How to identify the ELLIPTICAL subject

To identify the elliptical subject we must look at the ending, analyze the context and find the pronouns and adjectives. In unProfesor we tell you in an easy way.

The subject It is the part of the sentence that tells us who does the action proposed by the verb of the predicate. In some sentences, this subject is clearly seen, but there are others that hard to find or, it is simply not written in the text, but we can recognize it from the context of the sentence. We are talking about the elliptical subject.

In this lesson from a PROFESSOR, we are going to explain how to identify the elliptical subject step by step to make it easier for you. Will you join us to discover it?

He elliptical subject is a type of subject omitted in a sentence, either because it has been mentioned earlier in the text or because it can be understood through the context. We can also call it omitted subject or tacit subject and it serves to do not mention the subject explicitly, without affecting the meaning of the sentence.

For example: Juan and María study mathematics. They are very smart.

In this example that we have given you, the second sentence does not have a subject, because it is implied that the subject is THEM.

Do you want to know how to identify the elliptical subject? To detect it, the first thing you should do is read the entire text or paragraph, so that your mind is put in context. Then you should start observe the sentence that worries you to detect some signs that will help you.

Look at the verb ending

Each verb conjugation ends in a different way, that is, has an ending that allows us to identify the person to whom it refers.

For example:Must stop running

As you can see in the example, the verb ending -EMOS indicates that it is a conjugated verb in the first person plural. Thus we can discover that the elliptical subject is equivalent to NOSOTROS or NOSOTRAS.

Attention! Some tenses, of different grammatical persons, they share the same ending.

For example:Wanted to that the exam went well

In this sentence, the elliptical subject could be the first person of singular I or the third person singular He or she. To know which is the correct person, you must be guided by the context.

look at the context

If you are reading a text, you must follow its coherence and when you come across an elliptical subject in a sentence, you must pull back in text and find out which subject he refers to.

For example: Alberto looked askance. He is now in trouble.

The second sentence has no subject, but for the context that the previous sentence offers us, we can discover that the elliptical subject is ALBERTO or HIM.

Discover the pronouns and adjectives

Pronouns and adjectives in sentences are kinds of words that can help us a lot to figure out which subject is hidden. This is very useful, especially for discover gender.

For example: She came accompanied to the party

The adjective ACCOMPANIED makes us see that the unspoken subject is feminine, therefore, it is HER.

Never get confused by an impersonal sentence

You should not confuse elliptical subject sentences with eitherimpersonal portions, which are those that They don't have a specific subject. that is, no one is doing the action to which the verb refers. These types of sentences refer to meteorological phenomena or to the verb TO HAVE, so they are easy to recognize.

For example: It rained all night / There will be many people at the party

In unProfesor we discover all the types of subjects in Spanish.

The best way to know how to identify the elliptical subject is to put this whole lesson into practice. For this reason, we propose a very simple exercise that will help you consolidate everything you have learned in theory.

Here is a list of prayers for you. Indicates what type of subject they contain: normal subject, with omitted subject and impersonal sentences:

• it was raining a lot
• This spring many flowers have grown.
• In summer it gets dark very late.
• A new dress is what I'm going to ask for my birthday.
• Life is good in this city.
• They bought some jeans.
• In August there are parties in my town.
• They bought some jeans for my brothers.
• It is still night.
• Andrew is sick

In this section you will find the solutions to the previous exercise to identify the elliptical subject. We have put next to each sentence the type of subject it has.

• It was raining a lot (Impersonal)
• This spring many flowers have grown. (Impersonal)
• In summer it gets dark very late. (Impersonal)
• A new dress is what I'm going to ask for my birthday. (Elliptical subject YO)
• Life is good in this city. (Impersonal)
• They bought some jeans. (Elliptical subject THEM or THEM)
• In August there are parties in my town. (Impersonal)
• They bought some jeans for my brothers. (Elliptical subject THEM or THEM)
• It is still night. (Impersonal)
• Andrés is sick (Normal subject ANDRÉS)

We hope this lesson has helped you understand a little better how to identify the elliptical subject and the difference that this has with impersonal sentences. If you want to continue delving a little more about this topic or some similar ones, do not hesitate to consult our grammar and linguistics section, where we will be happy to help you solve all your doubts.