Subject and Predicate

Every sentence has two parts:

The part which names the person, thing or idea we are speaking about (focus of the sentence). - Subject of the sentence. (except in Imperative sentences)
The part which tells something about the Subject. - Predicate of the sentence.
Includes - Verb, Object, Complement, Adjunct

Mragank broke the chair. (Mragank - subject; broke the chair - predicate)

Note: In active voice sentences subject is the doer of the action (it is active), while in passive voice sentences, subject is the receiver of the action (it is passive). We will study about it in Voice module.

Subject

Verb - a word used to describe an action or state.

Verb is the main part of the predicate of a sentence.

Subject - the person or thing doing the action or experiencing the state described by the verb.

Mragank broke the chair. (Mragank - subject doing the action; broke - action verb)

Mragank needs help. (Mragank - subject experiencing the state; needs - state verb)

Subject identification

To determine the subject of a sentence:

Identify the verb
Ask a question by placing who? or what? before the verb
The answer is the subject.

Mragank broke the chair.
Who broke the chair? - Mragank

My brother Mragank broke the red chair.
Who broke the red chair? - My brother Mragank

My brother Mragank from Sydney broke the red chair that was gifted to us by Mr. Agrawal.
Who broke the red chair that was gifted to us by Mr. Agrawal? - My brother Mragank from Sydney

Simplest & Shortest sentence

Simplest and shortest sentence is just a verb.

 Go.     Come.      Sit.

In Imperative sentences the Subject is left out:

Sit down. [Here the Subject You is understood].

Thank him. [Here too the Subject You is understood.]

A sentence (except Imperative sentences) must have a subject and a verb.

Subject + Verb

Verb alone can form the Predicate.

Birds fly. (Birds - subject; fly - verb)

I know. (I - subject; know - verb)

Here, Predicate = Verb

Every sentence must have a verb.
Every verb must have a subject. (though it may not be stated explicitly in some cases, e.g. imperative sentences.)

The verb maybe one word or multiple words.

Dogs bark.

Villagers are gathering.

The kids have been playing.

The form of verb that we will use will depend on the subject (Subject-Verb agreement).

He plays.

You play.

They play.

Aanya plays.

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.

Share on:

Last updated on Apr 8, 2023