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Chapter TwentyThree
Subjects and Verbs
College Writing Skills, 5E and College Writing
Skills with Readings, 5E
Prepared by Professors Rita Perkins and Paul Harris
Camden County College
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
• The basic building blocks of English
sentences are subjects and verbs.
– Who or what the sentence speaks
about is called the subject.
– What the sentence says about the
subject is called the verb.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Find the Subject.
Who or what is the sentence about?
1. My best friend studies marine biology.
2. Sharks attack their prey.
3. Michael works on a submarine.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
Friend
Sharks
Michael
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Find the Verb….
There are three ways to find the verb.
#1: What does the subject do?
1. My best friend studies marine biology.
1. Sharks attack their prey.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
Studies
Attack!
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Find the Verb….
#2: Put a pronoun (I, you, he,
she, it, or they) in front of the
word you think is a verb.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
If the result
makes sense,
you have
a verb.
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Find the Verb….
#3: Recognize the linking verbs.
They do not show action.
Instead, they give information.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
I am tall.
Bob seems unhappy.
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
• Many verbs consist of more than one
word.
• The verb often has a “helping” verb.
– Mike is writing a report about the great
white shark.
– We are studying about the jaws and
teeth of sharks.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Notes:
• Words like not, just, never, always, and only
are NOT part of the verb.
• A shark does not sleep.
• People have always feared sharks.
- When what LOOKS like a verb has a “to” in
front of it, it is not a verb.
- Sharks like to live in cold water.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
• No -ing word by itself is the verb of the
sentence. ( It may be part of the verb, but
it must have a helping verb in front of it.)
When hunting for sharks, people rarely use the term fishing.
Verb
Not the verb
Michael is hunting for sharks tomorrow..
Verb (with a helper)
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Compound Subjects and Verbs
• A sentence may have more than one verb.
– The shark swam and attacked.
• A sentence may have more than one
subject.
– Dolphins and whales have some
protection from sharks.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Distinguishing Subjects
from Prepositional Phrases
• The subject of a sentence never
appears within a prepositional
phrase.
• A prepositional phrase is simply a
group of words that begins with a
preposition and ends with an object.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Distinguishing Subjects
from Prepositional Phrases
An interesting exhibit
of a killer whale is very
popular at the new aquarium.
• Subject: exhibit
• Verb: is
Prepositional phrases:
of a killer whale
at the new aquarium
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
My brother expects
to go on an important
job interview soon.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
• Subject: brother
• Verb: expects
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
He practiced for this
interview in an
interesting way.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
• Subject: he
• Verb: practiced
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
• Subject: preparing
• Verb: was
Preparing for an interview
was a very important
part of the process.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
Bill went on job
interviews for
positions that he did
not really want.
• Subject: Bill
• Verb: went
Relative clause subject:
he
Relative clause verb:
did want
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
Now he is more relaxed
about meeting with
employers and
answering questions.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
• Subject: he
• Verb: is
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
Appropriate dress is
important, too.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
• Subject: dress
• Verb: is
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
• Subject: applicants
• Verbs: wrote / spoke
The job applicants wrote
essays about their values
and spoke in front of a
small group.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
Of course, Bill should
have researched the
company beforehand.
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
• Subject: Bill
• Verb: should have
researched
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Chapter 23
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
A worthy candidate
• Subject:candidate
for a job wants to
give a good impression. • Verb: wants
College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E
© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.