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The subject is a noun or pronoun and it tells
who or what the sentence is about
The verb will be either an action verb (telling
what the subject did) or a linking verb that
links the subject with a description of the
subject
Example: My new puppy eats peanut butter
My new puppy is cute.
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Sometimes people mistake the OOP in a
prepositional phrase for the subject. To
avoid this, you should cross out the
prepositional phrases in the sentence before
you find the subject.
Example: The parents on Supernanny are
clueless.
Cross out prep phrases and identify subjects and verbs.
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During the movie, some teenagers giggled
at the love scenes.
The strawberry jam in my brother’s
sandwich dripped onto his lap.
Before the test, I glanced through my notes.
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During the movie, some teenagers giggled at
the love scenes.
2.
The strawberry jam in my brother’s sandwich
dripped onto his lap.
3.
Before the test, I glanced through my notes.
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Sometimes the main action or linking verb
has a helping verb in front of it. Include
that when you identify the verb.
◦ Reminder: Helping verbs include do, does,
will, should, could, was, has, have, is, can
Example: The little boy has been climbing
out of bed every night.
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Do not include adverbs as part of the verb.
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Adverbs include lots of the –ly words (slowly, quietly,
etc.) and words such as not, just never, only, and always
So not include infinitives (to+verb) as part of
the main verb.
Example: Supernanny was slowly convincing
the parents to implement discipline
strategies.
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Tony has just agreed to feed his neighbor’s
fish over the holiday.
Many students have not been giving much
thought to selecting a major.
I would have preferred a movie with a happy
ending.
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2.
3.
Tony has just agreed to feed his neighbor’s
fish over the holiday.
Many students have not been giving much
thought to selecting a major.
I would have preferred a movie with a happy
ending.
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Sometimes you will find more than one
subject or verb in the sentence.
Hint: Look for a conjunction (usually “and”)
Example of compound subject: Both the son
and the daughter threw temper tantrums.
Example of compound verbs: The little boy
climbed out of bed, ran down the hall, and hit
his mother.
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We bought a big bag of peanuts and
finished it by the movie’s end.
Canned salmon and tuna contain significant
amounts of calcium.
The magician and his assistant bowed and
disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
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We bought a big bag of peanuts and
finished it by the movie’s end.
Canned salmon and tuna contain significant
amounts of calcium.
The magician and his assistant bowed and
disappeared in a cloud of smoke.