A sentence is a group of words that form a thought. It usually ends in either a period, a question mark or an exclamation point. A complete sentence has three requirements:
- subject
- predicate
- must express a complete thought
Contents
A sentence is a expressing a completed thought. A complete sentence has a subject and a predicate.
Subject-that part of the sentence about which something is being said. The subject can be a noun, pronoun, infinitive or gerund.
Harold skipped the golf tournament. (Harold is the subject.)
Predicate- that part of the sentence which says something about the subject. The predicate is also referred to as the verb (and everything that is not the actual subject of a sentence).
Harold skipped the golf tournament. (Skipped the golf tournament is the predicate.)
Simple subject-one subject in a sentence
Kicking, tapping, bouncing, Dancing Dan drew a crowd as he stomped upon a wooden board.
Simple predicate-one predicate in a sentence
The scissors lay on the desk.
Compound subject-more than one subject in a sentence
The milk and eggs were fresh.
Compound predicate-more than one verb in a sentence
Dianna walked around downtown all day and applied for every job she could find.
How to Find the Subject of a Sentence
Normally we expect to find the subject at the beginning of the sentence
and the verb following the subject. However, this may not necessarily
be so. A simple way to identify the subject follows:
1. First, find the verb
2. Then ask yourself the question "Who?" or "What?"
The dog barked. (What is the verb? Barked. Who or what barked? The dog. The dog is the subject.)
Around and around with incalculable speed, the tiny electrons whirled in each atom. (What is the verb? Whirled. Who or what whirled? Electrons. Electrons is the subject.)
Other tips for finding the subject
of a sentence:
The subject of a sentence is never in a prepositional phrase.
Millions of American veterans receive various kinds of benefits. (What is the verb? Receive. Who receives? Millions. Millions is the subject. Veterans is the object of the preposition in the prepositional phrase of American veterans.)
To find the subject in a question, invert the question into statement form.
At what time does the play begin? Invert it to The play begins at (seven o'clock). (What is the verb? Begins. Who or what begins? The play. The subject is the play.)
The words There is or Here is are never the subject of a sentence. Invert the sentence and find the true subject.
There is the famous restaurant inverts to The famous restaurant is there. (What is the verb? Is. Who or what is? The restaurant. The restaurant is the subject.)
A complement completes or enriches the meaning of the sentence. Direct objects and indirect objects are the two kinds of object complements. Object complements are followed by an action verb.
Direct Objects
The direct object (complement) of the verb receives the action of the
verb or shows the result of the action.
It answers the question
"what?" or "whom?" after an action verb.
She loved her grandmother. (She loved whom?)
Lightning struck the old elm. (Lightning struck what?)
The fish gave kisses. (Fish gave what?)
Indirect Object
The indirect object (complement) of the verb precedes the direct object
and usually tells "to whom" or "for whom" the action of the verb
is done.
The President gave him the medal. (Gave what? The medal. Medal is the direct object. To whom? Him. Him is the indirect object)
Education offers us many advantages. (Offers what? Advantages. Advantages is the direct object. To whom? Us. Us is the indirect object.)Modern music brought her new delights. (Brought what? Delights. Delights is the direct object. To whom? Her. Her is the indirect object.)
Transitive Verbs
Verbs that take an object complement
are known as transitive verbs. Verbs not followed by an object complement
are called intransitive verbs. In other words, if a sentence has a direct
object or a direct object and indirect object, then the verb is transitive.
If there are no object complements, then the verb is intransitive. Some
verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, depending upon the sentence.
I hope the Senators win the next game. (Senators is the direct object, so the verb hope is transitive)
I will win. (There is no direct object, so the verb phrase will win is intransitive.)Cindy gave Joel a new sweater. (Sweater is the direct object. Joel is the indirect object. The verb gave is transitive.)
Cindy ran down the street. (No direct object. The verb ran is intransitive.Down the street is a prepositional phrase.
A complement completes or enriches the meaning of the sentence. Predicate nouns and predicate adjectives are the two kinds of subject complements.When a complement refers to the subject of a sentence, it is a subject complement. A subject complement follows a linking verb.
Predicate Noun
A predicate noun is a noun or pronoun
complement which refers to the same thing as the subject
of the sentence. It follows a linking
verb. A predicate noun is also known as a predicate nominative.
Emily Dickinson is our greatest woman poet. (Poet is the predicate noun referring to Emily Dickenson, the subject of the sentence. Notice the linking verb is.)
The victors in tennis were Mary and Rose. (Mary and Rose are the predicate nouns referring to victors, the subject of the sentence. Notice the linking verb were.)
Predicate Adjective
A predicate adjective is an adjective
in the predicate
which modifies the subject
of the sentence. It follows a linking
verb.
The sky was red. (Red is the predicate adjective which modifies the subject, sky)
Blessed are the meek. (Meek is the predicate adjective which modifies the subject, the meek.)