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IN THIS CHAPTER

❯❯ Understanding the role of the subject and subject–verb pairs

❯❯ Spotting the subject and subject–verb pairs in simple sentences

❯❯ Identifying the subject and subject–verb pairs in more challenging sentences

❯❯ Finding subjects in questions

In Chapter 2, I describe the sentence as a flatbed truck carrying your meaning to the reader or listener. Verbs are the wheels of the truck, and subjects are the drivers. Why do you need a subject? Can you imagine a truck speeding down the road without a driver? Yes, I know that some tech companies are working to develop “self-driving cars.” But even those vehicles, if they ever come on the market, will have a driver – the computer! The point is, someone or something has to be in charge. In a sentence, it’s the subject.

Who’s Driving the Truck? Why the Subject Is Important

All sentences contain verbs – words that express action or state of being. (For more information on verbs, see Chapter 2.) But you can’t have an action in a vacuum. You can’t have a naked, solitary state of being either. Someone or something must also be present in the sentence – the who or what you’re talking about in relation to the action or state of being expressed by the verb. The “someone” or “something” doing the action or being talked about is the subject.

A “someone” must be a person and a “something” must be a thing, place, or idea. So guess what? The subject is usually a noun because a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. I say usually because sometimes the subject is a pronoun – a word that substitutes for a noun or another pronoun – he, they, it, and so forth. (For more on pronouns, see Chapter 8.)

Teaming up: Subject and verb pairs

Another way to think about the subject is to say that the subject is the “who” or “what” part of the subject–verb pair. The subject–verb pair is the main idea of the sentence, stripped to essentials. A few sentences:

Jasper gasped at the mummy’s sudden movement.

In this sentence, Jasper gasped is the main idea; it’s also the subject–verb pair.

Justin will judge the beauty contest only if his girlfriend competes.

You should spot two subject–verb pairs in this sentence: Justin will judge and girlfriend competes.

Now try a sentence without action. This one describes a state of being, so it uses a linking verb:

Jill has always been an extremely efficient worker.

The subject–verb pair is Jill has been. Did you notice that Jill has been sounds incomplete? Has been is a linking verb, and linking verbs always need something after the verb to complete the idea. I give you more links in the verb chain in Chapter 2; now back to the subject at hand. (Sorry. I couldn’t resist that pun.) The subject–verb pair in action-verb sentences may usually stand alone, but the subject–verb pair in linking verb sentences may not.

Compound subjects and verbs: Two for the price of one

Subjects and verbs pair off, but sometimes you get two (or more) for the price of one. You can have two subjects (or more) and one verb. The multiple subjects are called compound subjects. Here’s an example:

Dorothy and Justin went home in defeat.

Here you notice one action (went) and two people (Dorothy, Justin) doing the action. So the verb went has two subjects.

Now take a look at some additional examples:

Lola and Lulu prepared breakfast for George yesterday. (Lola, Lulu = subjects)

The omelet and fries were very salty. (omelet, fries = subjects)

Snort and Squirm were not allowed to join Snow White’s band. (Snort, Squirm = subjects)

Another variation is one subject paired with two (or more) verbs. For example:

Alex screamed and cried after the contest.

You’ve got two actions (screamed, cried) and one person doing both (Alex). Alex is the subject of both screamed and cried.

Some additional samples of double verbs, which in grammatical terms are called compound verbs:

George snatched the flash drive and quickly stashed it in his pocket. (snatched, stashed = verbs)

Larry complained for hours about Ella’s insult and then crept home. (complained, crept = verbs)

Luke came to school last week but didn’t stay there. (came, did stay = verbs)

Pop the Question: Locating the Subject–Verb Pairs

Allow me to let you in on a little trick for pinpointing the subject–verb pair of a sentence: Pop the question! (No, I’m not asking you to propose.) Pop the question tells you what to ask in order to find out what you want to know. The correct question is all important in the search for information, as all parents realize.

WRONG QUESTION FROM PARENT: What did you do last night?

TEENAGER’S ANSWER: Nothing.

RIGHT QUESTION FROM PARENT: When you came in at 2 a.m., were you hoping that I’d ignore the fact that you went to the Carleton Club?

TEENAGER’S ANSWER: I didn’t go to the Carleton Club! I went to the mall.

PARENT: Aha! You went out on a school night. You’re grounded.

In Chapter 2, I explain that the first question to ask is not “Is this going to be on the test?” but “What’s the verb?” (To find the verb, ask what’s happening? or what is?) After you uncover the verb, put “who” or “what” in front of it to form a question. The answer is the subject.

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Check out this example: Jack polishes his dives during hours of practice.

1. Pop the question: What’s happening? Answer: polishes. Polishes is the verb.

2. Pop the question: Who or what polishes? Answer: Jack polishes. Jack is the subject.

Ready for another?

The pool has been closed by the Health Department.

