Parts of a Sentence

Simple Subject the main word or group of words within the complete subject Ex. The baby’s loud crying woke the whole neighborhood. Complete subject: the baby’s loud crying Simple subject: crying

Simple Predicate the main word or group of words within the complete predicate Ex. The Lego car zoomed through the room and crashed onto the floor. Complete predicate: zoomed through the room Simple predicate: zoomed

Sentences that Ask Questions To find the subject and predicate in questions, turn the questions into statements: Did she finish the quiz? She did finish the quiz. Were you late to school today? You were late to school today.

Sentences Beginning with There or Here There and here are never the subject of a sentence. There are mice in our woodshed. Here is the missing clue! To find the subjects of these sentences, ask “Who?” or “What?” before the verb followed by there or here.

Understood Subjects Requests or commands typically have an understood subject: you. Don’t jump on the couch! Please take your shoes off before stepping on the rug.

Complements Complements are words or groups of words that complete the meaning of a predicate. Complements include: predicate nominatives (predicate noun) predicate adjectives direct objects indirect objects

Subject Complements These follow linking verbs. Predicate Nominative: a noun or pronoun in the predicate that explains or identifies the subject of the sentence. Predicate Adjective: an adjective in the predicate that modifies the subject of the sentence

Object Complements These occur in sentences with action verbs. Direct object: a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb or shows the result of action. It answers the question “Whom?” or “What?” Indirect object: a noun or pronoun that precedes the direct object and usually tells to whom, for whom, to what or for what the action of the verb is done.

Common Sentence Structures S V S AV DO S AV IO DO S LV PN S LV PA