In each of the following sentences the complete subject and the complete predicate are separated by a vertical line, and the simple subject and the simple predicate are printed in italics:—
- The spider | spreads her web.
- The fiery smoke | rose upward in billowing volumes.
- A nameless unrest | urged me forward.
- Our frantic horses | swept round an angle of the road.
- The infirmities of age | came early upon him.
- The general feeling among the English in Bengal | was strongly in favor of the Governor General.
- Salutes | were fired from the batteries.
- The Clives | had been settled ever since the twelfth century on an estate of no great value near Market Drayton in Shropshire.
- I | have written repeatedly to Mr. Hobhouse.
37. Two or more simple subjects may be joined to make one compound subject, and two or more simple predicates to make one compound predicate.
- 1. Charles and Henry | play tennis well.
- 2. Moore and I | passed some merry days together.
- 3. Frances and she | are friends.
- 4. Hats, caps, boots, and gloves | were piled together in confusion.
- 5. The watch | sank and was lost.
- 6. The balloon | rose higher and higher and finally disappeared.
- 7. He | neither smiled nor frowned.
- 8. Snow and ice | covered the ground and made our progress difficult.
38. A compound subject or predicate consists of two or more simple subjects or predicates, joined, when necessary, by conjunctions.
Either the subject or the predicate, or both, may be compound.
In the first example in [§ 37], two simple subjects (Charles and Henry) are joined by the conjunction and to make a compound subject. In the fourth, four substantives (hats, caps, boots, gloves) form a series in which the last two are joined by and. In the fifth, sixth, and seventh, the predicates are compound; in the eighth, both the subject and the predicate.
39. The following conjunctions may be used to join the members of a compound subject or predicate: and (both ... and), or (either ... or; whether ... or), nor (neither ... nor).