Subjects and Verbs - Von Steuben Metropolitan High School



Subjects and VerbsA?sentence?is commonly defined as "a complete unit of thought." Normally, a sentence expresses a relationship, conveys a command, voices a question, or describes someone or something. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.The basic parts of a sentence are the?subject and the?verb. The subject is usually a?noun--a word (or phrase) that names a person, place, or thing. The?predicate?(or?verb) usually follows the subject and identifies an action or a state of being. See if you can identify the subject and the predicate in each of the following short sentences:The hawk soars.The widows weep.My daughter is a wrestler.The children are tired.In each of these sentences, the subject is a noun:?hawk, widows, daughter, and?children. The verbs in the first two sentences--soars, weep--show action and answer the question, "What does the subject do?" The verbs in the last two sentences--is, are--are called?linking verbs?because they link the subject with a word that renames it (wrestler) or describes it (tired).For additional practice in recognizing these key elements in a sentence, see?Exercises in Identifying Subjects and Verbs.PronounsPronouns?are words that take the place of nouns in a sentence. In the second sentence below, the pronoun?she?stands for?Merdine:Merdine danced on the roof of the barn during the thunderstorm.She?was waving an American flag.As the second sentence shows, a pronoun (like a noun) may serve as the subject of a sentence. The common?subject pronounsare?I, you, he, she, it, we,?and?they?.ObjectsIn addition to serving as subjects, nouns may also function as?objects?in sentences. Instead ofperforming?the action, as subjects usually do, objects?receive?the action and usually follow the verb. See if you can identify the objects in the short sentences below:The girls hurled stones.The professor swigged coffee.Gus dropped the aquarium.The objects--stones, coffee, aquarium--all answer the question?what: What was hurled? What was swigged? What was dropped?As the following sentences demonstrate, pronouns may also serve as objects:Before eating the brownie, Nancy sniffed?it.When I finally found my brother, I kissed?him.The common?object pronouns?are?me, you, him, her, it, us,?and?them.The Basic Sentence UnitYou should now be able to identify the main parts of the basic sentence unit: SUBJECT plus VERB, or SUBJECT plus VERB plus OBJECT. Remember that the subject names what the sentence is about, the verb tells what the subject does or is, and the object receives the action of the verb. Although many other structures can be added to this basic unit, the pattern of SUBJECT plus VERB (or SUBJECT plus VERB plus OBJECT) can be found in even the longest and most complicated structures.Practice in Identifying Subjects, Verbs, and ObjectsFor each of the following sentences, identify the word in?bold?as a subject, a verb, or an object. When you're done, compare your answers with those at the end of the exercise.(1) Mr. Buck?donated?a wishbone to the Museum of Natural History.(2) After the final song, the?drummer?hurled his sticks at the crowd.(3) Gus smashed the electric?guitar?with a sledge hammer.(4) Felix stunned the?dragon?with a ray gun.(5) Very slowly,?Pandora?opened the box.(6) Very slowly, Pandora?opened?the box.(7) Very slowly, Pandora opened the?box.(8) Thomas?gave?his moonpie to Bengie.(9) After breakfast,?Vera?drove to the mission with Ted.(10) Even though it rarely rains here, Professor Legree?carries?his umbrella wherever he goes. Answers1. verb; 2. subject; 3. object; 4. object; 5. subject; 6. verb; 7. object; 8. verb; 9. subject; 10. verb.Name ______________________________________________ Date ________________________ Period ___Additional Practice: Identifying Subject and VerbsExercise A: Identifying Subjects and Verbs: For each of the following sentences, decide whether the word in?bold?print is the subject or the predicate. Label it with a S or V AND draw an arrow to the word to which it relates. The dog shivered.An?owl?shrieked.The moon?disappeared?behind the clouds.We?waited.For a moment,?nobody?even breathed.A light rain?fell?on our heads.The leaves?trembled.Our hearts?beat?faster.Then the black?sky?opened up.Furious?flames?lit up the night.Exercise B: Identify the parts of these sentences – cross out prepositional phrases, before underlining subjects and circling predicate. Be sure to again, draw an arrow from the predicate, or main action, back to the “who or what” (the subject) which is doing the action.Mr. William Herring?is the jolliest man I know.His outward features?reflect?the delightful character within.His?hair?is red and frizzy, like Orphan Annie's.His head?is?fat and round.He?has?small, dark, hamster-like eyes.His?eyes?peer inquisitively from behind metal-rimmed glasses.His small?mouth?is always formed into a friendly grin.His thick neck?connects?this funny head to an egg-shaped torso.He?has two fat arms with plump hands and fingers shaped like hot dogs.On one of these fingers is a diamond-studded gold?ring.The gleam of the ring?matches?the brilliance of Mr. Bill's smile.His Santa Claus?belly, girded by a cowboy belt, hangs over the sort of baggy trousers that went out with leisure suits and platform shoes.Mr. Bill's shoes, however,?are?invisible beneath his trousers.Still, his?walk?is distinctive.In fact, he?seems?to roll rather than walk.He?rolls?to the rhythm of his own laughter.His?students?roll right along with him. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download