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:
- The education of
girls is still not satisfactory.
- Some families are
not in favour of sending girls to schools.
- Some parents are
willing to send them to the cities.
- But they have
their own fears.
- Some parents are worried about their safety.
- They make their
daughters mentally prepared to face any problem
- All the roads of
our city are in bad condition.
- Some women back-bite
others in the streets.
- Many of the
students use mobile phones in school.
- 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.
