The Basic Structure of a Sentence in English Language

Subject and Predicate

Look at the following groups of words:

1. He is my best friend.

2. He lives in Delhi these days.

3. We went to Kashmir during last summer.

 The above groups of words are sentences because:

·      The words in the above sentences are in a grammatical order.

·      They make out a complete sense also.

So we can define a sentence in the following words:

   A sentence is a group of words which makes a complete meaning.

What are the most essential elements of a sentence?

  A sentence has two essential elements:

  1. Subject 2.Predicate

•     Subject is the person or a thing about whom or which something is said.

•     What is said (something) about the person or the thing is called the predicate.

About subject:

  A subject can be a noun, a pronoun, a noun phrase, a clause.

•  Ashima is my class fellow.                    (Ashima= noun)

•  Cattle are grazing in the fields.            (Cattle= noun)

•  He is a doctor’s son.                             (He= pronoun)      

• A number of students are absent from the class. (A number of students= phrase)

•       That he is a cheat is known to all.  (That he       is a cheat= a clause)

Enlarging a Subject

1. House: My house: My beautiful house

2. Boy: The boy: The smartest boy in class X

3. School: Govt. School: The only Govt. School

A subject can be a noun, a pronoun and a noun phrase, and a clause.

Since an infinitive and a gerund are also considered as equal to nouns, they also become the subjects in sentences.

1. A cow gives us milk. (subject= noun)

2. Mohan always gets up early in the morning.  (subject= noun)

3. Gold is a precious metal. (subject= noun)

4. They always celebrate Diwali with pomp and show. (subject= Pronoun)

5. She does not complain of anything. (subject=  Pronoun)

6. We are all friends. (subject= Pronoun)

7. The boys of this school are very intelligent.  (subject= noun Phrase)

8. Swimming is a good habit. (subject= Gerund)

9. To cross this river is very difficult. (subject=  Infinitive phrase)

10.Distributing money among the poor has become a difficult task for the govt. (subject= Gerundial phrase)

Match the subjects and predicates given in the following columns:

1. A cow 2. Mohan 3. Gold 4. They 5. She 6. We 7. The boys of this school 8. Swimming 9. To cross this river 10.                  Distributing money among the poor

•     always gets up early in the morning. •     always celebrate Diwali with pomp and show. •     gives us milk. •     is a precious metal. •     are all friends. •      is very difficult. •     does not complain of anything. •     are very intelligent. •     is a good habit. •     has become a difficult task

           Underline the subjects in the following                sentences:

1.      The education of girls is still not satisfactory.
2.      Some families are not in favour of sending girls to schools.
3.      Some parents are willing to send them to the cities.
4.      But they have their own fears.
5.      Some parents are worried about their safety.
6.      They make their daughters mentally prepared to face any problem
7.      All the roads of our city are in bad condition.
8.      Some women back-bite others in the streets.
9.       Many of the students use mobile phones in school.
10.      All the teachers will go on strike tomorrow.

 Answers:1. Education of girls 2.  Some families 3.Some parents 

4. They 5. There (dummy subject: real subject: some parents)

6. They 7.All the roads of our city 8.Some women 9.Many of the students  10.All the teachers

Questions on this Chapter:

Q1. Define a subject and predicate in a sentence?

Q2. Do you think the subject in a sentence may contain only one word or more? Explain by giving examples.

Q3. Give an example to enlarge a subject, like ‘roads’. Make it a ‘phrase’ of having six words at least to be used as a subject in a sentence.