Subjects

A sentence is a group of words with a **subject**  and a **predicate **. A sentence always makes a //**complete thought**//.

The Subject
The **subject ** tells //**who **// or //**what **// is doing something or **//about whom //** or //**what** //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> something is being said.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">The **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> simple subject **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> is the most important word in the **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> complete subject. ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">It is usually a **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> noun **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">or a **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> pronoun. **


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the following sentences the subjects are in <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">red <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">. The simple subject is __underlined__. **
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The basketball __team__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> will practice for the game next Friday.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">A __basket__ of apples <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> was left on the table.
 * __<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">You __ are the winner of a brand new iPod.
 * The __<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Burj Khalifa __ is the tallest free-standing structure in the world.

Subjects can be in the beginning, the middle , or the end of a sentence.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Subject at the **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">beginning ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">of a sentence (normal word order):
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">The baby __ducks__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;"> were splashing playfully in the pond.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Subject in the **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">middle **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;"> of a sentence (partially inverted word order):
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Playfully <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">the baby __ducks__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;"> were splashing in the pond.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Subject at the **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">end **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;"> of a sentence (//<span style="color: #00ff00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">inverted word order //):
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Playfully splashing in the pond were <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">three baby __ducks__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">.

<span style="color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 160%; text-align: center;">4 EASY STEPS TO FIND A SUBJECT:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Find the verb or verb phrase.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Ask "Who" or "What" before the verb.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">complete subject <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> will give you the answer.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Put parentheses around any <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">prepositional phrases <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> you find in the complete subject.
 * 5) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">simple subject <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">will be the key word in the complete subject.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Example: Find the <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">subject <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> in the following sentence: **The boys on the corner are selling newspapers.**
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The verb of the sentence is "are selling."
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">Ask "Who or what are selling?"
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The answer is "The boys on the corner."
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The prepositional phrase is "on the corner."
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">The <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">simple subject <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;"> is "boys."

**<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 200%;">Compound Subjects ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">A compound subject is two or more simple subjects that **<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">share the same verb **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">Compound subjects are usually joined by the conjunctions //**<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> and **//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;"> or //**<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">or **//<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">The can also be joined by correlative conjunctions //<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">both. . . and, either. . . or, neither. . . nor, //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">and //<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;"> not only. . . but also. //

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">Examples of compound subjects:
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">//Voyager I// and //Voyager II// have been traveling through our solar system for 34 years.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">An apple or a banana or an orange makes a healthy snack.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">Both salt and pepper are popular seasonings.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">Either a cab or a limousine will take you to your hotel.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 160%;">General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are American car companies.