Download Subject/Predicate

Lecture 9
English 3318: Studies in English Grammar
Phrases: Subject/Predicate
Dr. Svetlana Nuernberg
Objectives
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Identify and diagram the most important
constituents of sentences
Noun phrases
Verb phrases
Adjective phrases
Adverb phrases
Subjects and Predicates
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At the sentence level the largest segments into
which the material is divided are subject and
predicate
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we tend to see two aspects of events – things (topic or
subject of the sentence) and actions (comment about
the topic or predicate)
Pattern that helps speaker to present information
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there is a topic the speaker wants to talk about
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could be introduced with an attention getting question
speaker has something to say about it
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could introduce new information for the listener – a
comment about the topic
Identifying Subject and Predicate
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Identifying subject is crucial to our understanding of
what is said or written
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we expect to find a subject at the beginning of the sentence
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the who or what a sentence is about
we expect the rest of the sentence to tell what the subject
does or is like – predication
we expect that once the verb appears in the sentence, we
have heard the entire subject
The glaggety woodgies climmed brudgingly to the
weegster
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the glaggety woodgies – is a subject (plural)
climmed brudgingly to the weegster – predicate (climmed –
verb in the past tense)
Exercise 1
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How would you divide the following sentence into
two parts, subjects and predicates? Underline the
subjects (Note that some words that appear at the
beginning of the sentence may not be a part of the
subject)
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Edward grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit.
The students in Math 101 have always disliked taking
exams.
Usually, people find Bill Cosby funny.
The house that we own sits on a small lot.
Test your intuition by trying to substitute a single
pronoun for the subject you have underlined.
Division between Subject and
Predicate – Example 1
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Edward
grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit
Edward - subject – names a topic – who? (known to
both speaker and hearer)
Grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit – predicate – new
information about Edward (what he does)
as large as tomatoes – belongs with tomatoes – no
division is possible after tomatoes
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*Edward grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit
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a noun cannot be substituted for Edward grows nor a
verb for tomatoes as large as grapefruit – wrong
division
tomatoes as large as grapefruit belongs with grows
Tree Structure S = NP + VP
S
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NP
VP
Edward
grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit
The phrase structure tree shows that
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the noun phrase Edward, is functioning as a subject
the verb phrase grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit
is functioning as its predicate
Reed-Kellogg Diagram
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Subject and predicate appear on horizontal line,
divided by an intersecting vertical line
Edward
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grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit
in such diagram
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the words that are part of the subject appear to the left of the
vertical
all the predicate appear on the right
Exercise 2
Identify the subjects in the sentences below
Use tag and yes/no question models for help
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The next car that I buy must be fuel efficient.
The best car for me would be one of an EPA estimate
of at least 45 miles to the gallon.
Buying a car that listed as fuel efficient does not
guarantee that the car will deliver the mpg listed on the
sticker.
Removing the foot from the accelerator a little sooner
before a stop sign will also help.
Running the air conditioning increases the work that
the engine has to do and lowers the fuel efficiency of a
car.
Form and Function
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Form/function contrast
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in describing a sentence structure
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a noun phrase (form) serves as the subject (function)
a verb phrase (form) serves as the predicate (function)
The form
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one of the ways of recognizing different part of speech or
word class
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class-word – specific affixes that attach to and change the form
of each kind of word: {-ed} past-tense suffix – enable to
recognize the verb class; {-tion} – enables to recognize nouns;
{-al} – to recognize adjectives
in unclear cases we use the position in a phrase or sentence –
test frames
physical shape or the internal structure that enables to
classify a phrase (Honey tastes sweet. The milk is sweet)
Recognizing a Noun in the Noun
Phrase
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The pattern – a noun preceded by
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provides a prototypical form for all noun phrases
The noun is a headword of the noun phrase
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a possible determiner
more possible adjective modifiers
the word that other words modify
The noun phrase might be substituted by a
pronoun
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it functions naturally in a noun phrase slot
(The)_____seem(s) all right – It seems all right
Recognizing Phrase Types I
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Phrases are the chief constituents of sentences – the
parts from which sentences are constructed
Noun phrase – is a noun or any group of words that
can substitute for a noun
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a head word of a noun phrase can be modified by other
words (the blue car), phrases (the students in Math 101),
or clauses (the house that we own)
Main verb phrase – is the main verb of the sentence
plus its auxiliary or helping verbs
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the main verb can consist of a single verb (fell, swim) and
in combination with auxiliary verb (might fell, can swim)
the main verb is the head word of the phrase
Recognizing Phrase Types II
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Adjective phrase – is an adjective or any group of
words that can substitute for an adjective
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prototypical adjective phrase consists of a single
adjective (tall – Sally is tall) or an adjective headword
and qualifier (very tall)
Adverb phrase – is an adverb or any group of
words that can substitute for an adverb
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the prototype of an adverb consists of a single adverb
(strongly) or an adverb headword accompanied by a
qualifier (very strongly)
subordinate clauses can be substituted by an adverb to
recognize adverb phrases
Sentence Constituents
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Noun phase and a verb phrase are sentence
constituents
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noun phrase functions as a subject
verb phrase functions as predicate
Predicates must include a main verb phrase
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can also include:
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noun phrases
adjective phrases
adverb phrases
If it is impossible to find a single word substitute
for a phrase
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it is not a constituent of a sentence or of the predicate
it is a part of another, larger phrase
Example 1
Edward grows tomatoes as large as grapefruit
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a noun phrase subject: Edward
a verb phrase predicate: grows tomatoes as large as
grapefruit
the main verb phrase: grows
a second noun phrase: tomatoes as large as grapefruit
S
VP
NP
MVP
Edward
grows
NP
tomatoes as large as grapefruit
Example 2 - People find Bill Cosby funny usually
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Sentence constituents:
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a noun phrase: people
a verb phrase: find Bill Cosby funny usually
Predicate constituents:
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a main verb phrase: find
a second noun phrase: Bill Cosby
an adjective phrase: funny
an adverb phrase: usually
S
NP
VP
MVP
People
find
NP
Bill Cosby
ADJP
funny
ADVP
usually
Exercise 3
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Divide each of the following sentences into
subject and predicate. Label constituents: NP, VP,
MVP, ADJP, ADVP
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Gilroy, California, calls itself “The Garlic Capital of
the World.”
Every July Gilroy holds a three-day Garlic Festival.
Organizers expect more than 250,000 people for the
festival this year.
A new crowned Miss Gilroy Garlic will reign at this
year's festival.
The festival committee has ordered two tons of garlic
from local farms
Not all people are delighted with the garlic ice-cream.