Every sentence is built from two parts working together. Learn to spot the part that names who or what the sentence is about, and the part that tells what happens — then try it yourself.
A complete sentence always answers two questions: Who or what is this about? and What about it? The first part is the subject. The second part is the predicate.
Names who or what the sentence is about.
Tells what the subject is or does.
Snap a sentence in half. The half that names someone or something is the subject. The half that tells what they did is the predicate.
The complete subject is every word that helps name who or what the sentence is about. Tucked inside it is the simple subject — the one main noun or pronoun, with no extra describing words.
Ask: who or what did the action? In "My noisy little brother hid," the one doing the hiding is brother. The words my, noisy, little just describe him.
The complete predicate is every word that tells what the subject is or does. Inside it is the simple predicate — the verb, the action or "being" word at the heart of the sentence.
Ask: what did the subject do? The class cheered. That verb is the simple predicate. The rest — for the winning team — adds detail.
Every sentence has a spot where the subject ends and the predicate begins — usually right before the verb. Try it: tap the button to reveal the two parts.
Read the sentence and find the verb (the action word). Everything from the start up to the verb is the subject. The verb and everything after it is the predicate.
A sentence diagram is a picture of how a sentence fits together. The oldest kind puts the simple subject and the simple predicate on one long baseline, split by a tall vertical line down the middle. That vertical line is the same dividing line from Part 04 — it always separates the subject side from the predicate side.
The tall line cuts all the way through the baseline on purpose: it marks the split between who or what (left) and what they do (right). The short slanted lines hold the describing words, which lean on the word they describe.
The subject is not always the very first word, and a few sentence types like to play tricks.
The subject is a hidden you. It means "(You) close the door."
The real subject is cookies, even though it comes after the verb.
When a sentence feels tricky, always go back to the verb and ask who or what is doing it. That answer is your subject, wherever it sits in the sentence.
Read each sentence, then tap every word that belongs to the complete subject. Tap a word again to unselect it. When you're ready, check your answer.
You found every subject. Nice work!