Parts of Subject—English Language

Parts of Subject—English Language

The Sentence:

While speaking or writing we use the words. We often use these words in group; as: 

1. Dogs bark. 2. God is great. 3. Ashoka was a king. 4. He loves me. 5. The boys play. 

These groups of words given above make a complete sense. 

Definition of A Sentence:

A 'sentence' is a group of words which makes complete sense by itself. The following instructions are followed while making a proper sentence: 

1. A sentence begins with a capital letter. 

2. The words in a Sentence must be in their proper order. 

3. A sentence ends with a full stop. 

Note: An exclamatory sentence has a mark of exclamation (!) at the end instead of full stop; an interrogative sentence has a question mark (?) at the end. 

Parts of the Sentence:

Every sentence has two parts: The Subject and the Predicate. 

(a) The Subject: 

This is the part of the sentence about which we can say something. In this part (Subject) we name some person or thing. 

Example: Ravi bought a book. 

Explanation: In this sentence Ravi is the Subject. 

(b) The Predicate: Whatever is said about the Subject is called the Predicate. 

Example: The boy bathed in the Ganga. 

Explanation: In the above sentence bathed in the Ganga is the Predicate.

 Note: Except the Subject, the rest part of the sentence is called the Predicate. 

Sentence = Subject + Predicate. 

Read the following sentences, which are divided into two parts:

A	B
1. Women	Wept.
2. The boys studying in Higher Class	Played football.
3. An old man	Was crossing the road.
4. The boy sitting next to me	Is my brother.
5. The girls standing in the corner	Are laughing

 Explanation of the above sentences is divided into two parts:

(a) Part ‘A’ is called the ‘Subject’ and part 'B' is called the ‘Predicate’.

(b) A Subject may consist of just one word as in sentence 1 or it may consist of two or more than two words as in sentences 2, 3,4,5.

(c) Similarly, a Predicate may consist of just one word as in sentence 1 or it may consist of two or more than two words as in sentences 2,3, 4, 5.

(d) In the above sentences, Subjects are: Women, The boys studying in Higher Class, An old man, The boy sitting next to me and the girls standing in the corner.

(e) In the above sentences, verbs are: wept, played, was crossing, is and are.

Divide the following sentences into two parts Subject and Predicate:

1. Rajesh sang a song.

    Rajesh               sang a song

        ↓                          ↓

   Subject              Predicate

2. The sun shone in the sky.

    The sun            shone in the sky.

        ↓                           ↓

   Subject                 Predicate

Parts of Subject:

1. Qualifier:

It stands for those words which show the quality. In it Articles, Adjectives, Possessive Pronouns are introduced. Qualifiers are used before Head Words/Main Words.

 Table-1:

Subject		Predicate
Qualifier	Head Word
A	boy	played football.
The	lion	Jumped into the   well.
My	uncle	is a gentleman.
Some	men	are laughing.
These	women	are weeping.
Your	father	went to office.
This	jug	is broken.
Those	men	went to the fair.
That	doll	is very costly.
His	mother	is a religious   lady.
Her	daughter	is very clever.

Explanation of the Above Table No. 1:

In the above parts of Subject the Head Words boy, lion, uncle, men, women, father, jug, men, doll, mother and daughter have Qualifiers a, the, my, some, these, your, this, those, that, his and your before them. 

The Parts of Qualifier: 

Qualifier has three parts: Determiner, Adjective and Adjective Phrase. 

1. Determiner: 

Determiner modifies or limits the noun. The following words are introduced in the use of Determiner such as: a, an, the, some, any, much, several, few, little, each, every, all, both, either, neither, no, half, my, our, your, his, her, its, their, this, that, these, those, two, second (and other numbers). 

Or the following are introduced in determiners 

(a) Articles: A, an, the. 

(b) Demonstrative Adjectives: This, that, these, those. 

(c) Possessive Adjectives: My, our, your, his, her, its, their. 

(d) Adjectives of Quantity and Adjectives of Number: Some, any, much, many, all, both, few, little, each, every, either, neither, one, two, first, second etc. 

2. Adjective: Adjectives of Quality: 

Such as: honest, beautiful, big, clever, small, fat, old, young, thin and so on are used before the Head Words. Sometimes Comparative and Superlative Adjectives are also used. 

3. Adjective Phrase: 

As an adjective tells the Quality of a Noun in the same way an Adjective Phrase tells the quality of a Noun, but it has more than one word but does not have a verb. It is used after the. Head Word. 

