1. Unit:
The Sentence

2.  A subject is a person, place or thing that is
acting in a sentence.
 Example: The furry brown dog chased the
skittish squirrel down the street. (Who is doing
the chasing, the dog or the squirrel?)
 You are right if you guessed The furry brown
dog.

3.  So, look back at the last sentence: The furry
brown dog chased the skittish squirrel down
the street.
 We already know what the subject is, so
“chased the skittish squirrel down the
street” is the predicate.

4.  A complete subject also is the person, place or
thing being spoken of.
 She is a funny public speaker.
 If you guessed she, you were right!!!

5.  A complete predicate is the part of the sentence
that contains the action.
 It is everything in a sentence but the complete
subject.

6.  Usually you will find the complete subject at
the beginning of a sentence, but not always.
 In some sentences, a phrase may be chopped off the
end of a sentence and tacked on to the front, making
finding the subject difficult. Here are 2 examples:
 During the summer I swim.
 Over the stairs you will find the portrait.

7.  Also, it is hard to find the subject and
predicates in questions.
 In a question, the predicate gets split in half
and the subject is plunked down in the middle.
Here are two examples:
 When did you arrive?
 Where have you been hiding?

8.  The easiest way to make sure you find the right
subject is to first find the verb in the sentence
and ask yourself….who or what “verb”?
 Let’s try it with our
examples…

9.  During the summer I swim.
The verb is swim, so ask who swims? I do.
 Over the stairs you will find the portrait.
Will find is the verb, so ask who will find? You will.
 When did you arrive?
The verb is did arrive. Ask who did arrive? You did.
 Where have John and Sue been hiding?
The verb is have been hiding. Who has been hiding?
John and Sue have.

10.  In the following sentences, find the complete
subject and complete predicate…
1. The old chair creaks under his weight.
2. The whistling wind blew away my hat.
3. How are you feeling today?
4. His sore feet were soaking in the tub.
5. After the play we went to dinner.

11. 1. The old chair creaks under his weight.
2. The whistling wind blew away my hat.
3. How are you feeling today?
4. His sore feet were soaking in the tub.
5. After the play we went to dinner.