- The stately ships sail proudly away.
- The war in Europe rages furiously.
- The soldiers in the army fight like men gone mad.
Yet in every one of these sentences you will find the subject and the predicate,—Ships sail, War rages, Soldiers fight.
Every sentence must have a subject and a predicate, and it is a very important part of the study of sentences to be able to distinguish quickly and readily the subject and the predicate. Find that about which something is said, and that will always be the subject. Find that which is said about the subject, and that will be the predicate.
Every sentence must contain a subject and a predicate.
The subject of a sentence names that about which something is said.
The predicate tells that which is said about the subject.
Exercise 3
In the following sentences add other words to the subject and to the predicate to enlarge their meaning, then draw a single line under the subject and a double line under the predicate:
- Ships sail.
- Tides flow.
- Stars shine.
- Rain falls.
- Children play.
- Nature sleeps.
- Waves break.
- War rages.
- Birds sing.