Finding the Subject & the Predicate in a simple sentence

• English
• Vocational Education

EN3 - Sentence Structure Learning Objectives:

• Identifying the simple & complete subject in a sentence,
• Identifying the simple & complete predicate in a sentence,
• Constructing proper simple sentences. 

The sentence

The sentence is the building block of all writing.

Paragraphs, memos, letters, reports, essays and books are constructed from sentences.

But how are they created?

What are the properties needed to construct a sentence?

A properly constructed sentence must have 

• a subject, 
• a verb, 
• and sufficient meaning.

What is a simple sentence?

A simple sentence has one subject and one verb.

It contains one independent clause.

**NOTE: more complicated sentences can have more than one subject and one verb and more than one clause.

The Subject 

• The subject of a sentence is usually a NOUN (John, car, politics, etc.) or a PRONOUN (I, she, they, etc.).
• It is usually located  near the beginning of a sentence.

Nouns name persons, places and things. Nouns can be:

• Common (general persons, places and things; city, boy, car).
• Proper (particular persons, places and things; Los Angeles, Peter, Dr Jones).

Examples of Subject Nouns

Proper Noun/Person: Fred drove to the store.

Common Noun/ Person: The manager counted the day's receipts.

Proper Noun/ Place: New York is a city with many sky scrapers.

Common Noun/Place: The north coast is rugged terrain .

Proper Noun/Thing: The Betico Croes Statue was circled by people.

Common Noun/Thing: The large table was dirty.

Examples of Subject Pronouns

I am a mechanic.

You should go to the job fair next week.

It is a large, white, furry, carnivorous bear living near the North Pole.

They should invest in funds for their child's future education.

Identifying the Subject

The subject identifies who or what is doing something or being something.

Example:

1. Teachers educate students. -> Teachers = Subject Noun doing an activity -> educating students.
2. Teachers are educators. -> Teachers = Subject Noun being something (state of existence)

Identifying the Subject

To find the subject of a sentence, first find the verb. Then ask, "Who?" or "What?"

The answer will be the subject.

Read the following sentence, find the verb and then ask "Who?" or "What?". What is the subject?

The invoice was paid on February 10.

Read the following sentence, find the verb and then ask "Who?" or "What?". What is the subject?

Several cracks appeared in the ceiling after the earthquake.

Simple or Complete Subjects?

Do not be confused if a sentence has several nouns or pronouns in it. Only the word that answers 
"Who?" or "What?" before the verb can be the subject.

Ex: The secretary blamed herself, not the manager, the supervisor, or the other employees, for the mistake.

Who blamed? -> secretary

Simple or Complete Subjects?

The main noun or pronoun without any of its modifiers that answers the question "Who?" or "What?" before the verb is the SIMPLE SUBJECT.

The simple subject and its modifiers is the COMPLETE SUBJECT.

Modifiers= the words and phrases that describe it.

Simple or Complete Subjects?

Read the following sentence:

A tall, gracious, smiling waiter seated us at our table.

• What is the simple subject?
• waiter
• What is the complete subject?
• A tall, gracious, smiling waiter

Simple or Complete Subjects?

Read the following sentence:

The tired, elderly man trudged down the street.

• What is the simple subject?
• man
• What is the complete subject?
• The tired, elderly man 

Simple or Complete Subjects?

Read the following sentence:

Our favorite movie from our childhood was playing on TV.

• What is the simple subject?
• movie
• What is the complete subject?
• Our favorite movie from our childhood

What is the simple subject?

The little dog barked at the mailman.

What is the complete subject?

The cute baby cried in her crib.

Compound Subjects

Compound subjects can also be used in simple sentences.

What is a compound sentence?

1. A compound sentence consists of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, or, either/or, (or) neither/nor.
2. Compound subjects can be separated by other words, but they are still considered one subject as long as they are doing the same action or being the same thing.

Compound Subjects

Bill and Raul drove to the cinemas.

Either you or I will have to pick Melanie up at the bus station.

Charles the dentist, Clyde the doctor, and Philip the chiropractor went to a meeting.

Large, Rottweilers; fast Russian greyhounds; and small aggressive Chihuahuas are popular pets around the world.

What is the compound subject?

The child's ears and nose looked just like its mother's.

What is the compound subject?

Jupiter, Mars, and Venus are planets in our solar system.

The Predicate

The predicate is the part of a sentence (or clause) that tells us what the subject does or is. Predicates provide information about the subject, such as what the subject is doing or what the subject is like. It must contain a verb but may also contain other sentence elements.

Example:

The cat is sleeping in the sun. ->the clause 'is sleeping in the sun'= predicate

Simple or Complete Predicate?

The simple predicate, or verb, is the main word or word group that tells something about the subject.

 The complete predicate consists of the simple predicate, or verb and all the words that describe the verb and complete its meaning.

Simple or Complete Predicate?

Example:

The party for my grandparents’ fiftieth anniversary ended with a grand display of fireworks.

COMPLETE PREDICATE: ended with a grand display of fireworks

SIMPLE PREDICATE:  ended

What is the simple predicate?

The guitarist put new strings on her guitar.

What is the complete predicate?

The musician played a twelve-string guitar.

Now it's your turn!

Underline the complete predicate and circle the simple predicate.

1.  The new strings sounded much better.
   
2. She tuned her guitar several times.
   
3. The guitarist played the first string with the help of a pitch pipe.
   
4. She then tuned all the strings to the first string.
   
5. Well-tuned strings are important to the musician.
   
6. The guitarist has a good ear for pitch.