Understanding The Subject Of A Sentence
The subject of a sentence is the thing doing or being something in the sentence. It is usually a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. A subject can appear anywhere in a sentence, but is usually located near the beginning. Knowing how to identify the subject of a sentence is a basic grammar skill and provides the foundation for more complex language comprehension.
What Does a Subject Do?
The subject of a sentence is really the answer to the question, “Who or what is doing or being?” For example:
Caroline ate the cookie.
In this sentence, “Caroline” is the subject. She is the one doing the action: eating the cookie. The subject of a sentence is the one carrying out the action.
In other words, the subject can be thought of as the actor in the sentence. In the example above, Caroline is clearly ending up with a mouthful of cookie crumbs. But the sentence could have been written:
The cookie was eaten by Caroline.
Now, the subject is “cookie,” and the cookie is the one being eaten. Caroline is still carrying out the action, but in this sentence, the subject “cookie” is being acted upon.
Identifying the Subject
When learning how to find the subject of a sentence, it helps to look for verbs first. The subject is usually the noun or pronoun right before the verb. In the example sentence, “Caroline ate the cookie”, “ate” is the verb. Right before the verb is the noun “Caroline,” which is the subject of the sentence.
It’s important to remember that the subject is not always a single noun. It can be a noun phrase, which is a group of words serving as a noun. In the sentence, “The tall girl with the red dress ate the cookie,” the subject is “the tall girl with the red dress,” which is a noun phrase.
The sentence may also include an introductory phrase that doesn’t affect the subject:
Before lunch, Caroline ate the cookie.
In this sentence, the subject is still “Caroline.” The introductory phrase “Before lunch” is modifying the verb “ate” but doesn’t change who is eating the cookie.
Conclusion
Now, you should have a better understanding of how to identify the subject of a sentence. The subject is the thing or person performing a certain action, and it is important to know how to identify and differentiate it from other parts of the sentence.