 Examples: 

1. A weak boy sitting in the corner is weeping. 

2. Some pretty flowers in the pot are red. 

3. Your younger sister in Agra is a teacher. 

4. My younger brother living in Meerut came here. 

Note: If an Adjective and Adjective Phrase both are given in one sentence, you should write Adjective before the Head Word and Adjective Phrase after the Head Word.

Table.2:

                                   (Based on Determiner and Adjective)

   

Subject			Predicate
Qualifier		Head Word
Determiner	Adjective	Noun
A	fat	man	is sitting here.
The	foolish	boy	wept bitterly.
Those	wise	people	worked hard.
My	younger	brother	bathed in the river.
Some	good	players	practised hard.

                           (Based on Determiner, Adjective and Adjective Phrase)

Subject				Predicate
Determiner	Adjective	Noun (Head Word)	Adjective Phrase	flew away.
A	black	bird	sitting in the tree
The	old	man	with a stick	fell down.
Those	pretty	flowers	in the vase	withered.
My	younger	brother	in Delhi	is a rich man.
The	red	dolls	in your hand	are very pretty.

Gerund As Subject:

Gerund works as a Noun. Gerund is made by adding ‘ing’ in Verb Ⅰ such as: sleep+ing = sleeping, weep+ing = weeping, carry+ing = carrying and so on.

Note: Gerund is also called Non-finite or Double Part of Speech.

                                                      Table.4

                                      (Based on Gerundial Subject)

Subject	Predicate
Smoking	is harmful to health.
Hunting	is full of risk.
Walking	is necessary.
Swimming	is useful.

Explanation: In the above table Smoking, Hunting, Walking and Swimming are Gerundial (Non-finite) Verbs.

Infinitive As Subject: Infinitive is also Double Part of Speech like Gerund. Infinitive is made by adding ‘to’ before Verb 1st Form such as: to+walk = to walk, to+swim = to swim, to+obey = to obey and so on.

                                                              Table.5

                                            (Based on Infinitive As Subject)

Subject Infinitive= (to+Verb 1 Form)	Predicate
To rise early	is useful.
To smoke	is injurious.
To work hard	is the key of success.
To obey your teachers	is your duty.

Use of ‘It’ As Subject: 

‘It’ is called dummy or formal subject. ‘It’ is used for rain, season, time, day, hot, cold, etc. 

Examples: 

1. It is raining today.

2. It is growing dark.

3. It was very cold yesterday. 

4. It is not good to sleep during the day.

Use of ‘There’ As Subject:

The sentences which show the absence or presence of anything, accept Introductory Adverb ‘There'. 

Examples: 

1. There are seven students in this class. (Presence) 

2. There is no school in this village. (Absence)

 

                                                         Table.6

                                        (Based on Introductory As Subject)

Subject (Introductory)	Predicate
It	is very hot.
It	was very cold.
It	is now seven.
There	was a cunning boy.
There	are seven days in a week.

Complex Sentence (Noun Clause): 

If Noun Clause (Subordinate Clause) is given before Principal Clause, it works as a subject.

Example:

1.        That the sun rises in the east                   is a fact.

                            ↓                                                      ↓

                   Noun Clause                                   Principal Clause

              (Subordinate Clause)

2.          How she passed                                        is still unknown.

                       ↓                                                              ↓    

               (Noun Clause)                                        Principal Clause

          (Subordinate Clause)

Note: Noun Clause always starts with Subordinate Conjunctions.

                                                    Table.7

                                (Based on Noun Clause As Subject)

Subject	Predicate
That you are a thief	is known to the police.
That you are a sincere boy	is known to everyone.
Where he lives	is unknown.
How they qualified the exam	is still a mystery.

                                                          Table.8

                                (Based on Adjective Clause As Subject)

Subject	Predicate
The people who eat too much	die early.
The dog that bites	does not bark.
The house in which I live	belongs to my friend.
A man who came to me	was blind.

Omission of the Subject (You) in An Imperative Sentence:

Subject (You) is hidden in an Imperative Sentence. Only Predicate is given in Imperative Sentence.

                                                               Table.9

                                 (Based on Subject of Imperative Sentence)

Subject	Predicate	Imperative Sentence
You	stand up.	Stand up.
You	call your servant.	Call your servant.
You	don’t make a noise.	Don’t make a noise.
You	open the door.	Open the door.