Subjects The following sentences clearly have one thing in common: Charles Dickens was a writer who lived in London. Charles Dickens wrote short stories and novels. In 1843, Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. They are about Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens is the subject of the sentence, both in terms of meaning (The sentences are about Charles Dickens) and grammatically (Charles Dickens is the subject of each of those sentences and this one as well.)
What are they? The subject of a sentence tells us what person, place, thing, or idea the sentence is about, or what person, place, thing, or idea is responsible for what happens in the sentence. The subject is made of a noun or a pronoun (or a group of nouns/pronouns) and its modifiers (adjectives and adverbs that modify the adjectives).
How do you find them? In most English sentences and clauses, the subject comes before the predicate.clausespredicate Ask "Who?" or "What?" in front of the verb.verb Examples: The presence of the first spirit amazed Scrooge. What amazed Scrooge? (The presence of the first spirit) "The presence of the first spirit" is the subject of the sentence.
Practice The images of his past caused a change in Scrooge's attitude. What caused a change in Scrooge's attitude? (The images of his past) "The images of his past" is the subject of the sentence.
Review Remember - even if the subject comes after the verb, it will answer "Who?" or "What?" There were great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts. What were there? great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts "great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts" is the subject of the sentence. At Bob Cratchit's elbow stood the family display of glass: two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle. What stood? the family display of glass; two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle. "the family display of glass; two tumblers, and a custard-cup without a handle" is the subject of the sentence.
Verbs Verbs (Simple predicates) Verbs give the subjects something to do, or be. Holly, mistletoe, red berries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch, all instantly. This wonderful list of things is just that - a list - a list waiting for something to happen to it. The list needs a verb to make it understandable. Holly, mistletoe, red berries, ivy, turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, meat, pigs, sausages, oysters, pies, puddings, fruit, and punch, all vanished instantly. Verbs are words that express action or state of being. Verbs tell us what is happening, what happened, or what will happen.
More Verbs Hints to identify verbs Verbs are words that will make sense if they follow the pronouns that can be used as subjects: I, you, he, she, it, we, they Examples: I understood. You laughed. He shouted. It vanished. We gaped. They cheered. (Note verbs - through their suffixes and "helping/linking" verbs - have a tense that tells you whether something happened, will happen, or is happening.)
Confusion….???! Other parts of speech make no sense when they follow the same pronouns: I mistletoe (noun). You red (adjective). He instantly (adverb). It and (conjunction). We of (preposition). They we (pronoun). *Note - English can be irritating. Some words like "want" can be either a verb (I want) or another part of speech. This girl is Want (noun).
Predicates The "verb" of a sentence is part of the predicate. In most English sentences, the predicate includes all of the words that follow the verb. The presence of the first spirit amazed Scrooge. The images of his past caused a change in Scrooge's attitude. The portly gentlemen wanted Scrooge to give money for charity.
Review Just like the subject includes the simple subject and all the words, phrases, and clauses that modify it, the predicate includes the verb (also called "the simple predicate") and all the words, phrases, and clauses that modify it. Sometimes these words phrases or clauses can precede the subject. If they occur in the beginning of a sentence, they are usually set off by a comma.subject After it had passed away, they were ten times merrier than before When Scrooge's nephew laughed in this way: holding his sides, rolling his head, and twisting his face into the most extravagant contortions, Scrooge's niece, by marriage, laughed as heartily as he. Scrooge reverently did so.