Sentence Superstars: Subject and Predicate!
Hello, Super Students! Get ready to become sentence detectives! Every sentence we say or write has two super important parts. Think of it like a superhero team!
First, there's the Subject – this is WHO or WHAT the sentence is all about. It's the star of the show!
Then, there's the Predicate – this part tells us WHAT the Subject IS DOING, or something ABOUT the Subject.
To find the Subject, ask 'Who or what is this sentence about?'. To find the Predicate, ask 'What is the subject doing or what is being said about the subject?' Let's learn to spot them!
Understanding Subject and Predicate
We have already seen that a simple sentence has only one subject and one predicate. The subject refers to the person or thing about which something is said. The predicate is that part of the sentence that says something about the subject.
Study the following examples:
- Fire burns. (Subject: Fire, Predicate: burns)
- The birds sing. (Subject: The birds, Predicate: sing)
- The President visited Africa. (Subject: The President, Predicate: visited Africa)
- Barking dogs seldom bite. (Subject: Barking dogs, Predicate: seldom bite)
You can see that the subject may consist of one word or several words, but it must always have a noun or pronoun in it. In the same way, the predicate may consist of one word or several words, but it must always have a verb in it.
The main word in the subject is called the subject-word or simple subject.
Different Kinds of Subjects
The subject is always a noun or a word or phrase that does the work of a noun.
- Money is the root of all evil. (Here the subject is the noun money.)
- They have admitted their fault. (Here the subject is the pronoun they.)
- The disabled are God’s special children. (Here the subject is an adjective used as a noun, the disabled.)
- To err is human. (Here the subject is a to-infinitive, to err.)
- Slow and steady wins the race. (Here the subject is the phrase ‘slow and steady’.)
More Fun Examples!
Let's practice finding the Subject (who or what) and the Predicate (what they do or what is said about them). Pay attention to the highlighted parts!
- The sun shines brightly. (Subject: The sun, Predicate: shines brightly)
- Little Timmy eats an apple. (Subject: Little Timmy, Predicate: eats an apple)
- Colorful balloons floated in the sky. (Subject: Colorful balloons, Predicate: floated in the sky)
- My teacher reads a story. (Subject: My teacher, Predicate: reads a story)
- The fluffy kittens play with a yarn ball. (Subject: The fluffy kittens, Predicate: play with a yarn ball)
- A big bus stopped at the corner. (Subject: A big bus, Predicate: stopped at the corner)
- We love ice cream. (Subject: We, Predicate: love ice cream)
- She sings a beautiful song. (Subject: She, Predicate: sings a beautiful song)
- The old tree has many leaves. (Subject: The old tree, Predicate: has many leaves)
- Funny clowns make people laugh. (Subject: Funny clowns, Predicate: make people laugh)
- My new shoes are blue. (Subject: My new shoes, Predicate: are blue)
- The brave knight fought the dragon. (Subject: The brave knight, Predicate: fought the dragon)
- Children are playing in the park. (Subject: Children, Predicate: are playing in the park)
- The clever fox jumped over the fence. (Subject: The clever fox, Predicate: jumped over the fence)
- He runs very fast. (Subject: He, Predicate: runs very fast)
Tricky Words Made Easy!
Here are some words from our lesson with simple meanings to help you understand better:
- Sentence: A group of words that tells a complete thought, like a mini-story.
- Subject: The WHO or WHAT a sentence is about (the main character or thing).
- Predicate: The part of a sentence that tells what the subject DOES or what IS SAID about the subject (the action or description part).
- Consist: To be made up of. (Example: A toy car consists of wheels, a body, and windows.)
- Refers: To point to or be about something. (Example: A sign with an arrow refers you to the right direction.)
- Seldom: Not very often, rarely. (Example: You seldom see a shooting star.)
- Admitted: To agree that something is true, often something you did. (Example: He admitted he ate the cookie.)
- Disabled: Having a condition that makes it difficult to do some things that others can do. (It's important to be kind and helpful to everyone.)
- Err: To make a mistake. (Example: "To err is human" means everyone makes mistakes.)
- Phrase: A small group of words that act like a single unit in a sentence, but don't form a complete sentence on their own. (Examples: "on the table", "very sleepy".)
- Noun: A word for a person, place, thing, or idea. (Examples: 'dog', 'school', 'book', 'happiness'.)
- Pronoun: A word used instead of a noun. (Examples: 'he', 'she', 'it', 'they'.)
- Verb: An action word or a word that shows a state of being. (Examples: 'run', 'jump', 'is', 'are'.)
- Adjective: A word that describes a noun. (Examples: 'happy', 'big', 'red'.)
- Infinitive (To-infinitive): The basic form of a verb, often with "to" in front of it. (Examples: 'to run', 'to play'.)
- Evil: Very bad or wicked.
- Visited: Went to see a place or person.
- Special: Different from what is usual, often in a good way.