Download Subjects and Verbs

Subjects and Verbs
See What You Know
• In each blank, insert a word that seems
appropriate.
• 1. The _______accidentally ___________onto
the floor.
• 2. My _______ often __________at the mail
carrier.
• 3. A _______ in the corner ______loudly to
the waitress.
• 4. ____should never have ____to study all
night for the test.
Understanding the Answers
• If your completed sentences make
grammatical sense, the word in the first blank
of each sentence will be its subject, and the
word in the second blank will be the verb.
Here are some completed versions of the
sentences, with the subjects and verbs
labeled.
1. The knife (subject) accidentally fell (verb) onto the floor.
(The knife is what the sentence is about. Fell is what the knife
did.)
2. My cat (subject) often meows (verb) at the mail carrier.
(The cat is the one the sentence is about. Meows is what the cat
does.)
3. A customer (subject) in the corner shouted (verb) loudly to
the waitress. (A customer is performing an action. Shouted is
the action.)
4. Anita (subject) should never have tried (verb) to study all
night for the test. (Anita is the person doing something. Should
(never) have tried is what the sentence says about her. Never is
not part of the verb.
Finding the Subject
• Look at the following sentences:
Eric tripped on the steps.
The brakes on my car squeal.
She owns three motorcycles.
Depression is a common mood disorder.
The subject of a sentence is the person, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. To find a
sentence’s subject, ask yourself. “Who or what is this sentence about?” or “Who or what is
doing something in this sentence?”
Look again at the sentence above:
*Who is the first one about? Eric. (He’s the one who tripped.)
*What is the second one about? Brakes. (They are what squeal.)
*Who is the third one about? She. (She’s the one who owns three motorcycles.)
*What is the fourth one about? Depression. (It’s a common mood disorder.)
So, in the following sentences above, the subjects are Eric, brakes, she and depression.
****The subject of a sentence will always be either a noun or a pronoun.******
The Subject is Never in a Preposition Phrase
The subject of a sentence will never be part of a prepositional phrase. A
prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition, ends
with a noun or pronoun (the object of the preposition), and answers a
question such as “Which one?” “What kind?” “How?” “Where?” or “When?”
Here are some common prepositions:
About
Above
Across
After
Along
Among
around
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
by
down
during
except
for
from
in,into
inside
like
of
off
under
on,onto until
over
up
through upon
to
with
toward without
Finding the Verb
The subject of a sentence is what that sentence is about. The verb explains
what that sentence says about the subject.
***Look at what the verb tells us. Most verbs show action; they are called
action verbs. (tripped, owns, and squeal are action verbs.) A few verbs,
however, are linking verbs. They link (join) the subject to something that is
said about the subject. ***
Practice 1
In each of the sentences below, cross out the
prepositional phrases. The underline the subject once
and the verb twice.
1. Nikki waited in the supermarket checkout line for nearly half
an hour.
2. A dog with muddy paws padded across the clean kitchen
floor.
3. One of my cousins is a tightrope walker in the circus.
4. Those kittens at the animal shelter need a good home.
5. By the end of the month, I have very little money in my
wallet.
Additional Facts About Verbs
Fact 1 – Although words like not, just, never, only, and always
may appear between the main verb and helping verb, they are
never part of the verb.
Fact 2 – The verb of a sentence never comes after the word to.
Fact 3 – A word ending in –ing cannot by itself be the verb of the
sentence. It can be part of the verb, but it needs a help verb
before it.
Fact 4 – Verbs do not always consist of just one word.
Sometimes they consist of a main verb plus one or more helping
verbs, such as do, have, may, would, can, could or should.
Practice 2
In each of the sentences below, cross out the prepositional
phrases. Then underline the subject once and the verb twice.
1. Everyone at the plant is working overtime during August.
2. The middle child in a family may experience neglect.
3. Around midnight, a police siren began to wail in the nearby
street.
4. That shirt should not have been put in the washing machine.
5. On hot days, you must always remember to provide extra
water for the dog.
Other Helping Verbs
• Am, are, is, was, were, being, been, has, having, had,
does, did, can, might, must, shall, will, and would.
• Example of a helping verb in a sentence:
The basketball team will be leaving for their game at six
o’clock.
(In this sentence, the main verb is leaving. The helping
verbs are will, and would.