Parts of the Sentence

Subjects, Predicates, Complements

What is a Sentence?• Sentence: a word group that contains a subject and a verb and that

expresses a complete thought.• Sentence Fragment: a word or word group that is capitalized and

punctuated as a sentence but that does not contain both a subject and a verb or that does not express a complete thought.• Fragment: The magazine’s essay contest for tenth-grade American history

students. (No verb).• Sentence: The magazine’s essay contest for tenth-grade American history

students ends Tuesday.

• Note: Some sentences contain an understood subject (you).• [You] Wait!

Subjects and Predicates• Sentences consist of two basic parts: subjects and predicates.• Subject: tells whom or what the sentence or clause is about• Predicate: tells something about the subject• Complete Subject Complete Predicate• The simple subject and simple predicate are underlined• Some residents of the desert can survive a long drought.• Particularly noteworthy is the Australian frog.• For up to three years it can live without rainfall.

The Subject• Simple Subject: the main word or word group that tells whom or what

the sentence is about• Complete Subject: consists of the simple subject and any words or

word groups that modify the simple subject.• A dog with this pedigree is usually nervous.

• Complete Subject: A dog with this pedigree• Simple Subject: dog

• Both of these cockatiels are for sale.• Complete Subject: Both of these cockatiels• Simple Subject: Both

• Note: in the book, the term subject usually refers to the simple subject unless otherwise indicated.

The Predicate• Simple Predicate: or the verb, is the main word or word group that tells

something about the subject.• Complete Predicate: consists of the verb and all the words that modify the

verb and complete its meaning.• Spiders snare their prey in intricate webs.

• Complete predicate: snare their prey in intricate webs• Simple predicate: snare

• Rosa has been looking for you all morning.• Complete predicate: has been looking for you all morning• Simple predicate: has been looking

• Sometimes the simple predicate may be identical to the complete predicate. Also, the simple predicate may be a one-word verb or a verb phrase.• Note: in the book, the term verb usually refers to the simple predicate unless

otherwise indicated.

Finding the Subject• To find the subject of a sentence, find the verb first. Then, ask

“Who?” or “What?” before the verb.• On the other side of the brook stands a cabin.

• (The verb is stands. What stands? Cabin stands. Cabin is the subject.)

• The subject of a verb is never in a prepositional phrase.• Prepositional Phrase: consists of a preposition, the object of the preposition,

and any modifiers of that object. (for the team, on the top shelf, at all times)

• Do not mistake a noun or pronoun in a prepositional phrase for the subject of a sentence.• One of my cousins has visited Ghana. [Who has visited? One has visited.

Of my cousins is a prepositional phrase.]

Classifying Sentences by Purpose1. Declarative sentence: makes a statement and ends with a period• Toni Morrison won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1993.

2. Imperative sentence: gives a command or makes a request. Most imperative sentences end with a period. A strong command ends with an exclamation point. (Will have the understood subject [you]}• Please open the window.

3. Interrogative sentence: asks a question and ends with a question mark.• Can you speak Spanish?

4. Exclamatory sentence: shows excitement or expresses strong feeling and ends with an exclamation point.• What a beautiful day this is!

Hard-to-find Subjects• Sentences beginning with There or Here:• The word there or here may begin a sentence, but it is almost never

the subject. Often, there or here is used as an adverb telling where.• There are your gloves. [What are? Gloves are. Gloves is the subject. There

tells where your gloves are.]• Sentences Asking Questions:• Questions usually begin with a verb, a helping verb, or a word such as

what, when, where, how, or why. In most cases, the subject follows the verb or part of the verb phrase.• Where is your parakeet?

• To find the subject in any question, turn the question into a statement• Were your friends early? becomes…• Your friends were early. (Friends is the subject)

The Understood Subject• The Understood Subject: in a request or a command, the subject is

usually not stated.• [You] Please rake the yard.• [You] Pick up the fallen branches.

• When a request or command included a name, the name is not the subject but a noun of direct address. You is still the understood subject.• Jason, [you] wash the dishes.• Mary, [you] do your homework!

Compound Subjects and Compound Verbs• Compound Subject: consists of two or more subjects that are joined

by a conjunction and that have the same verb. • (The parts of a compound subject are generally joined by the coordinating

conjunction and or or.)• Mr. Olivero and his daughter planted the garden.

• Compound Verb: consists of two or more verbs that are joined by a conjunction and that have the same subject. • (The parts of a compound verb are usually joined by the coordinating

conjunction and, but, or or.)• At the street festival, we danced the rumba and sampled the meat pies.

• Both the subject and the verb of a sentence may be compound.

Complements• Complement: a word or word group that completes the meaning of a

verb.• That book is an autobiography.• Bob felt confident.

• A complement may be compound.• Sandra Cisneros writes poetry and fiction.

• A complement may be a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective.• Tino wants a new tennis racket. [noun]• Aunt Sophie watched us fishing. [pronoun]• The elephants in the safari park appear happy. [adjective]

• Complements are never in prepositional phrases

The Subject Complement• Subject complement: a word or word group that completes the meaning

of a linking verb and identifies or modifies the subject. • We may be the only ones here.• Ross seems worried.

• There are two kinds of subject complements: the predicate nominative and the predicate adjective.

• Predicate Nominative: a word or word group that is in the predicate and that identifies the subject or refers to it. (It will be a noun or pronoun.)• Some caterpillars become butterflies.

• Predicate Adjective: is an adjective that is in the predicate and modifies the subject of a sentence or a clause.• You look happy.

• Both predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives can be compound.

The Object of a Verb• Object of a Verb: a complement that unlike a subject complement,

does not identify or modify the subject. An object of a verb is a noun, pronoun, or word group that completes the meaning of an action verb.• The cat was chasing a moth.

• Two kinds of objects of verbs are direct objects and indirect objects.• Direct Object: a noun, pronoun, or word group that tells who or what

receives the action of a transitive verb or shows the result of the action. A direct object answers the question “Whom?” or “What?” after an action verb.• I took my little sister to the movie Mulan. (Took whom? Sister.)• She had already seen it four times. (Seen what? It.)

The Object of a Verb cont.• Indirect Object: a noun, pronoun, or word group that often appears in

sentences containing direct objects. An indirect object tells to whom or to what (or for whom or for what) the action of an action verb is done. Not every sentence with a direct object will have an indirect object.• Melanie red us her report. (Melanie read her report to whom? Us.)• They fed the horses some oats. (They fed some oats to what? Horses.)

• Direct Objects and Indirect Objects cannot be in prepositional phrases.• Direct Objects and Indirect Objects may be compound.• Note: when referring to complements you may be looking for

predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, direct objects, or indirect objects.