Subject & Predicate
Every sentence we write, think, or say has two pillars, the subject and the predicate. They are the main ingredients of a quality dish. Take away one, and the whole thing falls apart.
What’s the Subject?
The subject is simple once you get an understanding of it. It’s the “who” or “what” that the sentence is talking about. Imagine you are watching a football match and you say, “Rolando’s Dribble.” Here, Rolando is the star, the subject, because he is the one doing something. It’s the main character in a movie, drawing everyone’s attention.
Subjects can be:
A single word: “Dogs bark.”
Many words: “The boy in the blue shirt smiled.”
Even a whole idea: “What she did yesterday surprised everyone.” Here, “What she did yesterday” is the subject. Don’t let long, winding subjects throw you; they provide more detail about who or what is in the spotlight.
Sometimes subjects come after the verb to make things sound special: “Under the bridge stood a stranger.” The stranger is the subject, just moved to the end for style or emphasis.
What’s the Predicate?
The predicate is everything that’s said about the subject. If you have Rolando as your subject, the predicate tells us what Rolando is up to: “dribble,” “scored a goal,” or “runs fast.” Without the predicate, all you have is a name or thing sitting there, doing nothing.
Predicates can be:
Short: “The engine stopped.” (“stopped” is the predicate)
Longer with details: “Ravi writes poems every Sunday.” (“writes poems every Sunday” is the predicate)
Even made up of several parts: “He danced and sang.” (“danced and sang” are both actions about “He”).
The predicate brings the subject to life, but without it, a sentence is incomplete. “My laptop crashed unexpectedly” (predicate: “crashed unexpectedly”). You can get fancy: “The inhibition of the enzyme by the drug molecule reduces the metabolic rate significantly.” It’s a mouthful, but the structure is always the same. The subject (“The inhibition of the enzyme by the drug molecule”) is what’s being talked about, and the predicate tells what happens (“reduces the metabolic rate significantly”).
Spotting the difference, and common mistakes
It’s easy to mix up a subject with an object or just forget the verb entirely. If you say, “The student was praised by the teacher,” the subject is “The student”, that’s who the sentence is all about, even though the teacher is doing the action. Another mistake is leaving out the action: “The boy with a blue shirt”, not a sentence until you add what he does, like “is my cousin”.
Sometimes, we try to pass off a phrase as a whole sentence. “Under the table, the cat.” But there’s no verb, so nothing happens; that’s not a complete thought. The fix? “Under the table the cat sleeps.” Now it’s got both pillars and stands tall.
Compound and Complex Structures
Subjects and predicates can be combined to make sentences more expressive. If you say, “Anita and Priya baked a cake,” you have a compound subject (two doers). Or, “He danced and sang,” which is a compound predicate (more than one action). Longer sentences might use noun clauses as subjects: “That Ravi won the prize and his brother got a job made their parents proud.” Here, the whole story, the fact that Ravi won and his brother got a job, is the subject, and “made their parents proud” is the predicate.
Real life test
Whenever I read a sentence, I ask: Who or what is it about? That’s my subject. What are they doing, feeling, or what’s being said about them? That’s the predicate. Try it out with your own sentences, like “Reading late into the night always gives me a headache.” The subject is “Reading late into the night,” and the predicate is “always gives me a headache.”
Why bother?
Mastering subjects and predicates is important for clear communication. It’s how we make our ideas and stories meaningful, whether you are writing, chatting, or telling someone about their last food bite. Get the two pillars right, and every sentence you use will have strength, clarity, and impact.