Subject and Predicate (Part II)
Subject
The Subject is always a noun (or noun phrase), pronoun or a subordinate clause.
Thus, Subject may consist of one word or several words.
Examples:
Tom tried his best. (noun)
Swimming is good for health. (gerund working as a noun.)
To err is human. (infinitive working as a noun.)
The poor are always victimized. (adjective working as a noun)
The boys in the classroom are creating a lot of noise. (noun phrase)
Swimming in the lake everyday is good for health. (gerund phrase working as a noun phrase)
To eat nutritious food is necessary for health. (infinitive phrase working as a noun phrase)
Being honest is rare these days. (present participle phrase working as a noun phrase)
They are jealous. (pronoun)
E.g. I, she, they - not
Nouns have the same form in subjective and objective case.
What she said is untrue. (subordinate clause)
Subject-word
Subject may be of one word or more than one word. When subject is of more than one word, then the word that is the most important is called the subject-word.
Subject-word - chief word (noun or pronoun) in the complete Subject.
- In a sentence the main verb is always according to the subject-word.
The condition of people in slums are miserable. (incorrect)
The condition of people in slums is miserable. (subject-word - condition and not slums)
The time to prepare lessons have arrived. (incorrect)
The time to prepare lessons has arrived. (subject-word - time and not lessons)
Subject and Preposition
Subject-word never comes after preposition - A prepositional phrase will never contain the subject of a sentence. What comes after preposition is the object of preposition.
The ways of using this white-box testing toolkit is different. (incorrect)
The ways of using this white-box testing toolkit are different. (subject-word - ways and not testing toolkit)
The knowledge of at least two programming languages are necessary. (incorrect)
The knowledge of at least two programming languages is necessary. (subject-word - knowledge and not programming languages)
Half of the apples are missing.
Half of the apple is missing.
Compound Subject
A sentence may have a compound subject - a subject consisting of more than one noun or pronoun.
Sports trophies, army aircraft posters and family photographs covered the boy’s bedroom walls.
Aanya and all her college friends are coming to the party.
Predicate
Predicate - contains Verb, and may also contain Object, Complement, Adjunct
When the Predicate consists of one word that word is always a Verb
Dogs bark.
When the Predicate consists of several words, the essential word in the Predicate is always a Verb - also called as the Predicate-word.
The boys are preparing for the entrance examination. (Predicate-word or Main verb - preparing)
Compound Predicate
A sentence may have a compound predicate — a predicate that includes more than one verb pertaining to the same subject.
He and his niece walked slowly through the museum and admired the artifacts exhibited there. (Subject - He and his niece; Verbs - walked, admired)
Quiz
He reads the book in the park on Tuesdays. (Subject - He; Predicate - reads the book in the park on Tuesdays)
Stephan, a high school senior, will be my new mentor. (Subject - Stephan, a high school senior; Subject-word - Stephan; Predicate - will be my new mentor)
Meenakshi really liked the non-electric guitar because it reminded her of her childhood. (Subject - Meenakshi, it; Predicate - really liked the non-electric guitar, reminded her of her childhood; Conjunction - because)
To eat fruits is necessary for good health. (Subject - To eat fruits; Predicate - is necessary for good health)
Eating apples is necessary for good health. (Subject - Eating apples; Predicate - is necessary for good health)
During exam time, the students of information technology branch of Harcourt Butler college were found roaming around the market. (During exam time - adverb phrase. The sentence can be rephrased.)
The students of information technology branch of Harcourt Butler college were found roaming around the market, during exam time. (Subject-word - students; Predicate-word - were)
Extra Books and Tools
If you prefer to learn via books, or want some good English Grammar books for reference purposes, you may read this article which enlists some of the books recommended by us.