10.1 Subjects and predicates

Subjects and predicates form the backbone of English sentences. They work together to create meaning, with subjects performing actions and predicates providing information about those subjects. Understanding this relationship is key to crafting clear, effective sentences.

Identifying subjects and predicates helps us analyze sentence structure and improve our writing. We'll look at simple and complete versions of each, compound forms, and how they interact in different sentence types. This knowledge is essential for mastering English grammar.

Understanding Subjects and Predicates

Subject and predicate identification

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• Subject
  • Performs action or described in sentence typically noun or pronoun
  • Answers "Who?" or "What?" (The dog, She, The old car)
  • Examples: "The energetic puppy chased the ball" (The energetic puppy), "She sang beautifully" (She)
• Predicate
  • Provides information about subject contains verb and additional details
  • Answers "What about it?" or "What's happening?" (ran quickly, is blue, sang loudly)
  • Examples: "The sun shines brightly" (shines brightly), "The old house creaked in the wind" (creaked in the wind)
• Simple sentence structure
  • Subject + Predicate forms basic sentence structure
  • "The cat sleeps" - "The cat" (subject) "sleeps" (predicate)
  • "Birds fly" - "Birds" (subject) "fly" (predicate)

Complete vs simple subjects and predicates

• Complete subject
  • Includes simple subject and all modifiers
  • "The sleepy brown cat" - entire phrase is complete subject
  • "My favorite book on the shelf" - entire phrase is complete subject
• Simple subject
  • Core noun or pronoun without modifiers
  • "cat" in "The sleepy brown cat"
  • "book" in "My favorite book on the shelf"
• Complete predicate
  • Includes simple predicate and all modifiers
  • "sleeps soundly on the soft couch" - entire phrase is complete predicate
  • "ran quickly through the park" - entire phrase is complete predicate
• Simple predicate
  • Main verb or verb phrase
  • "sleeps" in "sleeps soundly on the soft couch"
  • "ran" in "ran quickly through the park"

Compound subjects and predicates

• Compound subject
  • Two or more subjects joined by coordinating conjunction
  • "Dogs and cats are popular pets" - "Dogs and cats" is compound subject
  • "Neither the teacher nor the students were prepared" - "Neither the teacher nor the students" is compound subject
• Compound predicate
  • Two or more predicates joined by coordinating conjunction
  • "She sang and danced at the party" - "sang and danced" is compound predicate
  • "The chef chopped, diced, and sautéed the vegetables" - "chopped, diced, and sautéed" is compound predicate
• Complex sentences
  • Contain independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
  • "While the sun was setting, the family enjoyed dinner on the patio" - "While the sun was setting" (dependent clause), "the family enjoyed dinner on the patio" (independent clause)
  • "Although it was raining, we decided to go for a walk" - "Although it was raining" (dependent clause), "we decided to go for a walk" (independent clause)

Subject-predicate relationships in sentences

• Subject-verb agreement
  • Singular subjects require singular verbs (The dog barks)
  • Plural subjects require plural verbs (The dogs bark)
• Inverted sentences
  • Predicate precedes subject
  • "Over the fence jumped the cat" - "jumped" (predicate) comes before "the cat" (subject)
  • "In the garden stood a beautiful statue" - "stood" (predicate) comes before "a beautiful statue" (subject)
• Implied subjects
  • Subject not explicitly stated but understood
  • "Stop!" - implied subject is "you"
  • "Close the door" - implied subject is "you"
• Sentence types and subject-predicate relationships
  • Declarative: Subject + Predicate (The sun is shining)
  • Interrogative: Auxiliary verb + Subject + Main verb (predicate) (Is the sun shining?)
  • Imperative: Implied subject (you) + Predicate (Shine the flashlight)
  • Exclamatory: Can vary, often emphasizes predicate (How brightly the sun shines!)