One more thing to add to your knowledge of subject is that subject can can occur in a variety of grammatical forms: 5. (closest subject is plural) The subject may be a noun phrase — that is, a word group made up of a head noun and any modifiers, determiners (such as the, a, her ), and/or complements. Sometimes the subject of a sentence can’t be as simple as one word, so we need different types in order to be able to say what we mean. Here are some examples of subject verb agreement with collective nouns: Here are some examples of subject verb agreement with inverted subjects where the subject follows the verb: Subject/verb agreement is essential to ensure that a sentence is grammatically correct. There are three main types of subjects: simple, compound, and complete. From the observation so far, we have been able to establish what a subject of a sentence is or what it means; now we may flex our knowledge further by putting up a detailed definition of the subject. Subject = dog, At home, the dog cooked popcorn. Examples of compound subjects using or, neither-nor, or either-or include: My mom or dad is coming to the play. Many sentences have only one subject, but they can also have two or more. To find a sentence’s subject, usually all you have to ask is: what is this sentence about? But, what’s more, all subjects need a verb to show an action that is being done. Smoking destroys your lungs. Remember, a gerund works like a noun, not a verb! In this example, the subject is “cat” and the verb is “ran”. — Mathew B. Christensen The subject is the person or thing that performs the action of the verb. This sentence includes the modifier “fat” to better describe the dog. A simple subject is the main word that tells what a sentence is about. In this first example, the proper noun Felix is the subject of the sentence: Felix laughed. When two or more subjects in a sentence share the same verb, it makes a compound subject: For a compound subject to occur, the subjects MUST share the same verb. Subject verb agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in number. Subject as a subordinate noun clause: In all the cited sentences if you observe carefully you will notice the subject is neither a noun, nor a pronoun, nor an infinitive âtoâ nor a gerund noun, it is a subordinate noun clause. “He” as subject 3. Sometimes the subject is only one word, called a simple subject; sometimes subjects share a verb and become a compound subject; or sometimes they include other descriptive words, called a complete subject. As you now know, gerunds function as a noun; therefore, it can be used as the subject of a sentence. “County fairs” a… Here are some examples of subject verb agreement (the subject is bolded and the verb underlined): Compound subjects (two subjects in the same sentence) usually take a plural verb, unless the combination is treated as singular in popular usage or the two subjects refer to the same thing or person. We don’t need to say these two things separately, which is why we have compound subjects. It’s important to be able to distinguish between the subject and an object in a sentence. For example; The cat ran. Subject = “fat dog”. Let’s try another: The dog danced for the rabbit, and the cat slept. The gerunds in the examples, written in bold letters, are used as a subject of the sentence. “the dog” as subject 4. Let’s look more closely at the third sentence: Silly Sally and her best friend Sam drove to the fair. Because they are the focus, subjects usually come at the beginning of a sentence; many times they are the first word or words. In this case, they are compound verbs. Examples to Identify Subjects in Sentences A subject simply means who/what does something; subject may be a living thing or a non-living thing. So, this sentence is about “the fat dog with brown fur,” not just any dog. Subject = dog. (singular) Either Grandpa or my sisters are going to the park. A subject heads a sentence, and requires the verb to agree with it. It’s the noun that is “doing” something in the sentence. Like subjects, they often come at the beginning of the sentence, but, they are NOT the subject—they only give details. Troy is the subject of the sentence. Let’s look at this sentence: This sentence has only one subject: the dog. BUT, you couldn’t do the same thing with a subject, like this: Went to the county fair the dog. This sentence is about Katherine reading. You'll also see some simple sentences with more than one verb and a single subject. A complete subject is made up of all of the words that tell what a sentence is about, including modifiers: All of these sentences include modifiers that add to the subject. I really love the county fair. Subject = gerund phrase “eating popcorn”. Here are some examples of subject verb agreement with compound subjects: When using “or” or “nor” in a compound subject containing a singular and plural subject, the verb agrees with the closest subject. The subjects are underlined in the examples below: Sometimes a subject is only one word, but sometimes it includes modifiers, or can be a noun phrase or gerund. A preposition is a word that indicates location, like in, at, with, on, beside, before, after, to name a few. Example: Troy threw the ball to Kevin. Because they are the focus, subjects usually come at the beginning of a sentence; many times they are the first word or words. One important point is that, a subject must precede its finite verb — meaning it must be followed by a finite verbOpens in new window. It appears that somebody is ordering someone to do a certain thing. An easy trick to remember is that the prepositional phrase can usually be switched to the end of the sentence: The dog went to the county fair last night. To find a sentence’s subject, you just need to ask: The main word that tells what a sentence is about is the, When more than one subject share the same verb, you have a, A subject together with all of its modifiers is the. If we ask the question “what is this sentence about?”, our answer is the two subjects “Silly Sally and her best friend Sam.”