Subjects! You have added [brackets]! You have underlined things twice! Now…..

Grammar Foldable – Step 3 The subject of the sentence is what the sentence is about. It will never be in a prepositional phrase. It will be a noun or a pronoun that usually appears in front of the verb and tells “who” or “what” did the action of the verb or is linked to other information in the sentence by the verb.

Mrs. Whitehead, what is a noun? Why students, it is… A person: teacher, Allison, Professor Baker A place: school, Paris, Australia, Earth A thing: spoon, fire alarm, The Constitution An idea: love, justice, Freedom of Speech Notice, some nouns are proper nouns and CAPITALIZED.

OK Mrs. Whitehead, but what is a pronoun? A pronoun is anything that replaces a noun. I, me, he, she, herself, you, it, that, they, each, few, many, who, whoever, whose, someone, everybody, etc. Instead of saying: “Joe saw Jill and Joe waved at Jill.” You may shorten it with pronouns like this: “Joe saw Jill and he waved at her.”

How to Find the Simple Subject Look in front of the verb and ask “Who?” or “What?” Example: John is late. Ask: “Who is late?” John answers that question, so John is the subject of that sentence. Example: He is tall. Ask: “Who is tall?” He answers that question, so He is the subject of that sentence.

Sometimes the Subject Will Be Compound: If the subject is compound, then it will be joined by a conjunction. Example: Maria and Sergio will lead the parade. Maria answers the question “Who?” about the verb, but Sergio answers it too. Therefore, they are BOTH the subject of the sentence. The conjunction “and” tells you that the subject is compound (made of more than one).

Annnnnnnd the Exception to the Rule.

Four Exceptions The subject is USUALLY found in front of the verb. However, there are four times when the subject will NOT be found in front of the verb.

Exception #1 The sentence begins with a prepositional phrase. Example: Under the bridge lay a cow. Ask: “What lay under the bridge?” Cow is the answer to the question, so cow is the subject. Remember, a subject will never be in a prepositional phrase or it’s brackets.

Exception #2 The sentence begins with the words “here” or “there.” Example: Here is my friend. Or There is my car. Note, the words “Here” and “There” are adverbs and are NEVER the subject of the sentence.

Exception #3 The sentence asks a question (an interrogative sentence). Example: Is he the manager of the motel? Hint: put the words back in the order of a statement. He is the manager of the motel. Ask: Who is the manager? He is the answer, so He is the subject of the sentence.

Exception #4 The sentence is a command or polite request (imperative sentence). Example: Pass the salt. MEANS: (You) pass the salt. The subject of this sentence is implied, not stated. The subject is “understood” to be in front of the verb, but it is NOT written there.

How To Mark A Subject Every time you find the subject, you will underline it a single time. Example: The girl in the blue car was slowly walking toward me.

The following info needs to be on your foldable: Subject = who/what the sentence is about Never in a Prep. Phrase Found In front of verb Ask “Who?” or “What?” Noun or Pronoun 4 Reasons Subject WON’T be in front: 1.Prep phrase at beginning 2.“Here” or “There” 3.Question 4.Command

Practice Maxine and Maria are friends of mine. Wait for me at the corner. (Command, understood You) There is no need for tears. (Starts with “there”) conjunction