What is the Subject of a Sentence?

 

The sentence's subject is the person or thing that controls or manipulates the verb. It tells what or who the sentence is about. 8 Forms of Subject 1. nouns A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Examples: 1. "Linda bought ice cream." Who bought ice cream? Linda. 2. "Teachers should attend the meeting." Who should attend the meeting? Teachers. 3. "Cars emit smoke." What emits smoke? Cars. The underlined words are nouns: "Linda"- proper noun, "teachers"- common noun, and "cars"- common noun/concrete nouns. They tell who or what the sentence is about. They act as the manipulator or actors of the sentence. 2. noun phrases A noun phrase is two or more words coming together, acting as one grammatical unit—a noun. It is one of the categories of nouns, but it needs emphasis as it also plays a higher role in sentence construction. A noun phrase consists of one noun and other words that modify or describe that noun, like adjectives and articles. Examples: 1. "The dog barked out loud." Who/what barked out loud? The dog. dog - noun the - article (modifier) 2. "The girl in a red dress is so pretty." Who is so pretty? The girl in a red dress. girl- noun the- article (modifier) in a red dress- prepositional phrase (modifier) 3. "A tall man should model this." Who should model this? A tall man. man- noun a - article (modifier) tall - adjective (modifier) The underlined phrases act as a single unit noun. They tell what/who the sentence is about. 3. noun clauses A noun clause is a dependent clause acting as a noun. It has both a noun and a verb but does not portray a complete thought. Click here to learn more about clauses. Examples: 1. "Whichever of these dresses fits me should be size 27." Which should be size 27? Whichever of these dresses fits me. "Whichever of these dresses fits me" is a dependent clause because although it has a subject (whichever) and a verb (fits), it still does not portray a complete thought. Since it acts as a noun in this sentence, it is now called a noun clause. And the role of its verb and object changes because, in the bigger picture, there is now a new verb in the predicate (should be). The verb (fits) and the object (me) are now just part of the main noun (whichever of these dresses). whichever - pronoun of these dresses - prepositional phrase   of-preposition   these- demonstrative pronoun modifying the dresses, and   dresses- common/concrete noun modifying whichever fits - verb me - direct object 2. "A daughter doing her best is commendable." Who is commendable? A daughter doing her best. "A daughter doing her best" is a dependent clause because although it has a subject (daughter) and a verb (doing), it still does not portray a complete thought. It cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. Since it acts as a noun in this sentence, it is now called a noun clause. And the role of its verb and object changes because, in the bigger picture, we have a new verb in the predicate (is), a linking verb. The verb (doing) and the object (her best) are now just part of the main noun (daughter). daughter - noun a - article (modifier) doing - verb her best - direct object 3. "Whoever seeks reform should stand up." Who should stand up? Whoever seeks reform. "Whoever seeks reform" is a dependent clause because although it has a subject (whoever) and a verb (seeks), it still does not portray a complete thought. It cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. Since it acts as a noun in this sentence, it is now called a noun clause. And the role of its verb and object changes because, in the bigger picture, there is now a new verb in the predicate (should stand). The verb (seeks) and the object (reform) are now just part of the main noun (whoever). whoever - pronoun seeks - verb reform - direct object Highlight: The underlined clauses are noun clauses. They act as the manipulator of their respective sentences. They tell who/what the sentence is about. 4. pronouns Pronouns rename a person, place, thing, or idea. They are a substitute for nouns. They are used the same way nouns are used. Click here to know more about pronouns. Examples: 1. "She walked silently." Who walked silently? She. she - pronoun 2. "They were very happy with the gift." Who was very happy with the gift? They. they - pronoun 3. "It is breathing slowly." Which is breathing slowly? It. it - pronoun 5. gerunds Gerunds are "-ing" verbs that function as nouns. They are action verbs with "-ing" in the end (example: turn + -ing = turning, cut + -ing = cutting, etc.). Gerunds have similar forms to present participles. But unlike gerunds, present participles are used to form tenses. Examples: 1. "Exercising is good for the body." What is good for the body? Exercising. 2. "Meditating calms me." What calms me? Meditating. 3. "Jogging improves cardiovascular fitness." What improves cardiovascular fitness? Jogging. The underlined words are gerunds. They function as the subject, telling what the sentences are about. 6. gerund phrases A gerund phrase consists of a gerund and its object, adverb, adjective + noun, OR prepositional phrase.  Examples: 1. "Eating fruits is good for your body." What is good for your body? Eating fruits. eating - gerund fruits - noun (object direct) sa 2. "Driving inattentively causes accidents." What causes accidents? Driving inattentively. driving - gerund inattentively - adverb 3. "Watching scary movies excites me." What excites me? Watching scary movies. watching - gerund scary - adjective (modifying the noun) movies - noun 4. "Staying in the house bores Steve." What bores Steve? Staying in the house. staying - gerund in the house - prepositional phrase The underlined phrases are gerund phrases functioning as subjects. They tell what the sentence is about. 7. infinitives Infinitives are a non-finite type of verb. They cannot stand on their own without finite verbs to portray a complete thought of predicate. Infinitives are formed when the word "to" is put before action verbs (for example:  to love, to dream, to teach, etc.) Since infinitives need the help of other verbs before they can function fully as verbs or part of a verb, there are alternative functions that await them: as a noun, as an adjective, or as an adverb. For now, since the subject is the topic, only nouns will be tackled. Examples: 1. "To love is a noble thing." What is a noble thing? To love. 2. "To dream is divine!" What is divine? To dream. The underlined are the infinitives functioning as the subject. They tell what the sentence is about. 8. infinitive phrases An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive and its object, a prepositional phrase, an adjective + noun, or an adverb. It can function as a noun, too, in a sentence and often as a subject. Examples: 1. "To dream big may lead to both frustration and courage." What may lead to both frustration and courage? To dream big. to dream - infinitive big - adverb 2. "To fall into one's arm is the most romantic." What is the most romantic? To fall into one's arm. to fall - infinitive into one's arm - prepositional phrase 3. "To love a beautiful soul can be the best choice." What can be the best choice? To love a beautiful soul. to love - infinitive beautiful - adjective (modifying the noun) soul - noun 4. "To read novels can improve vocabulary." What can improve vocabulary? To read novels. to read - infinitive novels - noun (direct object)