where are your mittens, Kris?  How surprised we were!

How Do I find a Subject? To find the subject, ask WHO or WHAT is doing something or ABOUT WHOM or WHAT something is being said. Laughing and running down the street were two small boys. Who were laughing and running down the street? Two small boys A sealed envelope rested near the edge of the desk. What rested near the edge of the desk? A sealed envelope Are Dalmatians very good watchdogs? About what is something being said? Something is being said about Dalmatians. Can horses and cattle swim? What can swim? Horses and cattle can swim.

What about questions? To find the subject in a question, turn the question into a statement. Then, ask WHO or WHAT is doing something or ABOUT WHOM or WHAT something is being said. QUESTION Did they win the race? STATEMENT They did win the race. Who did win? They did. They is the subject.

What’s the difference between a complete subject and a simple subject? The complete subject consists of all the words that tell whom or what the sentence is about. The simple subject is part of the complete subject. The simple subject is the main word or word group that tells whom or what the sentence is about. The dangerous trip over the mountains took four days. The complete subject is the dangerous trip—the simple subject is trip. In the last forty years, he has missed seeing only one home game. The complete AND simple subject is he. Pacing back and forth in the cage was a hungry tiger. The complete subject is a hungry tiger—the simple subject is tiger. Joey arrived late for the dance. The complete AND simple subject is Joey.

Can a simple subject have more than one word? As you can see in the following examples, the simple subject may consist of more than one word. EXAMPLES  Stamp collecting is my father’s favorite hobby.  Containing over eighty million items, the Library of Congress is the nation’s largest single library.  Madeleine Albright was appointed secretary of state.  Accepting the award was Leo Kolar. The simple subjects in the four preceding examples are all compound nouns.

Can prepositional phrases be the subject? The subject of a sentence is never in a prepositional phrase. EXAMPLES  Several of the players hit home runs.  [Who hit home runs? Several hit home runs. Players is part of the prepositional phrase of the players.]  At the end of our street is a bus stop.  [What is? Bus stop is. End and street are parts of the prepositional phrases At the end and of our street.]

Hint: Don’t fall into the object of the preposition trap! Sometimes crossing out the prepositional phrases in a sentence can help you find the subject. EXAMPLES The girl in the red boots is Marlene. The boy at school looked around the gym. The book by J.R. Rawlings sold millions of copies.

The Predicate The predicate of a sentence tells something about the subject. The complete predicate consists of a verb and all the words that describe the verb and complete its meaning. EXAMPLES  Marco’s brother delivers pizzas.  Under a large bush sat the tiny rabbit.  Does this copier staple and fold documents?  How talented you are!

Where is the predicate located? Sometimes the complete predicate appears at the beginning of a sentence. EXAMPLES  On the tiny branch perched a chickadee.  Covering the side of the hill were wildflowers. Part of the predicate may appear on one side of the subject and the rest on the other side. EXAMPLES  Before winter many birds fly south.  Yesterday the movie star signed autographs.

How can I find the simple predicate? The simple predicate, or verb, is the main word or word group that tells something about the subject. A simple predicate may be a one- word verb, or it may be a verb phrase (a main verb and one or more helping verbs). EXAMPLES These books are available in the media center. Our English class is reading the novel Frankenstein. The musicians have been rehearsing since noon. In this book, the term verb generally refers to the simple predicate.

What about those other words around the verbs? The words not (–n’t) and never, which are frequently used with verbs, are not part of a verb phrase. Both of these words are adverbs. EXAMPLES She did not believe me. They haven’t left yet. The two cousins had never met. I will never eat there again!

Compound Subjects A compound subject consists of two or more connected subjects that have the same verb. The most common connecting words are and and or. EXAMPLES  Keshia and Todd worked a jigsaw puzzle.  Either Carmen or Ernesto will videotape the ceremony tomorrow.  Among the guest speakers were an astronaut, an engineer, and a journalist.

Compound Verbs A compound verb consists of two or more verbs that have the same subject. A connecting word—usually and,or, or but— is used between the verbs. EXAMPLES  The dog barked and growled at the stranger.  The man was convicted but later was found innocent of the crime.  Some plants sprout, bloom, and wither quickly.  You can leave now or wait for the others. Notice in the last sentence that the helping verb can is not repeated before wait. In compound verbs, the helping verb may or may not be repeated before the second verb if the helper is the same for both verbs.

Other types of compounds…  Both the subject and the verb of a sentence may be compound.  In such a sentence, each subject goes with each verb. EXAMPLE The guide and the hikers sat inside and waited for the storm to pass. [The guide sat and waited, and the hikers sat and waited.] There are times when a sentence may contain more than one subject or verb without containing a compound subject or a compound verb. EXAMPLES Noah entered the race, and he won. [compound sentence]

Diagram It! A graphic organizer for a sentence SUBJECTVERB Khahnlaughed Sentence: Khahn laughed. Niyat was singing Sentence: Niyat was singing. Start with a horizontal line, the simple subject ALWAYS goes first, draw a vertical line, then the verb or verb phrase follows!

Classifying Sentences by Purpose A sentence may be classified, depending on its purpose, as  Declarative  Imperative  Interrogative  Exclamatory

Declarative Sentences A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a period. EXAMPLES Miriam Colón founded the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. Miriam Colón founded the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. Curiosity is the beginning of knowledge. Lani wondered why the sky looks blue.

Imperative Sentences An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request. Most imperative sentences end with a period. A strong command ends with an exclamation point. EXAMPLES John, please close the door. [request] Do your homework each night. [mild request] Stop her! [strong command] The subject of an imperative sentence is always you. Often the you is not stated. In such cases, you is called the understood subject. EXAMPLES [You] Do your homework each night. [You] Do your homework each night. [You] Stop her! John, [you] please close the door. [John is a noun of direct address identifying the person spoken to in the sentence. The understood subject is still you.]

Interrogative Sentences An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. EXAMPLES What do you know about glaciers? Was the game exciting? How do diamonds form?

Exclamatory Sentences An exclamatory sentence shows excitement or strong feeling and ends with an exclamation point. EXAMPLES What a sight the sunset is! How thoughtful Tim was to rake the leaves! Sarah won the VCR!