Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

What is a sentence?
A sentence is a group of words which expresses a complete thought.

These are sentences (they express a

complete idea):

• I like to swim.
• Jack bakes tasty cookies.
• Mary will quit his job.

These are not complete sentences (they don't express a

complete idea): What did she give?
• She gave me the. Who will build the house?
• Will build the house. Is Tony watching the movie now? Was he
• Tony watching a movie. watching the movie in the past? Or will he be
watching the movie in the future?

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

A sentence can express:

 A statement.
Example: You are tall.

 A question.
Example: Are you tall?

 An order.
Example: Be tall!

 A wish.
Example: I wish I were taller.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

Does your sentence have SWAG?

S tarts with a capital letter.

W ritten neatly
A space between each word
G iven punctuation at the end.

you are tall.

Youaretall.
You are tall,

You are tall.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

What is a fragment?
Fragments are groups of words that look like sentences, but aren't. A
sentence fragment fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot
stand by itself. It doesn’t have complete thought.
Examples:

• Slammed the door and left.

• A time of wonder and amazement.
• Such as drama, music and dance.
Sentence fragments can make your writing very confusing. Avoid sentence
fragments in professional writing, formal writing, essays, business letters, and
compositions.

Sentence fragments are written and

acceptable in the following types of writing:
∙poetry
∙quotes and quoted speech
∙plays

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Decide whether the following are sentences or fragments

1. Alex is excited about watching the Olympics.

2. Because she didn't do her homework.
3. When he's finished with that.
4. Carlos can go to the game.
5. While watching the Olympics on TV.
6. Before you do your homework.
7. That's the boy who stole my bus money.
8. Out of all those students.
9. Because none of the others studied.
10.To get a good grade on the test.
11. You'll have to study hard.
12.I'm looking forward to our trip to Disney World.
13.Only Miranda passed the test.
14.Walking happily down the road.
15.We have to study spelling every day.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

What are the parts of a sentence?

A sentence must minimally have a subject and a verb. Sometimes the

subject can be omitted if it is understood.

In the following examples the subject is green and the verb is red:
Tom walks.
We met Susan.
They are washing the dishes.
Lisa will arrive soon.
She is nice.
There is food on the table.
Leave! (The subject in this sentence was omitted, since it is understood to be
"you": You leave!)

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

Every sentence has a subject and predicate.

The subject tells whom or what the sentence is about.

For example; The house, The red car, or The great teacher.

The predicate tells what the subject is or does.

For example; (The house) is white, (The red car) is fast, or
(The great teacher) likes students.

The house is white.

The car is blue.
The teacher likes students.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

The subject is the person or thing about which

something is being stated.
Examples (the subject is in
bold):
"Joe is a good boy."
• Ronnie finished his
Who is a good boy? homework.
Joe is. • She was hit by a ball.
So "Joe" is the subject. • Spain is in Europe.
• Pigs and cows can't fly.
• Traveling is fun.
• War is a terrible thing.
• There is a mouse in the
room.
• Stand up! (The subject is
understood to be you.)

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

How can you identify the subject?

To identify the subject of the sentence, first find the verb. Then ask,
"Who or what (verb)?"
• Examples for the above sentences:
• Who finished his homework? Ronnie.
The answer is your subject. Subject = Ronnie
• Who was hit by a ball? She.
Subject = she
• What is in Europe? Spain.
Subject = Spain
• Who can't fly? Pigs and cows.
Subject = pigs and cows
• What is fun? Traveling.
Subject = traveling
• What is a terrible thing? War.
Subject = war
• Who is in the room? A mouse.
Subject = a mouse
• Who should stand up? You.
Subject = you

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Simple subject
The subject can be a single word:
She is home.
Or, it can be a KEY word and some additional words around it:
The nice old lady from across the street is home.
That KEY word is called a simple subject.
In the above example the subject is built
around the noun lady. The other words
around it (the, nice, old, from, across, the,
street) simply describe the noun "lady."

Examples (the subject is in bold, the

simple subject is in bold and red):

• The cat is asleep.

• Many good people are leaving.
• The best student in the class only got a B+.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Compound subject
A compound subject is a subject that is made up of two or more
simple subjects, connected by conjunctions such as and, but, or.
Note that the simple subjects can have additional words describing
them.
The important thing is that when you can find more than one
simple subject in the subject of a sentence – you have a compound
subject.
Example 1 (the subjects are in bold, the simple subjects are in bold
and underlined, and the compound subject is in bold and purple):
Bob knows what to do.
Daniel knows what to do.
When we combine these two sentences we get:
Bob and Daniel know what to do.
"Bob and Daniel" is a compound subject.
How do we know it's a compound subject?
Well, it's because we have two simple subjects:
Bob, Daniel.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Example 2 (the subjects are in bold, the simple subjects are in
bold and underlined, and the compound subject is in bold and
purple):
The fat cat is on the couch.
The small dog is on the couch.
When we combine these two sentences we get:
The fat cat and the small dog are on the couch.
"The fat cat and the small dog" is a compound subject.
How do we know it's a compound subject?
Well, it's because we have two simple subjects:
cat, dog.
Some more examples (the complete subjects are in bold, the simple
subjects are in bold and underlined, and the compound subject is in
bold and purple):
• Mom and Dad visited us yesterday.
• Jack and Bonnie are getting married next month.
• My brother Kevin and my sister Jane are out of the country.
• A tall guy, a nice-looking girl and a black cat were sitting on the couch.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Identify the simple complete subject in each sentence.

