02 · Frame

A subject and predicate give a sentence its basic shape

An ordinary statement has two main parts. The subject identifies what the statement is about. The predicate says what happens, what is true, or how the subject is related to something else.

Noun phrase · subjectVerb phrase · predicateSentenceTherainstopped.
The outer split places The rain in the subject noun phrase and stopped in the predicate verb phrase.

the boundary

A subject can contain more than one noun

Where does in the tunnel belong?
Noun phrase · subjectVerb phrase · predicateSentenceTheworkersinthetunnelwaited.

Here in the tunnel stays inside the subject noun phrase: it helps identify the workers.

Noun phrase · subjectVerb phrase · predicateSentenceTheworkerswaitedinthetunnel.

Here the subject ends after workers. In the tunnel is part of the predicate, so it locates the waiting.

The words stay almost the same, but moving the location changes the claim. In the first sentence, it distinguishes one set of workers from another. In the second, it says where the workers waited.

Check a subject boundary in a simple statement

  1. Choose the opening words that may form the subject.
  2. Replace that whole run with a suitable pronoun.
  3. If the rest of the statement remains, the replacement supports that boundary.

This procedure finds a noun-phrase boundary in the statement pattern used here. A pronoun can replace noun phrases in other positions too, and questions, commands, and fronted phrases need a different starting point.

The subject is not defined by being the first words or by doing an action. In these statements, it is the noun phrase paired with the predicate.

The subject identifies what the sentence is about, while the predicate says something about it. Together, they turn separate meanings into a structured message.

Ten sentences from this lesson, one decision at a time.