📚 What are Subject and Predicate?
Every complete sentence has two main parts:
- Subject: Who or what the sentence is about
- Predicate: What the subject does or is
🎯 The Subject
The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about.
Examples:
Who sits? The cat (subject)
Who loves ice cream? Sarah (subject)
Who plays soccer? My little brother (subject)
💡 Finding the Subject:
Ask yourself: "Who or what is doing something?"
⚡ The Predicate
The predicate tells us what the subject does or what the subject is like.
Examples:
What does the dog do? barks loudly (predicate)
What are the flowers like? are beautiful (predicate)
What does my teacher do? explains the lesson carefully (predicate)
💡 Finding the Predicate:
Ask yourself: "What is the subject doing?" or "What is being said about the subject?"
🔍 Simple vs. Complete Subject and Predicate
Simple Subject
The main noun or pronoun (without describing words)
The big brown dog barked.
Simple subject: dog
Complete Subject
The simple subject plus all its describing words
The big brown dog barked.
Complete subject: The big brown dog
Simple Predicate
The main verb (the action or state of being)
The dog barked loudly at the mailman.
Simple predicate: barked
Complete Predicate
The verb plus all the words that describe the action
The dog barked loudly at the mailman.
Complete predicate: barked loudly at the mailman
✏️ Practice Exercise
Identify the subject and predicate in each sentence. Click to reveal the answer!
1. The students study for their test.
Subject: The students
Predicate: study for their test
2. My best friend lives in California.
Subject: My best friend
Predicate: lives in California
3. The tall basketball player scored twenty points.
Subject: The tall basketball player
Predicate: scored twenty points
4. Every morning, the birds sing beautiful songs.
Subject: the birds
Predicate: sing beautiful songs
Note: "Every morning" is a time phrase, not part of the subject
5. The excited children ran to the playground.
Subject: The excited children
Predicate: ran to the playground
6. My grandmother bakes delicious cookies every weekend.
Subject: My grandmother
Predicate: bakes delicious cookies every weekend
7. The old red car broke down on the highway.
Subject: The old red car
Predicate: broke down on the highway
8. All of the students in the class passed the exam.
Subject: All of the students in the class
Predicate: passed the exam
🎯 Key Takeaways
- Every complete sentence needs both a subject and a predicate
- The subject tells who or what the sentence is about
- The predicate tells what the subject does or is
- The simple subject is the main noun or pronoun
- The simple predicate is the main verb
- The complete subject includes the simple subject and all its modifiers
- The complete predicate includes the verb and all the words that complete its meaning
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Missing Subject
Went to the store. (Who went?)
✓ I went to the store.
❌ Missing Predicate
The beautiful sunset. (What about it?)
✓ The beautiful sunset glowed in the sky.
❌ Confusing Phrases with Subjects
In the morning is my favorite time. ("In the morning" is a phrase, not a subject)
✓ Morning is my favorite time.