Hana Nur Hasanah, Dra., M.

Pd

WRITING FOR GENERAL COMMUNICATION

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Subject and Predicate

Every sentence has two parts: a subject and a predicate

The subject
The subject tells whom or what the sentence is about Examples: 1. Nicholasa Mohr is a writer and an artist. 2. The girls on the team were all good students. To find the subject, ask who or what is doing something, or whom or what is being talked about. The subject may come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. Examples: 1. The pitcher struck Felicia out. (Who struck Felicia out? The pitcher did.) 2. After practicing for hours, Timmy bowled two strikes. (Who bowled two strikes? Timmy did.) 3. Hiding in the tall grass was a baby rabbit. (what was hiding? A baby rabbit was.)

Complete Subject and Simple Subject

The complete subject consists of all the words needed to tell whom or what a sentence is about. The simple subject is the main word or words in the complete subject. Examples: 1. The four new students arrived early. The four new students (complete subject) Students (simple subject) 2. A round walnut table with five legs stood in the middle of the dining room. A round walnut table with five legs complete subject) Table (simple subject)

If you leave out the simple subject, a sentence does not make sense. Examples: The four newarrived early. A round walnut with five legs stood in the middle of the dining room. A simple subject may consist of one word or several words. Examples: 1. Jets break the sound barrier. (one word) 2. Does Aunt Carmen own a grocery store? (two words) 3. On the library shelf was The Island of the Blue Dolphins. (six words)

The Predicate
The predicate of a sentence is the part that says something about the subject. Examples: 1. Old Faithful is a giant geyser in Yellowstone National Park. 2. Jade Snow Wong wrote about growing up in San Franciscos Chinatown. Like the subject, the predicate may be found anywhere in a sentence. Examples: 1. Outside the tent was a baby bear. 2. Late in the night we heard a noise

Complete Predicate and Simple Predicate

The complete predicate consists of all words that say something about the subject. The simple predicate, or verb, is the main word or group of words in the complete predicate. Examples: 1. The pilot broke the sound barrier. broke the sound barrier. (complete predicate) broke (simple predicate) 2. We should have visited the diamond field in Arkansas. should have visited the diamond field in Arkansas. (complete predicate) should have visited (simple predicate)

Thank you