Subject in English Grammar
The subject is the part of the sentence that performs or is associated with an action.
In English, a subject is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that precedes and defines the main verb. Types of subjects
For instance:
- She is a really nice girl (She is really a very nice girl). “She” (she) is the subject of this sentence, which controls the verb and object.
- My father built that house (My father built that house). The subject “father” controls the verb and the rest of the sentence.
- Natasha plays the violin (Natasha plays the violin). The subject “Natasha” performs the action “plays the violin” (plays the guitar).
- The police caught all the burglars (The police caught all the robbers). The subject “police” takes action to capture all the robbers. Types of subjects
Determination of Subject
To determine the subject, you first need to isolate the verb, and then ask the question, putting the words “who?” or “what?” (who? / what?). After defining the subject, we see how the rest of the English sentence tells us what the subject does, has done, or will do. This part is called the “predicate” of the sentence.
For instance:
=> “Natasha” = subject
=> “Plays the violin” = predicate.
- Who caught all the burglars? (Who caught all the robbers?).
=> “Police” = subject
=> “Caught all the burglars” = predicate.
Types of Subjects In English Grammar
The subject can be simple, compound, or complex.
Simple subject
In English, a simple subject is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.
Complex subject
A complex subject includes a noun phrase and any word, phrase, or elementary sentence in the English language that defines it. Types of subjects
For instance:
– The woman who had stood near us on the subway got into a bus (The woman who stood next to us on the subway got on the bus).
=> key noun: woman (woman)
=> difficult subject: the woman who had stood near us in the subway (the woman who stood next to us on the subway).
– The incredible race of MotoGP pleased many thousands of fans.
=> key noun: race
=> hard subject: the incredible race of MotoGP.
Composite/Compound subject
A compound subject in English consists of two or more noun phrases (and their modifiers, if any), combined together by a compositional union.
For instance:
- Children and their mom crossed the road and entered into a shop (Children and their mom crossed the road and entered the store).
=> The compound subject in this example is the entire phrase “Children and their mom”.
- Neither the students of our faculty nor the best physic teachers could not solve this extraordinary task (Neither the students of our faculty nor the best physics teachers could solve this unusual task).
=> the subject is again the whole phrase “Neither the students of our faculty nor the best physic teachers” (neither the students of our faculty nor the best physics teachers). This phrase answers the question “who could not solve an unusual problem”?
