Section outline

  • There are two main parts of a sentence: subject & predicate.

    1. Subject tells us who or what the sentence is about.

    Features:

    • It tells us who is performing the action.
    • It is usually a noun or pronoun.
    • Simple subject: one subject. 
    • Compound subject: more than one subject.
    2. Predicate tells us something about the subject or what the subject is doing.

    Features:

    • It starts with the verb.
    • It contains objects, complements or adverbs, etc.
    • It describes the subject or tells us about the action done by the subject.
    • It may consists of one or many words.

    Identification:

    1. Identify the verb.
    2. Ask who or what to the verb.
    3. That is the subject of the sentence.
    4. Remaining part including the verb is the predicate.

    Example:

    The children are playing in the garden.

    Here,

    1. The children - subject (who)
    2. are playing in the garden - predicate
    3. are playing - verb

    • Subject & predicate is one of the most important & basic topic in English Grammar.

      There are some key points to remember:

      1. Usually in a regular sentence order is:

      Subject at the beginning, followed by the predicate.

      Exception:

      Sometimes for emphasis, predicate comes at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the subject.

      Example:

      On the hill stood a tall tree.

      Here,

      • A tall tree - subject.
      • On the hill - predicate.

      2. For interrogative & exclamatory sentences the order is:

      Predicate - subject - predicate

      Examples:

      • What are you wearing?
      • How beautiful she is!

      Here, 'you, she' are the subjects, rest all is the predicate.

      3. Imperative sentences: 

      Subject may be implied.

      Example:

      Sit down.

      Here, the subject you is implied.

      Hence the sentence is: You sit down.