. Subject = gerund “eating”, Eating popcorn is my dog’s favorite hobby. Who threw the ball? Every sentence has at least one subject, and it can be almost anything. Because gerund and gerund phrases work like nouns, they can also be subjects, like this: Eating is my dog’s favorite hobby. County fairs always have popcorn stands. So remember, a subject is nothing without its verb, and a sentence doesn’t exist without its subject! A phrase is a group of two or more words that work together but don’t form a clause; and a noun phrase has a noun or pronoun as the main word, and acts like a noun in a sentence. provides open learning resources for your academics, careers, intellectual development, and other wisdom related purposes. Sometimes it can be confusing, so remember this rule: a subject “does” the verb, and an object “gets” the action of the verb. This means both need to be singular or both need to be plural. The easiest way to see this is with some examples: Misha walked and looked around. You can see that this sentence is unnecessarily long. A noun may be used as a subject of a verb. All Rights Reserved. Driving is a tiresome job. It is a simple subject. The cat is the subject of the sentence. Adding a prepositional phrase does not affect a sentence’s subject. For example: Walking is good for your health. So, they are absolutely crucial to writing and speaking in English. Sally and Sam went to the fair together. In each of these sentences the subject âyouâ is implied. Furthermore, you want to be sure not to mistake an object or prepositional phrase for a subject. The rabbit ran after the dog. Because the sentence says something about that cat and tells that the cat is running. To find the subject of a sentence: 1) Find the verb. Copyright © 2020 LoveToKnow. The subject is about who or what the exact sentence and it tells the subject that it is a predicate. Prepositional phrases combine a preposition with a noun. Subject = dog, Last night, the dog went to the county fair. NounsOpens in new window can function as subjects of verbs when they answer the question Who or what is doing the action in a sentence or being the state of being in a sentence? Since it acts like a noun, a noun phrase can be the subject of a sentence, like this: The fat dog with brown fur ate all the popcorn. The dog went to the county fair. To learn more and see more examples, check out these articles - 20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement and Subject Verb Agreement. 2) Ask who or what is doing the action. Again, we can locate or trace out the subject by asking a question beginning with âwhoâ or âwhatâ, as Who or What is doing the action in a sentence or being the state of being in a sentence? My mother hemmed and hawed over where to go for dinner. The subject of a verb names the person or thing about whom or which something is done by the verb. You could easily replace this phrase with only “the dog,” but using a phrase better describes the dog and the situation. Here’s an example: The fat dog ate the popcorn. He was eating and talking. The subjects are underlined in the examples below: 1. Bean burritos is the complete subject.) Since they both did the same thing, they can share one verb. The subject is doing all the actions, and the actions go together. As you now know, the subject is the main thing a sentence is about, and all sentences need one. Complete Subject Examples (What makes a great meal? A subject is the person, place, idea, or thing that a sentence is about. Subject = dog, The dog cooked popcorn. But, the sentence also includes the modifier “silly” to describe Sally, and the noun phrase “her best friend Sam” to describe her friend. Here, the simple subjects are Sally and Sam. A gerund is a word that ends in “ing” but functions as a noun in a sentence, NOT as a verb. It does not include modifiers or other words. That’s because the dog “does” the action “cooking.” The cat is NOT a subject—it is an object, because it “gets” the popcorn. He doesn’t like popcorn. Normally subject precedes its verb but in some exceptional cases subject comes after its finite verb. Incorrect! In the first sentence above, both Sally and Sam do the same thing: they “went” to the county fair. There are more details here, but Bean burritos make a great meal. A subject with a modifier gives you a clearer idea of the noun that the sentence is about. Subject = “the fat dog with brown fur”. So, the complete subject of the sentence includes all of the words that make up the subject. If two or more subjects use the same verb, then the sentence has a compound subject. The dog does the dancing, the rabbit gets to see the dancing, and the cat does the sleeping. So a subordinate noun clause can be a subject of a sentence. Learn moreOpens in new window, Comparative/Superlative Degrees of Comparison, Comparative/Superlative for Irregular Adjectives, Prepositions & Thematic Roles Relationship, Essential vs Nonessential Appositive Phrases, Interpretation of Verb's Action on Object, Choosing Between a Gerund or an Infinitive after Certain Verbs, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Examples of compound subjects using or, neither-nor, or either-or include: Here are some examples of subject verb agreement with singular indefinite pronouns: Here are some examples of subject verb agreement with plural indefinite pronouns: Here are some examples of subject verb agreement with a phrase or clause between the subject and verb: Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on meaning. “I” as subject 2. Every sentence has at least one subject, and it can be almost anything. In fact, subjects might be the most important parts of sentences. Examples of subjects with explanation: Katherine read a book. The dog loves popcorn. Let’s start with this sentence: A modifier is an adjective or adverb that “modifies” other words in a sentence to make it more descriptive. Here are some examples: A sentence can have more than one simple subject, if they have their own verbs (green): As you can see, each of the subjects has their own verb.
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