Subjects and Predicates
Grammar Rules Guide - Chapter 35
In English, every sentence has two essential parts: a complete subject and a complete predicate.
Subjects
The complete subject is the simple subject (a noun or a pronoun) plus any words or group of words modifying the simple subject that tells who or what the sentence is about:
The high from my Mountain Dew usually lasts about an hour.
To find the complete subject, ask Who? or What? insert the verb, and finish the question. The answer is the complete subject:
What usually lasts about an hour? The high from my Mountain Dew.
The simple subject is the essential noun, pronoun, or group of words acting as a noun that cannot be left out of the complete subject. In order to identify it, remove the complements and modifiers and whatever is left is the simple subject:
The high from my Mountain Dew (article and simple subject) usually lasts about an hour (prepositional phrase and predicate).
Tip: Does the sentence make sense with just the word (high) identified as the simple subject?
(The) high usually lasts about an hour.
Additional Facts About Subjects
The Understood You
Sometimes, as in the case of imperative sentences (see Verb Mood), the subject does not actually appear in the sentence. At such times the invisible subject is called the understood you:
(You) Rent "The Last of the Mohicans" from the video store.
Positioning
Although the subject most commonly appears before the verb, it can also appear after it:
In sentences that begin with there is or there are. There is an expletive or empty word which simply gets the sentence started:
There are precious few hills in Illinois. vs. Precious few hills are in Illinois.
In sentences which are inverted for effect:
Happy is the wife of Harrison Ford. vs. The wife of Harrison Ford is happy.
Predicates
The complete predicate is the verb plus its objects, complements, and adverbial modifiers that tell what the complete subject does or is:
The high from my Mountain Dew usually lasts about an hour.
To find the complete predicate, ask What does the subject (the high) do? (It) usually lasts about an hour.
The simple predicate is the essential verb or verb phrase that cannot be left out of the complete predicate. Again, remove the modifiers and complements to identify it:
The high from my Mountain Dew (adverb and simple predicate) usually lasts about an hour (prepositional phrase).
Tip: Does the sentence make sense with just the word identified as the simple predicate?
The high from my Mountain Dew lasts.
Compound Subjects and Predicates
Although the examples so far have contained only one subject and one verb, a sentence may contain a compound subject, a compound predicate, or both.
The compound subject consists of two or more subjects that have the same verb and are joined by a conjunction such as and or or: Spencer and Annie wagged their tails.
The compound predicate consists of two or more verbs that have the same subject and are joined by a conjunction such as and or or: I came, saw, and conquered.
Grammar Rules Guide Index
Active and Passive Voice - Chapter 1
Adjective, Adverb, and Noun Clauses - Chapter 2
Adjectives - Chapter 3
Adverbs - Chapter 4
Appositives - Chapter 5
Auxiliary Verbs - Chapter 6
Common and Proper Nouns - Chapter 7
Comparatives and Superlatives - Chapter 8
Complements - Chapter 9
Conjunctions - Chapter 10
Conjunctive Adverbs - Chapter 11
Dangling Modifiers - Chapter 12
Direct and Indirect Objects - Chapter 13
Fused Sentences, Run-Ons, and Comma Splices - Chapter 14
Homophones - Chapter 15
Independent and Dependent Clauses - Chapter 16
Interjections - Chapter 17
Mass and Count Nouns - Chapter 18
Misplaced Modifiers - Chapter 19
Noun and Pronoun Case - Chapter 20
Noun and Verb Phrases - Chapter 21
Nouns - Chapter 22
Parallelism - Chapter 23
Perfect and Progressive Verb Forms - Chapter 24
Prepositional Phrases - Chapter 25
Prepositions - Chapter 26
Principal Parts of Verbs - Chapter 27
Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement - Chapter 28
Pronouns - Chapter 29
Regular and Irregular Verbs - Chapter 30
Relative Clauses - Chapter 31
Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses - Chapter 32
Sentence Fragments - Chapter 33
Sentence Types - Chapter 34
Subjects and Predicates - Chapter 35
Verb Mood - Chapter 36
Verbals and Verbal Phrases - Chapter 37
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