Unspoken subject with examples in sentences

In the first place, the subject is one of the parts of the sentence and is used to define the person, animal or thing that is performing an action in a certain context. Through the subject we identify and name the individual to exercise the action of the verb. In this article we will explain here the concept of unspoken subject.

Therefore, and taking into account that the subject serves to identify and define the individual, there may be different types of subject such as the tacit and the explicit. The explicit ones , on the other hand, are those subjects that appear clearly in the sentence , that is, we see and identify them easily. Let’s look at some examples of an explicit subject to understand it better:

• Juan knocked on the door.
• The dog ran away from home.
• My mother is very tall.
• The president of the community called a meeting for the next week.

In these four examples we can see that the subject appears clearly and is the one who performs the action of the verb. Indicated in bold you can see each of them.

The unspoken subjects Explained

On the other hand, we must deal with the definition of the tacit subjects , which are the ones that concern us on this occasion. In this case, the subject of the sentence does not appear as in the previous case in a direct way, but it is possible to suppose it in a very simple way . That is, the tacit subject is found in sentences that do not have a name or pronoun that does the grammatical function of the subject. The subject does not appear directly, but it can be assumed through the verb tense or in a referential way.

This type of tacit subject, by its nature can also be defined as an omitted or elliptical subject because it does not appear visibly in the sentence, but we know that it is there even if it does not have its own elements that testify to it.

This type of subject is widely used in the languages and therefore it is convenient to know how to identify it when carrying out a grammatical analysis, since you will find it very recurrent in any type of text. The use of the unspoken subject helps to achieve greater fluency and comprehension in the texts since the use of unnecessary repetitions is avoided. Next we are going to see an example of an unspoken subject in a text:

• It was midnight on a Saturday in the heart of the city. Juan and I were tired of walking the streets full of crowds that overwhelmed us at every step. We decided to stop for a moment in that corner and look up. Without even realizing it, time stopped and we could appreciate the brightness of that star that made us feel again as if we were alone in the middle of nowhere.

In this text we can find several subjects, some of them tacit and others explicit. In this case, the story of two people who are identified in the second sentence is being narrated: Juan and me . The subject remains throughout the story, but appears omitted, something that we will see very clearly in the following sentence:

We decided to stop for a moment in that corner and look up.

In this case the verb we decide does not have any subject explicitly , but thanks to the context and the verb tense we can know who has performed the action of the verb. In this case, the subject is still Juan and Yo , or failing that the pronoun we , which on this occasion and with the aim of improving the text has been elided, so we could transform the phrase into:

• (Juan and I) We decided to stop for a moment in that corner and look up.
• (We) decided to stop for a moment in that corner and look up.

Now you know what the unspoken subject consists of and you have learned to identify it in a text. So that you can understand this concept even better and know how to identify it easily, pay attention to the following examples of sentences with an unspoken subject in which you will find the omitted subject in parentheses:

1. (You) Take your sister by car so she won’t be late.
2. (I) I think I will be able to pass the exam if (I) prepare well for the subject.
3. (The shopkeeper) He has raised the prices of his products again to get more profits.
4. (He) wants to leave as soon as possible so that he can go see his mother at the hospital where he is admitted.
5. (You) Lend me your pen, please, mine has run out of ink and I can’t write my email to you.
6. (We) Tomorrow we will be married for four years.
7. (She) She has lived in Malaga since she finished her university degree.
8. (You) unilaterally decided to break the conditions signed in the lease.