1. Daniel can come with us to the movie.

2. Li is my best friend.
3. The moon is shining bright.
4. Cassia is writing a letter.
5. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes
6. The firemen are extinguishing the fire.
7. We went to lunch with Amar and his friend today.
8. Juan and Julian worked so hard on their project.
9. A large number of swimmers competed in the race this year.
10.The tired old man came in from the rain.
11.People really need to stop littering.
12.I am very hungry.
13.Oh my gosh, I forgot my homework!
14.This beautiful 15th century painting is priceless.
15. The wild bunny hopped across the road.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Use the following words as an subjects in a sentence.

1. young boy
2. I
3. my grandmother
4. Mycha and Jeroem
5. big red apple
6. English
7. ice cream and cake
8. South Korea
9. Earth
10. the stars

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

The predicate always includes a verb.

("Predicate" is also a verb that means, "to state something.")

Examples (the subject is in

bold):
"Joe is a good boy."
• Ronnie finished his
The subject is Joe. homework.
Now, what about Joe? • She was hit by a ball.
He is a good boy. • Spain is in Europe.
So "is a good boy" is a • Pigs and cows can't fly.
predicate. • Traveling is fun.
• War is a terrible thing.
• There is a mouse in the
room.
• Stand up! (The subject is
understood to be you.)

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate

How can you identify the predicate?

To identify the predicate of the sentence, look for the statement about the
subject.
For example, let's look at the sentence "John went home."
John is the subject. What is said about John? That he went home!
So "went home" is the predicate. And as always, it contains a verb (went).
Examples for the above sentences:
What about Ronnie? He finished his homework.
Predicate = finished his homework
What about her? She was hit by the ball.
Predicate = was hit by the ball
What about Spain? It is in Europe.
Predicate = is in Europe
What about pigs and cows? They can't fly.
Predicate = can't fly.
What about traveling? It is fun.
Predicate = is fun
What about war? It is terrible.
Predicate = is terrible
What about the mouse? It is in the room.
Predicate = is in the room
What about you? Stand up.
Predicate = stand up
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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Simple predicate
The predicate can be a single word:
Jane left.
Or, it can be a KEY word and some additional words around it:
Jane left the house.
That KEY word is called a simple predicate.
In the above example the predicate is built
around the verb left. The other words around
it (the, house) simply describe the verb "left."

Examples (the predicate is in bold, the

simple predicate is in bold and red):
The cat is asleep.
Many people found this book helpful.
The best student in the class only got a
B+.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Compound predicate
A compound predicate is a predicate that is made up of two or more
simple predicates, connected by conjunctions such as and, but, or.
Note that the simple predicates can have additional words describing
them.
The important thing is that when you find more than one simple predicate
in the predicate of a sentence – you have a compound predicate.
Example 1 (the predicates are in bold, the simple predicates are in
bold and underlined, and the compound predicate is in bold and
purple):
Sarah baked some cookies.
Sarah made some coffee.
When we combine these two sentences we get:
Sarah baked some cookies and made some coffee.
"Baked some cookies and made some coffee" is a compound
predicate.
How do we know it's a compound predicate?
Well, it's because we have two simple predicates:
baked, made.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Example 2 (the predicates are in bold, the simple predicates are in bold
and underlined, and the compound predicate is in bold and purple):
George will choose the color.
George will paint the wall.
When we combine these two sentences we get:
George will choose the color and paint the wall.
"Will choose the color and paint the wall" is a compound predicate.
How do we know it's a compound predicate?
Well, it's because we have two simple predicates:
will choose, paint.

Some more examples (the complete predicates are in bold, the simple
predicates are in bold and underlined, and the compound predicate is
in bold and purple):
• Martin lives in Italy and works in a school.
• She knew the truth but refused to talk about it.
• They waited for a while and then returned home.
• We all watched, listened and asked questions.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Use the following verbs as an predicates in a sentence.

1. is
2. study
3. trip and fall
4. pass by
5. clap and scream
6. were
7. come home
8. keep out
9. sing and dance
10. broke

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Identify the complete predicate in each sentence.

1. Daniel can come with us to the movie.

2. Li is my best friend.
3. The moon is shining bright.
4. Cassia is writing a letter.
5. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes
6. The firemen are extinguishing the fire.
7. We went to lunch with Amar and his friend today.
8. Juan and Julian worked so hard on their project.
9. A large number of swimmers competed in the race this year.
10.The tired old man came in from the rain.
11.People really need to stop littering.
12.I am very hungry.
13.Oh my gosh, I forgot my homework!
14.This beautiful 15th century painting is priceless.
15. The wild bunny hopped across the road.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Tell whether the following words in bold are simple subject, simple
predicate, complete subject or complete predicate.

1. The horse ran in the field.

2. The people in the house are having a party.
3. Mom asked me to go to the store.
4. The U. S. President spoke to the American people.
5. Jose rode her bike to school.
6. The students of Kennedy School watched the presentation by the
jugglers.
7. Melanie's mother drove her to the doctor in Chicago.
8. The defensive tackle of the Chicago Bears missed the running
back as he ran by him.
9. Joseph's brother bought a new car.
10.Allison likes to play volleyball.

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Lesson 1 – Subject and Predicate
Identify the simple subjects and simple predicates in each sentence.

1. The boy ate the apple.

2. I need help with this math problem.
3. Next week my grandmother is coming from Korea.
4. My favorite month is May.
5. May is my favorite month.
6. Our homeroom is having a pizza party tomorrow.
7. Football is played in every country in the world.
8. Yasmin yawned.
9. My expensive new watch has stopped.
10.Sitting on the roof of my house was a huge black bird.
11.After dinner I like to have a little sleep in front of the television.
12.I always bring my dictionary to class.
13.You have a vocabulary test tomorrow.
14.My friend and I went shopping.
15.At the weekend my mother works at a sports club.

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The End