The Sentence

Subject and predicate

A sentence has a subject (what or whom the sentence is about) and a predicate. The predicate tells what the subject does or is or what is done to the subject (for example, The books were left outside). The simple subject is a noun or pronoun. The complete subject is this noun or pronoun and the words that modify it. The simple predicate is a verb or verb phrase (for example, has walked, will have walked). The complete predicate is the verb or verb phrase and the words that modify or complete it.

In this example, Fred is both the simple and the complete subject of the sentence. Shot is the simple predicate. Shot Guido is the complete predicate: the verb shot and its direct object Guido.

• Fred shot Guido.

In the following example, man is the simple subject. The angry old man in pajamas is the complete subject. Stood is the verb; stood on the porch is the complete predicate.

• The angry old man in pajamas stood on the porch.

In this sentence , The argument that money is a burden is the complete subject. Argument is the simple subject modified by the adjective clause that money is a burden. The rest of the sentence is the complete predicate. The simple predicate is the verb originated.

• The argument that money is a burden probably originated with a rich man who was trying to counter the envy of a poor man.

In the first sentence, subject and predicate are easy to identify. In the second sentence, you can still pick out the simple subject and verb fairly easily, despite the modifiers. But the third sentence is more complicated. As you begin to write more sophisticated sentences, the simple subject and simple predicate may seem to get lost in a web of modifying words, phrases, and clauses. To ensure that you have a complete sentence, however, you still should be able to identify the core noun or pronoun and the core verb or verb phrase.

Expressing a complete thought

In addition to having a subject and predicate, a sentence must be able to stand on its own. It can't depend on something else to express a complete thought. Look at the following examples.

• He jumped.

This is a grammatically complete sentence, though perhaps not an interesting one. It has a subject (he) and a predicate (jumped). It expresses a complete thought—you know what happened. You might want to know more about the person—who he is or why he jumped, for example. You might want to know more about the jump itself—when it occurred, how high it was, and so on. But the basic action is complete: He jumped.

The next example is an incomplete sentence. It still has a subject (he) and a predicate (jumped), but the presence of When keeps this group of words from being a complete thought: What happened when he jumped?

• When he jumped.

The following sentence is still an incomplete sentence. Now, you know something about where he jumped, but the thought is still incomplete: What happened when he jumped high into the air?

• When he jumped high into the air.

The next example is a complete sentence again. The question “What happened when he jumped?” has been answered: he looked as if he were flying. Even if the phrase high into the air were to be deleted, the thought would be complete.

• When he jumped high into the air, he looked as if he were flying.