Transcript The Parts of a Sentence - immaculateheartacademy.org

THE PARTS OF A SENTENCE
Subject, Predicate, Complement
THE SENTENCE
A sentence is a word group that contains a
subject and a verb and that expresses a
complete thought.
 A sentence fragment is a group of words that is
capitalized and punctuated as a sentence but
does not contain both a subject and a verb or does
not express a complete thought.
Examples
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
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Sentence Fragment: Sponsors election-year debates.
Sentence: The League of Women Voters sponsors
election-year debates
THE SUBJECT AND THE PREDICATE
Sentences consist of two basic parts: subjects and
predicates.
 The subject is a word or word group that tells
whom or what the sentence is about.
 The predicate is a word or word group that tells
something about the subject.

Subject
Rain
Predicate
pelted the sailors
THE SIMPLE SUBJECT AND THE
COMPLETE SUBJECT
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The simple subject is the main word or word
group that tells whom or what the sentence is
about.
Simple: The view from the observatory on the
top floor of the building is extraordinary.
Complete: The view from the observatory
on the top floor of the building is
extraordinary.
THE SIMPLE PREDICATE AND THE
COMPLETE PREDICATE
The simple predicate, or verb, is the main word
or word group that tells something about the
subject.
 The simple predicate may be a one-word verb or a
verb phrase
 The complete predicate consists of the simple
predicate and all the words used to modify the
simple predicate and to complete its meaning.
 Simple: The victorious athletes were
surrounded by admirers.
 Complete: The victorious athletes were
surrounded by admirers.

THE COMPOUND SUBJECT AND
COMPOUND PREDICATE
A compound subject consists of two or more
subjects that are joined by a conjunction and that
have the same verb. They are usually joined by
the conjunction and or the conjunction or.
 A compound verb consists of two or more verbs
that are joined by a conjunction and that have
the same subject. The parts of a compound verb
are usually joined by the conjunction and, but, or
the conjunction or.

FINDING THE SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE

To find the subject of a sentence, ask who? Or
what? before the verb.
Sharing the island of Hispaniola with Haiti is the
Dominican Republic. [What is sharing?
Dominican Republic is sharing.]
 In the auditorium, friends and relatives of the
graduates awaited the ceremony. [ Who awaited?
Friends and relatives awaited.]

GUIDELINES FOR FINDING THE
SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE.
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The subject in a sentence expressing a command or a
request is always understood to be you, if the word
you does not appear in the sentence.
If a command or a request contains a noun of direct
address , a word naming the one or ones spoken to,
the subject is still understood to be you.
The subject of a sentence is never the object of a
prepositional phrase.
The subject in a sentence expressing a question
usually follows the verb or comes between the parts of
a verb phrase.
The word there or here is almost never the subject of
a sentence.
TRY IT!

Complete Exercise 4 in Chapter 15 on page 537.
Once you are finished check your answers with a
partner.
COMPLEMENTS
A complement is a word or word group that
completes the meaning of a verb.
 Some verbs do not need a complement to
complete their meanings. Together, the subject
and the verb express a complete thought.
Examples
Complete: She won.
Incomplete: Judith Baca created
Complete: Judith Baca created the mural.
Incomplete: They mailed
Complete: They mailed me the information

COMPLEMENTS


Nouns, pronouns, and adjectives may be
complements. Be careful not to mistake an
adverb for a complement.
Adverb: Mrs. Castaldo teaches well.
Complement: Mrs. Castaldo teaches English.
The object of a prepositional is not a complement.
At first Mrs. Castaldo taught with another
teacher.
DIRECT OBJECTS
A direct object is a complement that tells who or what
receives the action of a verb or shows the result of the
action.
 A direct object may be a noun, a pronoun, or a word group
that functions as a noun.
 To find a direct object, ask whom? or What? After a
transitive verb.
 A direct object may be compound.
Examples
The employer interviewed several applicants for the job.
[Interviewed Whom? Applicants]
Does a virus cause a common cold? [Cause What? Cold.]
I miss you. [Miss whom? You.]
They usually buy whatever is on sale. [Buy what?
Whatever is on sale.]
The team included Bob and Ray. [Included whom? Bob/Ray]

INDIRECT OBJECTS
An indirect object is a complement that often
appears in sentences containing direct objects
and that tells to whom or to what or for whom
or for what the action of a transitive verb is
done.
 An indirect object may be a noun, a pronoun, or a
word group that functions as a noun.
 To find an indirect object, ask To whom? or To
what? or For whom? or For what? after a
transitive verb.

EXAMPLES OF INDIRECT OBJECTS
The Swedish Academy awarded Octavio Paz the
1990 Nobel Prize in literature. [ Awarded the
prize to whom? Octavio Paz.]
 Julie’s part-time work experience earned her a
full-time position. [Earned the position for whom?
Her.]
 The teacher gives whoever turns in the earliest
paper a bonus. [Gives a bonus to whom? Whoever
turns in the earliest paper.]

INDIRECT OBJECT OR OBJECT OF A
PREPOSITION?

Do not mistake an object of the preposition to or
for an indirect object.
Object of Preposition: Clarice wrote a letter to
me
Indirect Object: Clarice wrote me a letter.
Object of Preposition: Mary baked a cake for
Lisa.
Indirect Object: Mary bake Lisa a cake.
TRY IT!

Complete Exercise 5 in chapter 15 on page 540.
Once you are finished check your answers with a
partner.
SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS
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A subject complement is a complement that
identifies or modifies the subject of a linking verb.
Like other kinds of complements the two kinds of
subject complements-the predicate nominative and
the predicate adjective appear in the predicate.
A predicate nominative identifies or refers to the
subject of a linking verb. It may be a noun, a pronoun,
or a word group that functions as a noun.
A predicate adjective is an adjective that is in the
predicate that modifies the subject of a linking verb.
EXAMPLES
Predicate nominative
ex. Robert Hayden is my favorite poet. [ the
noun poet identifies the subject Robert Hayden.]
ex. The four most populous states are
California, New York, Texas, and Florida.
 Predicate adjective
ex. Your lotus blossom necklace is lovely.
ex. Does the cottage cheese smell sour?

TRY IT!

Complete Exercise 7 in chapter 15 on page 544.
Once you are finished check your answers with a
partner.