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Simple
Subject
Every subject is
based on one noun or pronoun; that word is the simple subject. Consider these sentences:
- The presence of the first spirit amazed Scrooge.
- The images of his past caused a change in Scrooge's
attitude.
- The portly gentlemen wanted Scrooge to give money for charity.
- There were great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts.
The subjects are built around the nouns presence, images, gentlemen,
baskets with the other words of the subject modifying the nouns. These
nouns are called simple subjects. Note how many of these sentences have
phrases beginning with "of" after the simple subject. These phrases
always end with a noun that is sometimes mistaken for the subject. Be careful
not to make this mistake. The phrases are prepositional phrases. More often
than not a subject will be next to the verb - often the subject and verb
are the first two words in a sentence - so it is important to be able to
spot those times when groups of words (modifying phrases and clauses) separate
the simple subject and the verb.
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Simple
Predicates
Likewise, a predicate has at
its center a simple predicate, which is always the verb or verbs that
link up with the subject.
- The presence of the first spirit amazed Scrooge.
- The images of his past caused a change in Scrooge's attitude.
- The portly gentlemen wanted Scrooge to give money for charity.
- There were great, round, pot-bellied baskets of chestnuts.
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Compound
Subject & Compound Predicate
A sentence may have a compound
subject -- a simple
subject consisting of more than one noun or pronoun -- as in:
- Meanwhile the fog and darkness thickened.
A sentence
may have a compound predicate,
a predicate that includes more than one verb pertaining to the same subject.
- In the main street, at the
corner of the court, some laborers were repairing
the gas-pipes, and had lighted
a great fire in a brazier.
Sometimes the simple subject
is not directly stated but "understood." This is true in direct
discourse. In the sentence below the subject is "you" understood.
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Objects
When
nouns are not subjects they are usually objects. When they are objects in
relation to a verb they are who or what is receiving the action.
They are on the other end of what happens when the subject joins the verb.
- The
presence of the first spirit amazed Scrooge.
- The
images of his past caused
a change
in Scrooge's attitude.
"Scrooge"
and "change" are direct objects of the verbs that precede them.
They tell who or what received the action of the verb.
- I'd
give him a
piece
of my mind to feast upon
- No
doubt she told him
her opinion.
In
these two sentences "piece" and "opinion" are the
direct objects. The italicized "him"
in each sentence is an indirect object. Indirect objects, like all objects, must be nouns
or pronouns. Indirect objects answer the question to or for whom or what did the verb act upon.
- I
mean to give him
the same chance
every year, whether he likes it or not, for I pity him.
In
this sentence the first "him" is an indirect object (of the infinitive "to give", and "chance",
"it", and the second "him" are direct objects.
Note:
Whenever you see the pronouns "him" and "them" you know
they are objects of something. ("Her" is often an object but sometimes
it modifies a noun and is a "possessive"), but they are not necessarily
objects of the verb. They can also be objects of "verbals" and of prepositions.
Note: The most common verb
in English is "is" (to be).
When "is" (or another form of "to be") is followed
by a noun (Dickens was a writer), that noun is not considered
an object but a complement. Other common verbs such as "seem"
and "feel" act in the same way. If you can substitute "is"
for a verb and still have a meaningful sentence that verb will not
be followed by an object.
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