Grammar Guide

Parts of a Sentence

A complete sentence has a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete thought. 

The subject of the sentence tells us who or what the sentence is about, and is a noun (a person, place, or thing), pronoun (a word that replaces a noun, like I, she, they, etc.), or noun phrase (a group of words that functions as a noun, usually with descriptors of the noun included in the phrase). 

The verb tells us what action the subject is doing in the sentence. Since there are only two mandatory parts of a sentence, a complete sentence could be only two words long.

Example: They ran. 

This is technically a complete sentence, because it includes a subject, they (which is a pronoun), and a verb that describes the action the subject performed, ran, which together express a complete thought. 

Usually though, sentences are longer to give us more information.

Example: The joggers ran quickly through the park. 

Now, we know the subject the joggers (which is a noun) performed the action described by the verb, ran, and we know how they ran, quickly, and where they ran, through the park. The part of the sentence that includes the verb, ran, and all the information following the verb, quickly through the park, is called the predicate. You may have heard that a sentence includes a subject and a predicate; the predicate can be just a verb on its own, or it can be the verb with other information after it. 

We can provide more information about the subject by turning it into a noun phrase. 

Example: The tall joggers ran quickly through the park.

The subject is now the tall joggers, telling us about the physical appearance of the joggers. 

There are more details about different types of subjects and predicates, but these basics will help you make sure your sentences are complete. 

 

Practice: 

1. Identify the subject and verb in these complete sentences

1. I walked over to the grocery store earlier today. 
2. Before Larissa called me, she called her mom. 
3. One day he’s here, the next he’s not.
4. They want to go as a group. 

2. Write a complete sentence at least five words long, using your name as the subject, and a form of the verb “to wish.” 

 

Answers:

1. Subject and Verb:

1. Subject: I 

Verb: walked

2. Subject: Larissa

Verb: called

3. Subject: he

Verb: is (“he’s” is a contraction, here meaning “he is”)

4. Subject: They

Verb: want

2. Answers will vary. Example answer: Sam wishes she could go on vacation.  

 

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