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Subjects and Verbs
Sentence Skills: A Workbook for
Writers, Form A
John Langan
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
• 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.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
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.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
Friend
Sharks
Michael
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
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.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
Studies
Attack!
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Find the Verb….
#2: Put a pronoun (I, you, he,
she, it, or they) in front of the
word you think is a verb.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
If the result
makes sense,
you have
a verb.
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Find the Verb….
#3: Recognize the linking verbs.
They do not show action.
Instead, they give information.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
I am tall.
Bob seems unhappy.
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
• 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.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
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.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
• 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)
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
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.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
My brother expects
to go on an important
job interview soon.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
• Subject: brother
• Verb: expects
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
He practiced for this
interview in an
interesting way.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
• Subject: he
• Verb: practiced
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
• Subject: preparing
• Verb: was
Preparing for an interview
was a very important
part of the process.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
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
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
Now he is more relaxed
about meeting with
employers and
answering questions.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
• Subject: he
• Verb: is
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
Appropriate dress is
important, too.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
• Subject: dress
• Verb: is
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
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.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
Of course, Bill should
have researched the
company beforehand.
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
• Subject: Bill
• Verb: should have
researched
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Subjects and Verbs
Identify the subjects
and verbs in the
following.
A worthy candidate
• Subject:candidate
for a job wants to
give a good impression. • Verb: wants
Sentence Skills, Form A, 7E
© 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.