SUBJECT AND PREDICATE

SUBJECT AND PREDICATE

In English, each sentence can be divided into two distinct parts-Subject and Predicate. The 'Subject Part' has a Noun or Pronoun or Noun- equivalent while the 'Predicate Part' will have a verb.

Let us see the following sentence:

Mahatma Gandhi is called the Father of the Nation.

The first part of the sentence is 'Mahatma Gandhi’. In the second part of the sentence- 'is called the Father of the Nation’, something is said about Mahatma Gandhi.

The Subject of a sentence is that part, about which something is being said. The Predicate is that part which says something about the subject. Mark the following chart and you will understand how a sentence is divided into Subject and Predicate:

Subject	Predicate
God Salil The Brahmaputra Madhu The dog Swimming Rina Gardening The story of the Ramayana	is Almighty. can play cricket. flows through Assam.       can sing well. barks.   is good for health. can dance. is a good hobby. is very interesting.

             

To find out the subject of a sentence, take the verb used in the sentence and ask a question with 'who’ or 'what’. The answer to the question is the subject of the sentence, eg.  

(i) Salil can play football              Q. Who can play football?

A. Salil. (Subject)

(ii) Gardening is a good hobby.                Q. What is a good hobby?

A. Gardening (Subject)

A sentence cannot be formed without at least one Subject expressed or (understood) and one predicate. The key-word of a subject formed with more than one word is a Noun or Pronoun or Noun Equivalent like Simple Infinitive or Gerund. The keyword in a Predicate formed with more than one word is always the Finite Verb. This Finite Verb completes the meaning of the Sentence.

(i) In sentences like 'Go there'. 'Come here.' 'Don't tell a lie.’ etc. the subject 'You' remains understood, That is to say, in an Imperative sentence, the subject is usually left out Eg. Sit down. (The Subject 'You' is understood here).

(ii) The Subject of a sentence usually comes first, but occasionally it may be put after the predicate, eg.

·         Down went the Titanic.

·         Sweet are the uses of adversity.

Exercise

1. Match the Subjects and the Predicates given in the following table to form complete sentences:

No.	Subject	Predicate
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.	Gardening Education The life of Mahatma Gandhi Tenzing and Hillary Narendra Modi Slow and steady Assam The Soviet Prime Minister Subhash ch. Bose The Prime Minister	wins the race. inspired millions of people. is the Prime Minister of India. is the backbone of a nation.   it the pride of India. is a good hobby. is the freedom fighter of India. first scaled Mount Everest. can really be proud of Fakharuddin Ali Ahmed. visited India last year.

  

2. Separate the Subject and the Predicate in the following sentences:

a.     All roads lead to Rome.
b.     Lachit Borphukan defeated the Mughal soldiers.
c.     Stone walls donot make a prison.
d.     A guilty conscience needs no excuse.
e.     There lived a miller hale and bold.
f.  The nightingale sang melodiously.

Please Share it! :)