Subject and predicate explained with example sentences

He subject It is the entity that performs the action expressed in the verb, that of which the predicate speaks. He predicate it is what is said of the subject, the action that the subject carries out. The following examples are sentences with subject and predicate:

Subject and predicate are two basic elements in a sentence and fulfill a syntactic function, that is, each plays a role within the sentence.

Next we will see carefully what is the subject and what is the predicate, and we will illustrate the explanation with examples.

Subject

He subject It is the person, animal or object to which the action of the verb in the sentence refers.

It is made up of a set of words, called syntagmanominal. The most important word in a phrase is the core, and in the case of the noun phrase, this head is a name, a noun.

The noun that functions as the nucleus can be accompanied by other types of words, such as determiners or adjectives. By example:

Hechild redhead writes very well

The head of the subject is the noun child and is accompanied by a determiner (He) and an adjective (redhead).

The subject must maintain a relationship of agreement with the verb, that is, the subject and verb must coincide in grammatical person and in number. By example:

Tomato it's red (subject in the singular and the verb in the third person singular).

The tomatoes They are red (subject in the plural and the verb in the third person of the plural).

In compound sentences, the subject can be represented by a substantive subordinate clause, that is, a whole proposition performs the function of subject. For example:

I love John is here

The syntactic function of subject is performed by the subordinate clause John is here. This sentence could be replaced by the demonstrative that and the phrase would still make sense.

I love that

Sometimes the subject does not appear expressly in the sentence, but the grammatical person of the verb tells us who performs the action. It is what is known as tacit subject or elliptical. For example:

We'll be back Monday morning

This sentence only consists of a verb phrase, that is, only the predicate appears. Even so, we know that the subject is us, because the verb is conjugated in the first person plural.

Predicate

He predicate It is what is said about the subject, it speaks of the action that it performs. It is made up of a set of words called verb phrase, whose core is verb.

Different complements or modifiers can go together with the verb, such as the direct object, indirect complement, regime complement or circumstantial complements (of place, time, manner, etc.).

Let's look at this example from the point of view of the verb phrase:

He redheaded boy writes very good

The nucleus of the verb phrase is the verb (writes) and two adverbs accompany it, very and good, which constitute a circumstantial complement of mode.

The type of complements that we can find in the verb phrase vary depending on the type of verb.

If the verb is copulative (to be, to be or to seem) we will find a attribute. For example:

your letter is lovely

If the verb is transitive it will be accompanied by a direct complement. For example:

my mother bought fruit yesterday

Sometimes we can find a indirect compliment next to the direct object in the same sentence. For example:

The courier delivered the package to the neighbor

There are verbs that need a diet supplement, that is, a complement introduced by a preposition because the verb requires it. For example:

I don't get used to it to this rain

The circumstantial accessories, on the other hand, do not depend on a specific type of verb to participate in the sentence. Its function is to indicate in what circumstances the action takes place: the place, the moment, the manner, etc.

classes begin at half past eight

Sentences with subject and predicate

1. My parents will travel to Rome in November.
2. The orange and lemon trees are fruit trees.
3. Tomorrow I will buy a birthday card for my niece.
4. My boss informed me of the news of this month.
5. We will leave from the central park.
6. Will you go by car or by subway?
7. The teacher called Carla to her office.
8. The magnifying glass is used to better see small objects.
9. Rabbits eat hay and carrots.
10. Carlos will take the correspondence to Jorge.
11. Trust your gut.
12. I will write a letter to my grandmother for Christmas.
13. Ana has never been on an airplane.
14. Some otters eat shellfish.
15. Those pants look comfortable.
16. We don't know the words to the team's anthem.
17. Cats are independent animals.
18. Bécquer wrote love poems.
19. The movie billboard has many new features.
20. Carlos blindly believes in his teammates.
21. The Titanic was carrying passengers to New York.

See also:

• Simple sentences and compound sentences.
• Types of sentences.