Subject and Predicate The Subject of a Sentence

Subject and Predicate

The Subject of a Sentence. . . …is who/what the sentence is about. ex. “Jim ate the pie. ” To determine the subject of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing "who? " or "what? " before it -- the answer is the subject. Who ate? Jim!

The Predicate of a Sentence. . . …tells us something about the subject of the sentence. (The predicate always includes a verb. ) Examples: “Judy and her dog run on the beach every morning. ” “The audience littered theatre floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn. ”

Groups of Words: Phrase= a group of grammatically related words WITHOUT both a subject and a predicate. A PHRASE HAS EITHER A SUBJECT OR A PREDICATE, BUT NOT BOTH! • Ex. “Flew to the moon. ” (this has a predicate, but no subject) • Ex. “Jim the long haired boy. ”

Groups of words continued… Clause=a group of grammatically related words WITH both a subject and a predicate. Not this one!

There are 2 types of Clauses: 1. Dependent clause= a group of grammatically related words with both a subject and a predicate that CANNOT stand alone as a complete thought. NOT A SENTENCE! Ex. Because John was hungry. sub pred

2. Independent clause= a group of grammatically related words with both a subject and a predicate that CAN stand alone as a complete thought. A SENTENCE! Ex. He ate the whole pizza. Sub Pred