1. Pop the question: What’s happening? Answer: has been closed. Has been closed is the verb.

2. Pop the question: Who or what has been closed? Answer: pool. Pool is the subject.

Did you notice anything different about the last example sentence? The verb, has been closed, asks about something that happened to the pool, not about something the pool did. Has been closed is a passive verb (the action happens to the subject), not an active one (the subject does the action). I explain more about active and passive verbs in Chapter 17. Fortunately, “pop the question” works the same way for sentences with either active or passive verbs.

A pop quiz on popping the question. What are the subject and verb in the following sentence?

Roger will soon be smiling because of all the treasure in his ship.

Answer: The verb is will be smiling and the subject is Roger. Try one more. Identify the subject and verb.

No matter what the weather, Roger never even considers wearing a hat.

Answer: The verb is considers and the subject is Roger.

What’s a Nice Subject Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Unusual Word Order

Most of the sentences you encounter are in the normal subject–verb order, which is (surprise!) subject–verb. In other words, the subject usually comes before the verb. Not every sentence follows that order, though most do. Sometimes a subject hides out at the end of the sentence or in some other weird place. (Hey, even a subject needs a change of scenery sometime.)

If you pop the question and answer it according to the meaning of the sentence – not according to the word order – you’ll be fine. The key is to put the subject questions (who? what?) in front of the verb. Then think about what the sentence is actually saying and answer the questions. Like magic, your subject will then appear.

Try this one:

Up the avenue and around the park trudged Godzilla.

1. Pop the question: What’s happening? What is? Answer: trudged. Trudged is the verb.

2. Pop the question: Who trudged? What trudged? Answer: Godzilla. Godzilla is the subject. (I’ll let you decide whether Godzilla is a who or a what.)

If you were answering by word order, you’d say park. But the park did not trudge; Godzilla trudged. Pay attention to meaning, not to placement in the sentence, and you can’t go wrong.

What are the subjects and verbs in the following sentences?

A. Alas, what a sadly inadequate grammarian am I.

B. Across the river and through the woods to the grammarian’s house go Ella and Larry.

Answers: In sentence A, am is the verb and I is the subject. In sentence B, the verb is go and the subjects are Ella and Larry.

Always find the verb first. Then look for the subject.

ME, MYSELF, AND I

In formal speech and writing, you can use I as a subject, but not me or myself.

Wrong: Bill and me are going to rob that bank. Bill and myself will soon be in jail.

Right: Bill and I are going to rob that bank. Bill and I will soon be in jail.

Me doesn’t perform actions; it receives actions. To put this rule another way: Me is an object of some action or form of attention. He gave the stolen money to me. (Check Chapter 8 for more on the difference between I and me.)

Myself is appropriate only for actions that double back on the person performing the action: I told myself not to be such a nerd! Myself may also be used for emphasis (though some grammarians object to the repetition), along with the word I: I myself will disclose the story to the tabloid offering the most bucks.

In informal conversation, you can get away with pairing myself or me with another subject. Between friends, you may hear “Me and Bob have a getaway plan” or “Bob and myself won’t get caught.” No problem there, at least no problem with language. Just don’t rob the bank!

Find That Subject! Detecting You-Understood

“Sit still.”

“Eat your vegetables.”

“Clean your room.”

What do these sentences have in common? Yes, they’re all nagging comments you’ve heard all your life. More importantly, they’re all commands. The verbs give orders: sit, eat, clean. So where’s the subject in these sentences?

If you pop the question, here’s what happens:

1. Pop the question: What’s happening? What is? Answer: sit, eat, clean.

2. Pop the question: Who sit, eat, clean? Answer: Uh …

The second question appears to have no answer, but appearances can be deceiving. The answer is you. You sit still. You eat your vegetables. You clean your room. What’s that you say? You is not in the sentence? True. You is not written, but it’s implied. And when your mom says, “Eat your vegetables,” you understand that she means you. So grammarians say that the subject is you-understood. The subject is you, even though you isn’t in the sentence and even though you don’t intend to eat any of those lima beans your mom overcooked.

Pop the questions and find the subject–verb pairs in these three sentences.

A. Ella, dancing the cha-cha, forgot to watch her feet.

B. Stop, Ella!

C. Over the bandleader and across five violin stands fell Ella.

Answers: In sentence A, forgot is the verb and Ella is the subject. Dancing is a fake verb. (I discuss fake verbs and subjects later in this chapter.) In sentence B, stop is the verb and you-understood is the subject. The remark is addressed to Ella, but you-understood is still the subject. In sentence C, fell is the verb and Ella is the subject.

Searching for the Subject in Questions

Does everyone love grammar? Don't answer that! I started this section with that sentence not to check attitudes toward grammar (I'd rather not know) but to illustrate the subject's favorite location in a question. Most questions in English are formed by adding a helping verb – do, does, will, can, should, and so forth – to a main verb. (For everything you need to know about helping verbs, turn to Chapter 2.) The subject is generally tucked between the helping verb and the main verb, but you don't have to bother remembering that fascinating bit of trivia. To locate the subject in a question, simply “pop the question” the same way you do for any other sentence. Here's how to attack the first sentence of this paragraph: