Sentences

Subject and Predicates The subject tells whom or what the sentence or clause is about, and the predicate tells something about the subject. Bob, Jill’s uncle, wants to go to the store. Subject – Bob, Jill’s uncle Predicate – wants to go…

Complement Word or word group that completes the meaning of the verb Ex: Sandra Cisneros writes poetry and fiction.

Predicate Nominative Word or word group that is in the predicate and that identifies the subject or refers to it Ex: She is the next speaker.

Predicate adjective Is an adjective that’s in the predicate and that modifies the subject of a sentence or a clause. Ex: When she left, Norma looked calm

Object of a verb Noun, pronoun or word group that completes the meaning of a verb that expresses an action directed toward a person, place, thing, or an idea. Example: I like pugs. Pugs is the object because it is what I like. Like is the verb.

Direct object Noun, pronoun, or word group that tells who or what receives the action of a verb or shows the result of the action. Answers whom? or what? Ex: I took my sister to the movie Mulan.

Indirect Object Noun, pronoun, or word group that appears in sentences containing direct objects. The indirect tells to whom or to what or for whom or for what… Ex: I fed the horses some oats. Oats is the direct object.

Subject-Verb Agreement A verb should always agree with its subject. If the subject is plural, the verb should be plural. The verb does not have to agree with the predicate nominative, though. Example: Our favorite fruit is strawberries.

Pronoun and Antecedent The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun takes the place of. My dog likes its food. Dog is the antecedent. You must have an antecedent before you use the pronoun. The only exception is when you use first person point of view.

Simple, Compound, Complex Sentences Simple – A sentence with one clause Compound – a sentence with two independent clauses Complex – a sentence with a dependent clause. See very short video for examples: