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Basic Sentence Patterns
Subjects and verbs
云浮市邓发纪念中学
李建平
Identifying Subjects and Verbs
Key Concept:
A complete sentence requires a subject and a verb; it
also must express a complete thought.
Subjects
A sentence must have a subject.
 A subject is a noun
 A person, place or thing
 Ms. Jones
 Beijing University
 Book
 Or a pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun
 She/he/they
 It
Verbs
A sentence must also have a verb.
 There are 2 types of verbs:
 Action


Show movement
Examples: to study, to sing, to joke, to run, to walk
 Linking


Linking verbs do not show action. Instead, they convey
existence, being, becoming, and sometimes, one of the 5
senses. Linking verbs connect the subject and the word after
the linking verb.
Examples: to be, to seem, to become, to sound, to feel
Identifying Subjects and Verbs
To identify the subject and verb in a sentence, ask these questions:
 What is the action? What word links two or more other
words?

the verb
 Who or what is performing the action?

the subject
Practice
1. Barbara sang.
 What is the action?
Sang (verb – action)
 Who sang?
Barbara (subject)
2. The children were happy.
 What word joins the description to the subject?
were (verb – linking)
 Who were happy?
children (subject)
More Practice
Identify the subjects and verbs in the following sentences:
1. Terry laughs.
Subject = Terry
Verb = laughs (action)
2. Lady Gaga is famous.
Subject = Lady Gaga
Verb = is (links description to subject)
3. The dog barked.
Subject = the dog
Verb
= barked (action)
4. Mike creates funny characters.
Subject = Mike
Verb
= creates (action)
Simple and Compound Subjects and Verbs
 A single subject is referred to as a simple subject.
 A single verb is referred to as a simple verb.
Example:
The artist quickly drew the tourist’s picture.
What is the action?
Who drew?
drew (one action = simple verb)
artist (one actor = simple subject)
Compound Subjects
A sentence may also contain a compound subject: two or
more stated nouns or pronouns perform the same action.
Example:
Charles and the boys have gone to the movies.
What is the action? have gone (one action = simple verb)
Who has gone?
Charles + boys
(two stated actors = compound subject)
Compound Verbs
A sentence may also contain a compound verb: the subject
performs two or more actions.
Example:
Jane frequently drinks, dances, and parties through the night.
What is (are) the action(s)?
drink, dance, + party
(3 actions = compound verb)
Who drinks, dances and parties?
Jane (one stated actor = simple
subject)
Thank you
Good-bye
December 2, 2015