Finding Subjects & Verbs
 The subject of a sentence is “who or what is doing the
action.
 The verb (also “predicate”) is the action that the subject is
doing.
 The simple subject is the actual word(s) of the specific
person, place, or thing doing the action. Subjects are either
nouns or pronouns!
 The simple predicate (or verb) is just the word(s) that are
the action only.
 When you are looking for subjects and verbs in sentences, it
is very helpful to ask yourself the questions:
1 - “Who or what is doing the action?” (subject)
2 - “What is this person or thing doing?” (verb)
 You can ask either question first to help you find your
subject and verb, whatever works best for you.
PRACTICE SENTENCES
Circle the subject(s) and underline the verb(s) in each sentence below:
1. Jason and Mary look at each other.
2. The birds gathered grass for the nest.
3. The principal talked and listened to the troubled student.
4. We have given money to victims of the tsunami disaster funds.
5. Mr. Moffatt likes overhead projectors.
6. Mrs. Pippenger and her husband walk their dog at night.
7. Levi’s brother has traveled to Europe.
8. The hard, cold chair seat melted in the sun.
9. A vicious, rabid cat purred quietly.
10. Tommy’s doctor operated on an injured accident victim.