Understanding subjects and predicates is fundamental to learning sentence structure. Without a working knowledge of subjects, predicates, and objects, one can never master the rules of punctuation. This page will clearly explain subjects, predicates, and objects and then offer free worksheets and activities to help you review. Every complete sentence must have at least two components: a thing and an action. When we are discussing parts of speech, we call these a noun and a verb; however, when we discuss sentence structure, we call them a subject and a predicate.
The noun in the sentence or clause that takes action.To find the subject, merely ask yourself, "What is the action?" Once you have found the action, ask yourself, "Who or what is taking this action?" The answer to that question will be the subject of the clause.
John went to the store. It was hot outside.In the first example sentence, the action is went. Ask yourself, "Who went?" Since John went, John is the subject.
The predicate in the second sentence is was. So we ask ourselves, "What was?" In this case the subject is it.
Predicates Actions in the clause or sentenceAction verbs are pretty easy to identify, but many students have a difficult time identifying verbs of being (am, is, are, was, were. ) as predicates. The only way to improve in this regard is to study verbs, verb phrases, and gerunds. A sentence can have one predicate or many, but every grammatically complete sentence requires at least one predicate.
We ate pizza. Love was his only motivation.In the first example sentence, the predicate is ate, because it is the action that occurs in the clause.
The second example sentence does not use an action verb, but rather expresses a state of being in which Love, the subject, existed in the past as his motivation. So the predicate in the second example sentence is was.
Nouns in the sentence or clause that do not take actionsRemember, if a noun takes the predicate, it is the subject; therefore, if a noun is not a subject then it must be an object.
We ate pizza . I forgot my shoes .In the first example sentence, the action is ate. Ask yourself, "Who ate?" Since we take the predicate, pizza is an object. Ask yourself, "What does pizza do in this sentence?" You might reply that it gets eaten, but in that sentence it does not get eaten. Pizza was eaten in the sentence, "Pizza was eaten." But in the sentence, "We ate pizza," pizza does nothing. Since it does nothing it is an object.
The predicate in the second example sentence is forgot. Once we find this, we should ask ourselves, "Who forgot?" Since I forgot, I is the subject. Since shoes is a noun in the sentence that doesn't do anything, shoes is an object.
Compound Subjects and Predicates A clause with more than one subject or predicate working as a single unitA compound subject is when two or more separate subjects take the same predicate or group of predicates. A compound predicate is a when a subject or group of subjects take two or more predicates.
John and I played a game. I went home and studied .In the first example sentence, the predicate is played. So we ask ourselves, "Who played?" Of course both John and I played, so the clause has two subjects or a compound subject.
What is the verb in the second example sentence? You might notice that there are two: went and studied. Since the subject I takes both of these predicates, the clause has a compound predicate.
Here is an exciting sentence structure worksheet. Students read 20 exciting sentences about pirates and identify the subjects, predicates, and objects used in each. In part two, students create their own sentences and analyze them for subjects, predicates, and objects.
Here is another magical sentence structure worksheet. In this one students read sentences about the Pretty Princess' adventures in Amazingville. They also identify the subjects, predicates, and objects and even generate some sentences of their own.
Here is a simple worksheet to help students review subjects, predicats, and objects. Students read thirty sentences and identify the parts of each. Then they write original sentences and identify their own uses of subjects, predicates, and objects.
Looking for a fun worksheet about subjects, objects, and predicates? This one is themed around skateboarders. Students read 20 totally peachy sentences and identify subjects, objects, and predicates. Then they create original sentences and analyze them.
Here's another worksheet to help students master simple sentence structure. Students read sentence fragments and determine whether the sentence is missing a subject or predicate. Then they fill in the missing subject or predicate. The second part of the activity has them draw lines that separate the subject and the predicate in complete simple sentences.
Here's a worksheet to help students identify compound subjects and predictes. Students will underline the subjects, circle the predicates, and determine whether the sentence has a compound subject, compound predicate or both.
Here is a slideshow presentation that teaches students the differences between subjects, predicates, and objects. It includes definitions, examples, and a practice activity after the lesson. Check it out!
Dear Mr. Morton,
Thank you for this. I have two sentences that are perplexing me.
Can you please help me? What’s the subject in the following sentences 1.On the chair lay his sweater.
2. My cousin’s favourite game is hockey. Regards
Sam
That is a complex sentence with two clauses. In the first clause the subject is IT. In the second clause the subject is WE. The clauses are joined with the conjunction WHEN.
