{"id":3185,"date":"2019-06-25T23:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=3185"},"modified":"2020-12-09T16:30:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T22:30:32","slug":"securing-the-subject-of-subjects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/pronouns\/securing-the-subject-of-subjects\/","title":{"rendered":"Securing the Subject of Subjects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week we discussed how\u00a0predicates<\/a>\u00a0form half of a clause. This week we\u2019ll look closer at the other half, subjects.<\/p>\n

If the predicate is the engine of the action we communicate, the subject is the body of the vehicle being driven by it, including parts and accessories.<\/p>\n

The subject includes at least one noun (or noun equivalent, such as a pronoun, a noun clause, or a gerund or infinitive phrase) and all its modifiers. It usually precedes the predicate and answers the question\u00a0who?<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0what?<\/em>\u00a0in front of the predicate. It also is further categorized as a\u00a0simple subject\u00a0<\/em>or a\u00a0complete subject.<\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0simple subject<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is the main noun or nouns.
\nExamples:<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe second-year\u00a0slugger<\/u>\u00a0from Knoxville hit the baseball out of the park.<\/em>
\nThe thirsty\u00a0tiger<\/u>\u00a0and her\u00a0cubs<\/u>\u00a0went to the river to drink.<\/em>
\nA well-appointed, neatly coiffed, fast-talking\u00a0man<\/u>\u00a0on TV is selling kitchen cutlery.<\/em><\/p>\n

The\u00a0complete subject<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0consists of the simple subject and all its modifiers.
\nExamples:<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe second-year slugger from Knoxville<\/u>\u00a0hit the baseball out of the park.<\/em>
\nThe thirsty tiger and her cubs<\/u>\u00a0went to the river to drink.<\/em>
\nA well-appointed, neatly coiffed, fast-talking man on TV<\/u>\u00a0is selling kitchen cutlery.<\/em><\/p>\n

In our discussion of predicates, we pointed out they can be broken down into smaller parts of speech when they contain an intransitive linking verb such as be\u00a0<\/em>(in all its forms), seem, appear, become, remain, taste, look, smell, sound,\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0feel.<\/em>\u00a0We identified those parts as predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, and predicate adverbs.<\/p>\n

A synonymous term for these parts is\u00a0subject complements<\/em>, which either rename or modify the subject of the clause while completing the meaning of the verb. When we\u2019re reviewing subjects in this context, we can refer to\u00a0subject complements;\u00a0<\/em>when we\u2019re examining predicates, we can refer to the predicate parts.<\/p>\n

Subject complements<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0can be nouns, pronouns, or possessive nouns or pronouns; adjectives; or adverbs of time or place.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/em><\/strong>
\nRaquel became a\u00a0doctor<\/u>\u00a0after her diligent work in medical school<\/em> (subject complement:\u00a0noun<\/strong>).
\nAs far as I\u2019m concerned, it might as well be\u00a0you<\/u><\/em>\u00a0(subject complement:\u00a0pronoun<\/strong>).
\nNext week the house becomes the\u00a0Changs\u2019<\/u><\/em>\u00a0(subject complement:\u00a0possessive noun<\/strong>).
\nYour table settings look\u00a0elegant<\/u>\u00a0<\/em>(subject complement:\u00a0adjective<\/strong>).
\nThey don\u2019t know if the field trip will be\u00a0this week<\/u>\u00a0or\u00a0next week<\/u><\/em>\u00a0(two subject complements: both\u00a0simple adverbs<\/strong>).
\nIs that my car\u00a0in your driveway<\/u><\/em>\u00a0(subject complement:\u00a0adverbial prepositional phrase<\/strong>)?<\/p>\n

Combined with our brief study of predicates, this overview of subjects should help with our basic understanding of the most elemental parts of a clause.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you\u2019ve learned in this article, identify the subject or subject complement in each sentence.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0My guitar<\/u>\u00a0sounds spectacular with this amplifier.
\na. Simple subject
\nb. Complete subject<\/p>\n

2. Do\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0know if Margaret will be at the party?
\na. Simple subject
\nb. Complete subject<\/p>\n

3. He seems a fine\u00a0candidate<\/u>\u00a0for library chairman.
\na. Simple subject: noun
\nb. Subject complement: noun<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Next month<\/u>\u00a0remains the likeliest time for a decision.
\na. Subject complement: adverb
\nb. Subject complement: adjective<\/p>\n

5. The chord change in that song sounds\u00a0abrupt<\/u>\u00a0to me.
\na. Subject complement: adverb
\nb. Subject complement: adjective<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1.\u00a0My guitar<\/u>\u00a0sounds spectacular with this amplifier.
\nb. Complete subject<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Do\u00a0you<\/u>\u00a0know if Margaret will be at the party?
\na. Simple subject<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. He seems a fine\u00a0candidate<\/u>\u00a0for library chairman.
\nb. Subject complement: noun<\/strong><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Next month<\/u>\u00a0remains the likeliest time for a decision.
\na. Subject complement: adverb<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. The chord change in that song sounds\u00a0abrupt<\/u>\u00a0to me.
\nb. Subject complement: adjective<\/strong>
\nNote: For some of our readers, this answer might have been elusive. If you chose\u00a0a. Subject complement: adverb,<\/strong>\u00a0consider the context even more closely.\u00a0Abrupt<\/em>\u00a0is the adjective form, and\u00a0abruptly<\/em>\u00a0is the adverb.\u00a0Sounds<\/em>\u00a0here is used as an intransitive verb (linking verb) that does not take an object; it helps describes the subject. If\u00a0sounds<\/em>\u00a0was used as an object-taking transitive verb in a sentence such as\u00a0He sounded the chord change\u00a0abruptly<\/u><\/em>, the answer would be a. Subject complement: adverb.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week we discussed how\u00a0predicates\u00a0form half of a clause. This week we\u2019ll look closer at the other half, subjects. If the predicate is the engine of the action we communicate, the subject is the body of the vehicle being driven by it, including parts and accessories. The subject includes at least one noun (or noun […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10,33,8,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-definitions","category-prepositions","category-pronouns","category-verbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}