Subjects and Verbs

1. Subjects and Verbs “My barn having burned to the ground, I can now see the moon.” Taoist saying

2. All sentences have to have at least one subject and one verb. • All the knightswere happy. • The puppyate his food without delay. • The groupplayed some romantic songs. (Without a subject or verb you do not have a sentence.)

3. However, some sentences may have more than one subject or verb…. • The president and the vice-presidentsignedand mailed the treaty today. • The team and the coachagreed and vowed to stop arguing about silly things.

4. How can you find subjects? • Subjects can either be nouns or pronouns (However, not all nouns or pronouns in a sentence are subjects.) • You can find subjects by asking yourself what? or who? is the sentence about.

5. How can you find verbs? • Ask yourself, what is being said about the subject? • OR • What is the subject doing?

6. Why is it necessary to be able to identify subjects and verbs? • If you are able to identify subjects and verbs, you will be able to • 1. Make sure you are not writing fragments or run-ons • 2. Correct your own sentences • 3. Learn to write different types of sentences.

7. Let’s practice; identify subjects and verbs • The scientist was working late into the night. • I love to eat mangos when they are in season. • We made a tasty desert of mango ice cream. • The downtown area is rather run down and dirty. • Many policemen roam the area at night, for robberies are frequent. • Although I don’t seem to understand the question, I will try to answer it. • My grandmother cooked some soup with apples.

8. Answers: • The scientistwas working late into the night. • I love to eat mangos when they are in season. • Wemade a tasty desert of mango ice cream. • The downtown areais rather run down and dirty. • Many policemen roam the area at night, for robberies are frequent. • Although I don’t seem to understand the question, I will try to answer it. • My grandmother cooked some soup with apples.

9. More practice: • While we were in the emergency room, we noticed that many people were brought in on wheelchairs. • I don’t know, but I think they were friends. • Friends are hard to find and keep. • The beach is one of my favorite places. • Swimming and running are good forms of exercise. • Alfredo walked and jogged all the way to San Luis Postosi.

10. Answers: • While we were in the emergency room, wenoticed that many people were brought in on wheelchairs. • I don’t know, but I think they were friends. • Friendsare hard to find and keep. • The beach is one of my favorite places. • Swimming and runningare good forms of exercise. • Alfredowalked and jogged all the way to San Luis Postosi.

11. Assignment: The plants did not grow this Spring. Having walked to church, we were starving when we got back. Singing is always a pleasant activity. If you jump into the pool, you will feel like a million dollars. Drowning, however, is not a pleasant experience. No one has ever been able to tell us what drowning really feels like since no one has ever lived to explain it to us. When you are sad and depressed, you need to look at a beautiful picture and get you mind off your problems.