Subjects and Predicates
A sentence is a group of words with two main parts: complete subject and complete predicate.
Together, these parts express a complete thought.
Complete Subject Complete Predicate
Several pilots from several countries have vanished in or near the Bermuda triangle.
The Bermuda Triangle, the area in question, lies between Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto
Rico.
The U.S.S. Cyclops disappeared there in 1918.
The subject contains who or what the sentence is about.
The predicate contains what is happening (the verb).
Examples:
He
|
read about many different animals.
complete
subject
complete predicate
The nurse in the white uniform
|
complete subject
arrived.
complete
predicate
Simple Subjects and Predicates
Every complete subject and complete predicate contains a word or group of words that is essential
to the sentence.
The simple subject is the essential noun or pronoun that cannot be left out of the complete
subject.
The simple predicate is the essential verb or verb phrase that cannot be left out of the complete
predicate.
simple
subject
Examples:
Two of his friends
simple
predicate
|
studied law enforcement.
complete subject
complete predicate
simple
subject
Sick in bed, she
simple
predicate
|
had missed her job interview.
complete subject
complete predicate
Hard-to-find subjects
Every sentence has a subject and a predicate. Sometimes they aren’t easy to find.
* If the sentence is a command, then the subject is called understood you. It’s assumed that
you are the one who will do the action.
Example:
[you] Stop talking.
[you] Be nice to your classmates.
* If the sentence is a question, the subject may not be at the beginning. In order to find the
subject, rewrite the question as a sentence.
Example:
Where is the pencil sharpener?  The pencil sharpener is where?
Did the president win the debate?  The president did win the debate.
Simple, Compound, Complex, Compound-Complex Sentences
compound sentence-has two or more simple sentences joined together by a comma
and a coordinating conjunction or by a semi-colon
compound subject- consists of two or more simple subjects that have the same predicate
simple sentence- has a subject and a predicate and is a complete thought
compound predicate-consists of two or more simple predicates that have the same
subject
main (independent) clause - has a subject and a predicate and can stand alone as a
complex sentence – has one or more subordinate clause(s) with a main clause
subordinate (dependent) clause- a group of words that have a subject and a predicate
but does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence
sentence – it is a simple sentence
compound-complex sentence- has two or more main clauses and one or more
subordinate clauses
Type of
Sentence
Simple
Conjunction
Used
None
Components of It
Sentence Patterns/Example
Subject
Predicate
One complete thought
Two or more independent
(main) clauses joined
together by a comma
conjunction or semi-colon
Independent clause.
The girl ran over the river and
through the woods.
Independent clause, (but, or, not,
yet, so, and, for) independent
clause
The girl went with her dad to the
fair, and her brother came too.
Independent clause; independent
clause
The girl went with her dad to the
fair; her brother came too.
Dependent clause, independent
clause.
Until the grass is green, I don’t
have to mow the lawn.
Independent clause dependent
clause.
I don’t have to mow the lawn
until the grass is green.
Until the grass is green, I don’t
have to mow the lawn, and my
sister doesn’t have to water the
flowers.
Compound
Coordinating
Conjunction
(FAN BOYS)
Or
Semi-colon (;)
Complex
Subordinate
Has an independent
(main) clause and one or
more dependent
(subordinate) clauses
Compoundcomplex
Coordinating
and
Subordinate
Has two or more
independent (main)
clauses and one or more
dependent (subordinate)
clauses