Free English Tutorial: Subject and Predicate - Definitions, Types and Examples
How do you identify the subject and predicate in a sentence? In this article, I am explaining about subject and predicate and its types.
Introduction
A group of words that make sense is known as a sentence. It usually ends with a full stop. A sentence is divided into two parts: a subject and a predicate, and are important to know about in English
In a sentence, the 'doer' or performer is the subject. For example, in the sentence 'The kitten is sleeping on the mat', 'The kitten' is the subject in this sentence. Just ask a question: 'Who is sleeping on the mat?". 'The kitten' is sleeping on the mat. Usually, in a sentence, a noun or a pronoun is the subject. A predicate describes the action performed by a noun or a pronoun. For example, a lion is roaring in the jungle. In the sentence 'is roaring in the jungle' is the predicate because it gives information about the action of the lion. Types of subjects
The three types of subjects are: Simple Subject
When a sentence contains only one noun or pronoun, it is known as 'a simple subject. For example, Meera wakes up at 6 . a.m. in the morning. In this sentence, 'Meera' is the only subject, and the doer in the sentence "Another example of a simple subject is 'The cow is eating the grass'. In this sentence, the cow is the only subject as it is doing something, i.e., eating grass. "Who is eating the grass?" The answer is "Cow''.Compound Subject
A sentence sometimes contains more than one subject, and such a sentence is known as 'Compound Subject'. For example, Jack and John are playing in the garden. In this sentence, the subjects are 'Jack and John', as they are the doers. This sentence consists of two subjects, namely Jack and John. Another example is, "The pencil and eraser are kept on the table." In this sentence, the two subjects are the pen and eraser that are kept on the table." What is kept on the table? The pen and eraser are kept on the table. You can understand even better with another example. My maternal cousins visited my home yesterday. In this sentence, 'maternal cousins' are the subjects who visited the house.Complete Subject
It is an entire noun clause or noun phrase that consists of a noun, an article, and a group of words that modify the noun. For example, the girl who lived near my house in 2020 is now living in London. In this sentence, 'the girl who lived near my house in 2020' is a complete subject as it is a long-phrase describing the girl. Who is living in London now? 'The girl who lived near my house in 2020' is now living in London. Types of Predicate
The three types of predicate are:Simple Predicate
It is a basic form of predicate, consisting of a verb and an auxiliary verb. The words showing the specific actions of the doer are known as simple predicates. For example, the baby is sleeping. In this sentence, 'sleeping' is the simple predicate. What is the baby doing? The baby is sleeping. Another fine example is "He went to the ground." Here, 'went' is the simple predicate. What did he do? He went to play on the ground. Compound Predicate
When the doer in a sentence is performing more than one action, it is known as a compound predicate. It contains more than one verb or verb phrase. For example, my mother dug the ground and then sowed the seeds. In this sentence, dug and sowed are predicates. Mother is performing more than one action, i.e., digging and sowing. Another example of a compound predicate is The tiger ran quickly and caught a deer for prey. In this sentence, ran and caught are compound predicates as they specify the actions of the tiger. Complete Predicate
It is a type of predicate that includes a verb and words that describe actions. For example, my teacher taught the first chapter and also provided study materials. In this sentence, 'taught the first chapter and provided study material' is a complete predicate. Another example of a complete predicate is: Ashish was tired because he played football vigorously. In this sentence, 'was tired because he played football vigorously' is a complete predicate.