Grammar of the Week – Larsen
Name: _______________________
Parts of Sentences
Information to Know
The term “Parts of Sentences” refers to the way a word functions in a sentence.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The only required parts of a sentence are the SUBJECT (what the sentence is about) and the PREDICATE (what
the subject is or is doing).
 Usually the subject and predicate are a noun and an action verb, but not always.
 Keep in mind that subjects aren’t always nouns and that forms of the verb “to be” (is, are, was,
appears, becomes, seems, etc.) are sometimes the predicate of the sentence.
 Every once in a while, a sentence will not directly state the subject or the predicate…that’s fine as long
as the subject and predicate are still very clear.
Charles lost his keys.
Charles is a boy.
Losing his keys wasn’t fun.
Be quiet and turn off the TV.
What’s on? Nothing.
Charles= subject; lost= predicate
Charles= subject; is= predicate
Losing= subject; wasn’t= predicate
‘You’ is the understood subject; be and turn = predicates
What and nothing are the subjects; On is the predicate of both sentences (but
implied, not directly stated, in the second sentence)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sentences usually have other parts as well.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An OBJECT receives the action of a predicate.
 Most objects are Direct Objects which are nouns or pronouns that come after action verbs.
 Sometimes a sentence will contain an Indirect Object which is a noun or pronoun to whom something
is given, told, or taught.
Chickens eat oyster shells.
Ancient people made tools and weapons.
I give my friends gifts on their birthdays.
Oyster shells = direct object (the noun that is eaten by the
chickens)
Tools and weapons = direct objects (the nouns that are made
by the people)
Gifts = direct object (the noun that is given by me); friends =
indirect object (the noun to whom the gifts are given)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREDICATE NOUNS and PREDICATE ADJECTIVES follow linking verbs (forms of “to be,” etc.) and either
describe the subject or tell the reader more about who or what the subject is. Basically, they are the nouns or
adjectives following linking verbs.
The inventor of The Snuggie is a marketing genius.
Spiders are numerous.
Marketing genius = predicate noun; is = linking verb
Numerous = predicate adjective; are = linking verb
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES are a group of words, starting with a preposition and ending with an object of the
preposition, which tell how, what kind, when, how much, or where. These can appear anywhere in a sentence.
Tall ships once sailed throughout the world.
This week, Pepsi is on sale at Safeway.
Many lessons in English class are boring.
Throughout the world = prepositional phrase
This week and at Safeway = prepositional phrases
In English class = prepositional phrase
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An APPOSITIVE is a group of words that identifies, defines, or tells more about a noun. Appositives follow the
noun they identify and are usually separated from the rest of the sentence by commas or parentheses.
The spinning jenny, a thread making machine, helped start the Industrial Revolution.
A thread making machine = appositive (defines what the spinning jenny is)
Grammar of the Week – Larsen
Name: _______________________
Practice Exercises (10 points)
Circle the subjects and underline the predicates in the following sentences:
1. My deck collapsed.
2. Jon’s shoe doesn’t fit anymore.
Circle the subjects, underline the predicates, and cross out the objects (both direct and indirect) in the
following sentences.
3. My dog likes to eat leftover mac and cheese.
4. I bought Tony dinner and he ordered lasagna.
Circle the prepositional phrases and underline the appositives in the following sentences: (Note: not all
sentences will have both.)
5. On Thursday, you receive a new Grammar of the Week assignment.
6. If Jimmy could cure Philasongergers Disease, which attacks the liver of a shark, he could retire and
move to Florida.
7. To get to Matilda’s house after practice, I have to drive over the river and through the woods.
Circle the predicates and underline the objects, predicate nouns, or predicate adjectives in the following
sentences. At the end of each sentence, write out whether the sentence contained any of the following: a
linking verb, a direct object, an indirect object, a predicate noun, and/or a predicate adjective.
8. Hilda is a common name in parts of Europe.
9. Marco was a football player until he broke his leg in two places.
10. My new blanket is fluffy and keeps my toes warm.
Review Exercises (10 points)
Label all the parts of speech contained in the following sentences:
1. The wheels on the bus go around and around.
2.
Old Macdonald had a farm.
3.
The tiny spider climbed up a pipe.
Label all the parts of the following sentences:
4.
On Old Macdonald’s farm, the pigs sleep on feather beds.
5.
The spider, which had climbed up the spout, was sad when the rain came down again.
6.
I gave my neighbor a bus ticket for her anniversary.
Write sentences that contain all of the parts of speech or parts of sentences indicated. You can order each
sentence however you want. Each sentence should be different and each part should be labeled:
7.
8.
9.
10.
Subject, predicate, direct object
Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, prepositional phrase
Pronoun, linking verb, predicate noun
Subject, predicate, appositive, interjection