LANGUAGE Sentences Subjects - Predicates Punctuation

SENTENCES When you read this, you are reading a sentence. Now you are reading another sentence. What is a sentence?

A sentence is a group of words that tells a complete thought. A sentence is a group of words that make sense.

Look at these groups of words. Are they sentences? 1. Jennifer walks to the beach. 2. She takes her dog with her. 3. in the water

Number 1 is a complete thought. Jennifer walks to the beach. Every sentence must start with a capital letter and ends with a punctuation mark. A sentence tells a complete thought.

Number 2 is also a sentence. It tells you a complete thought. She takes her dog with her. It also starts with a capital letter and ends with a period.

Number 3 is not a sentence. It does not tell you a complete thought. It leaves you with questions. in the water What is in the water?

Number 3 is a phrase. We can add words to make it a complete sentence. Change, “in the water,” to a complete sentence.

SUBJECTS Every sentence must have a subject. The subject is the who or what the sentence is about.

Jennifer walks her dog. To find the subject ask: who or what. Who walks the dog? Jennifer walks the dog. Jennifer is the subject.

PREDICATE After you find the subject it is easy to find the predicate. The predicate is just about all of the other words in the sentence.

Jennifer walks her dog. Jennifer is the subject. “walks her dog,” is the predicate. The predicate is the verb and the words after the verb.

Can you find the subject and the predicate in the sentence below? Remember: the subject tells you who or what. The predicate is the verb and the words after the verb.

STOP Lauren swims in the water. Circle the subject. Underline the predicate.

STOP Emmaly rode her blue bike in the street. Circle the subject. Underline the predicate.

Sometimes a subject has more than one word. See if you can find the subject in the next sentence.

Our new teacher has long brown hair. Remember to ask: who or what? Who has long brown hair?

If you guessed, our new teacher, you are right! Sometimes extra words are used to describe the subject.

STOP – Find the subject. My little grandbaby Madison has blue eyes.

Can you find the subject and the predicate of the next sentence? Subject: who or what Predicate: verb and words after the verb

STOP Circle the complete subject. Underline the complete predicate. The alien spaceship landed at our school.

Rules for Writing Sentences Rule 1. Every sentence must begin with a capital letter. Rule 2. Every sentence must end with a punctuation mark. Use different marks for different kinds of sentences.

. ? ! You use a period to end sentences that tell something. Sentences that ask questions end with question marks. Sentences that show excitement end with an exclamation mark!

Now it is your turn. See if you can pick the correct punctuation for the next sentences.

We won __ What’s for lunch__ I got an A on the test__ My dog ate the plant__ Can you come over__

Bonus: Find some complete sentences in books and magazines. Write down the sentences. Circle the complete subject and underline the complete predicate.