Download Sentence Parts Cheat Sheet

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Sentence Parts Cheat Sheet
SUBJECT
The subject of a sentence is who or what is doing something in the sentence. It has to be a noun
or a pronoun.
Example: The little bird flew out of the nest. (The bird is the one doing something—flying.)
VERBS—ACTION VERBS
An action verb gives an action that the subject performed (thought, ran, talked, said, etc.). This is
what the subject is doing, has done, will do, etc.
Example: The little bird flew out of the nest. (Flying was the action taken by the bird.)
VERBS—LINKING VERBS
A verb could also be a linking verb (is, am, was, looks, appears, seems, becomes, smells, etc.),
connecting the subject to a predicate nominative or predicate adjective. This is not really an
action that is physically performed or can be observed.
Example: The cake seems to be done. (Seems to be is a linking verb. It is not really a physical
action that the cake has performed and that can be observed, but it links “cake” to “done”.)
FINDING THE COMPLEMENTS
Ask yourself a question framed like this: Subject
Verb What?
If there is no answer to the question, there is no direct object, predicate nominative or predicate
adjective. If there is an answer to this question, that word is the complement in the sentence.
Example: Jason jogged this morning. Question to ask: Jason jogged what? There is no answer to
this question, one cannot “jog” something in this context, so there is no direct object, etc.
Example: Jason drew a funny picture in math class. Question to ask: Jason drew what? The
answer is: picture. Picture is the complement.
AFTER YOU’VE DETERMINED A SENTENCE HAS A COMPLEMENT, YOU HAVE TO
DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF COMPLEMENT IT IS.
DIRECT OBJECTS
Question to ask: Subject Verb What?
If you have already asked yourself a question framed like this, Subject Verb What? You need to
determine whether the word that answered that question is a direct object. A direct object is the
item receiving the action of the verb. It is being acted on by the verb. It has to be a noun or a
pronoun.
Example: Jason drew a funny picture in math class. Question to ask: Jason drew what? Answer:
Picture. Picture is a direct object because the picture is the thing that was drawn—it received the
action of the verb. Direct objects will ALWAYS be nouns or pronouns.
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INDIRECT OBJECTS
Subject Verb (Direct Object) To whom? For whom?
Indirect objects are weird. They’re the only complements that cannot be found by asking
“Subject Verb What?” You have to ask a question framed like this: Direct Object To Whom/For
Whom?
Example: I sang my class a song. Question to ask: To whom/For whom was the song sung?
Answer: class (drop ‘my’).
Example: She gave my friend a sandwich. Question to ask: She gave (a) sandwich to whom?
Answer: (my) friend. {Omit words like a, the, my, etc. in front of the answer.}
PREDICATE NOMINATIVE
Question to ask: Subject Verb What?
The answer to the “Subject Verb What?” question may not be a direct object. It could be a
predicate nominative. A predicate nominative is a noun or a pronoun. It could replace or rename
the subject. One is saying that the subject IS that thing. You could even switch the subject and
the predicate nominative around and it would still make sense.
Example: Mr. Smith is the teacher. Question to ask: Mr. Smith is what? Answer: Teacher
(drop ‘the’). Teacher is a noun. Mr. Smith (the subject) is that thing—a teacher. You could
switch the subject and the predicate noun around—you could say “The teacher is Mr. Smith” and
it would still make sense. You know it is not a direct object because ‘teacher’ was not acted on
by the verb is. How could it be? That makes no sense.
Example: I am the chosen one. Question to ask: I am what? Answer: One (drop ‘chosen’). One
is a pronoun. The sentence is stating that I (the subject) am that thing—the one. So one is a
predicate pronoun.
PREDICATE ADJECTIVES
Question to ask: Subject Verb What?
If the answer to the “Subject Verb What?” question is an adjective (describes a noun), then it is a
predicate adjective. It is a word that describes the subject. It appears after a linking verb. It has
to be an adjective.
Example: The wet cat was angry. Question to ask: Cat was what? Answer: Angry. Angry is an
adjective describing the cat (the subject).
NOUNS OF DIRECT ADDRESS
A noun of direct address is used when one writes a sentence as if he/she is speaking directly to
someone and gives his or her name or title. Nouns of direct address are set off by commas. A
noun of direct address has to be a NOUN!
Example: Mary, I see that you’re late again. (Mary is the noun of direct address—NODA.)
Example: Really, Alex, I cannot believe you said that! (Alex is the noun of direct address.)
Example: There was a time I liked to visit you, Grandpa. (Grandpa is the NODA.)