This could be rewritten, omitting the introductory word there. We could say:

The noun people is the subject of the sentence.

Exercise 1

In the following sentences, underscore the complete subject with one line, and the simple subject with two lines, and decide whether the simple subject is a noun, pronoun, participle, infinitive or an adjective used as a noun:

  1. A great man is universal and elemental.
  2. To love justice was his creed.
  3. A more inspiring and noble declaration of faith was never born of human heart.
  4. The reading of good books should begin in childhood.
  5. Dreaming of great things will not bring us to the goal.
  6. The weary seek for rest.
  7. To believe in yourself is the first essential.
  8. He, speaking and writing constantly for the cause, has given his life to the movement.
  9. To remain ignorant is to remain a slave.
  10. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
  11. A great soul has simply nothing to do with consistency.
  12. To be great is to be misunderstood.
  13. Traveling is a fool's paradise.
  14. It is not enough to be sincere.
  15. We, seeking the truth, have found our own.
  16. There are thousands of comrades with us.

THE COMPLETE PREDICATE

425. Look first in the predicate for your verb. It will always be the principal part of your predicate. It may be a verb or a verb phrase, but the first thing in analyzing the complete predicate of the sentence is to find the verb. The verb or verb phrase without any of its modifiers constitutes the simple predicate. If the verb is a complete verb, its only modifiers will be adverbs or adverb phrases. For example:

In this sentence, stands yonder in the park is the complete predicate. Stands is a complete verb. It requires no object, but it is modified by the adverb yonder and by the adverb phrase in the park.