1. Parts of the Sentence

2. Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates

3. Simple Subject
1. The simple subject is the one noun (person, place, thing or idea) or pronoun (she, he, it, this, etc.) that shows exactly who or what the sentence is about.
Example: High school requires more time management skills than middle school.
Practice: Circle the simple subject in the following sentence:
Scholarly, enthusiastic students always enjoy my class.

4. Simple Predicate
The simple predicate is the verb (action or state of being word) that tells us something about the subject.
Example: Those trucks carry produce to the city.
Practice: Write one sentence in the space provided about your first week at Saint Mary’s. Circle the simple predicate in your sentence.

5. Complete Subjects and Complete Predicates

6. Complete Subject
The complete subject is all of the words that tell who or what the sentence is about.
Example: Every student in this room right now should learn about subjects and predicates.

7. Complete Predicate
The complete predicate is all the words that tell something about the subject of the sentence.
Example: The big, hungry, green, hairy alien grabbed a student from the back row.

8. Complete Subject and Predicate Practice
Practice: Underline the complete subject in the following sentence in pink. Circle the complete predicate.
Scholarly, enthusiastic students always enjoy my class.

9. Independent and Dependent Clauses

10. Independent Clause
An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause can stand as a sentence all by itself. An independent clause is a complete sentence.

11. Dependent Clause
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot stand as a sentence all by itself. Dependent clauses often begin with conjunctions or prepositions.

12. Dependent Clause Markers
The words below are sometimes called “weakening words” because they can prevent a clause from standing on its own when placed at the beginning:
after unless
although even though until
as how when
because if whenever
before in order to wherever
despite once whether
even if since which
though while

13. Dependent Clause Examples
Example 1: After the students went into the classroom
Example 2: While they learned a new concept
What are the “weakening words” in these dependent clauses? Why can’t these clauses stand by themselves?