Understanding the Parts of a Sentence

1. The Parts of a Sentence Subject, Predicate, Complement

2. The Sentence • A sentence is a word group that contains a subject and a verb and that expresses a completethought. • 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 • Sentence Fragment: Sponsors election-year debates. • Sentence: The League of Women Voters sponsors election-year debates

3. 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. SubjectPredicate Rain pelted the sailors

4. The Simple Subject and the Complete Subject • 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.]

8. Guidelines for Finding the Subject of a Sentence. • 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.

9. Try it! • Complete Exercise 4 in Chapter 15 on page 537. Once you are finished check your answers with a partner.

10. 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

11. 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.

12. 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]

13. 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.

14. 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.]

15. 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.

16. Try It! • Complete Exercise 5 in chapter 15 on page 540. Once you are finished check your answers with a partner.

17. Subject Complements • 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.

18. 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?

19. Try it! • Complete Exercise 7 in chapter 15 on page 544. Once you are finished check your answers with a partner.