Subjects and Predicates

Intro to Lit

SentenceGroup of words with 2 main parts: a complete subject and a complete predicate.

Together these express a complete thought.

Anna and Elsa are the princesses in Frozen.

Olaf the Snowman loves summer.

Complete Subject and Predicates

Complete Subject

The noun, pronoun, or group of words acting as a noun, PLUS any modifiers, that tells who or what the sentence is about.

Anna and Elsa are the princesses in Frozen

The lunch box on the counter is blue.

Complete Predicate

The verb or verb phrase, plus any modifiers and complements, that tells what the complete subject of the sentence does or is.

Anna and Elsa are the princesses in Frozen.

The lunch box on the counter is blue.

PredicatesPart of a complete predicate can come be at the beginning of a sentence, although often it will be found after the complete subject.

It will usually be an adverb at the beginning of the sentence.

Yesterday, my class went on a field trip.

In 1919, my grandmother was born.

Practice: Divide the complete

subject and predicate with a line. You only need to write the words that surround the line. Include any

part of the predicate that is separated.

Uncle Jesse ate the pancakes for supper.

The excited kids are going to the park on Saturday.

Her birthday party is going to be on the second.

Slowly, I ran the marathon.

The basket on the counter was filled with candy.

Loudly, my Aunt Sally asked if I had a date.

Simple Subjects and Predicates

Simple Subject

The essential noun, pronoun, or group of words acting as a noun that cannot be left out of the complete subject.

The tall, dark strangers walked down the dusty road together.

A wild horse ran through the canyon.

Simple Predicate

The essential verb or verb phrase that cannot be left out of the complete predicate.

Sheriff Jones quickly captured the outlaw.

The flowers in the vase were fading fast.

How to locate a subject or verb

To find the subject:

Ask “what word tells what this subject is about?”

Then to find the verb:

Ask “what did the subject do?”

To find the verb:

Ask “What word expresses action or state of being?”

Then to find the subject:

Ask “Who or what?” before the verb

CompoundsCompound Subject

is two or more subjects that have the same verb and are joined by a conjunction such as and or or.

Bobby and Susie went to the dance together.

Neither Sandy nor Greg like lima beans.

Compound Verb

is two or more verbs that have the same subject and are joined by a conjunction such as and or or.

 My little sister sings, dances, and plays the piano.

The cop and robber looked at each other and smiled.

Practice: Write the simple subject and verb down. There may

be compounds.All of the townspeople ran from the burning building and screamed for help.

His broken leg will heal in about three months.

The bright lightening and loud thunder are coming closer.

Dogs and cats do not always get along well.

The stern judge ruled in favor of the defendant.

Hard to Find Subjects

**The subject of a sentence is never there or here!**

here and there in normal use are usually adverbs, answering the question where

there may be used merely to start a sentence occasionally and have no adverbial function

there is then called an expletive

Many sentences that begin with here or there are inverted: the subject follows the verb

Inverted: There are the buses.

Rearranged: The buses are there.

Inverted: Here is the book that I was looking for.

Rearranged: The book I was looking for is here.

In some declarative sentences, the subject follows the verb in order to receive greater emphasis.

Ex: Among the tallest buildings in the world are Chicago’s Sears Tower, the Amoco Building, and the Hancock Building.

*Subjects are never found in prepositional phrases*

(In the cabinet on the left), I found the band aids.

Subjects in Interrogative Sentences

In interrogative sentences, the subject often follows the verb.

Ex: Are you going into town? 

Ex: Is Samantha late for the dance?

Subjects in Imperative Sentences

In imperative sentences, the subject is understood to be you

Ex: (you) First visit the Sears Tower.

This is called the implied or understood you and is written in parentheses.

Subjects in Exclamatory Sentences

In an exclamatory sentence, the subject may come after the verb or may be understood.  

To find the subject in many exclamatory sentences, simply follow the same techniques that you would for finding subjects in interrogative sentences.

Ex: (you) Help!

Ex: (you) Watch out!

Practice: Write the subject of the sentence.

After his long flight, Tom was very tired.

There is the barn that is supposed to be haunted.

Where is my favorite red baseball hat?

Here stands the principal of the school, Mrs. Smith.

Attached is a copy of the file.

Along an old dirt road Hubert found a treasure map.

Please, finish your cereal today.