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- Subject_prdicate
Last Updated : 28 July 2013
THE SENTENCE SUBJECT AND PREDICATE
Definition :
A sentence is a grammatically independent unit of expression, made up of two essential parts called the Subject and the Predicate.
Every complete sentence has a subject and a predicate.
THE TWO MAIN PARTS OF A SENTENCE
e.g.
| The Subject | The Predicate |
e.g.
| The girl dances well |
The girl is a subject and dances well is the predicate. If I come up to you and say "The girl", you know that is the subject about which I wish to talk. But I have said nothing about the subject. To make a sentence I must say something about the girl.
If I say "The girl dances well", I have expressed a complete thought and I have made a sentence.
In grammar the person or thing we speak about is called the subject. What we say about the subject is called the predicate.
THE SUBJECT
Definition :
Subjects tell the listener and the reader whom or what the sentence is about. The subject is that part of a sentence which names a person, thing, or idea
e.g.
| The master | The teacher | Stars |
| The dog | Flowers | The sun |
| Clock | The girl | The horse |
| David | The Child | The newspaper |
Every complete subject contains a simple subject. The simple subject, which is a noun or pronoun, is the most important word in the complete subject.
e.g.
| A loud argument |
| The newspaper article |
| We listened to the radio at the beach |
| Sausage and mushrooms are Leo’s favorite pizza toppings |
THE PREDICATE
Definition :
The predicate is that part of a sentence which tells something about the subject.
e.g.
| teaches well | eats grass | twinkle at night |
| the phonograph | shines during the day | bite the boy |
| crows in the morning | dances well | is clever |
A simple predicate (or verb) describes the action or condition of the subject or subjects in a sentence.
e.g.
| Danielle sketched |
| always support each other |
| rarely complains about snow |
SUBJECT AND PREDICATE EXAMPLES
Notice how the following sentence are divided into subject and predicate:
e.g.
| Subject | Predicate |
|---|---|
| The teacher | teaches well |
| Stars | twinkle at night |
| Flowers | bloom in the garden |
| Dogs | like to bark and sniff |
| Active boys | never stop playing |
| The birds | always sing early in the morning |
| The horse | is white |
| The young, worried pilot | read the storm warning |
| Taylor and Charlie | played with their toys |
| The waiter | tripped and fell over the diner’s legs |
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