Tecnologia Genial

The subject (abbreviated sub or su) is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e. the one associated with predicate logic and dependency grammars, the subject is the most prominent overt argument ofthe predicate. Both traditions see the subject in English governing agreement on the verb or auxiliary verb that carries the main tense of the sentence, as exemplified by the difference in verb forms between he eats and they eat.

The subject has the grammatical function in a sentence of relating its constituent (a noun phrase) by means of the verb to any other elements present in the sentence,i.e. objects, complements and adverbials.

The subject is a phrasal constituent, and should be distinguished from parts of speech, which, roughly, classify words within constituent.

For each of the following sentences, decide whether the word in bold print is the subject or the verb. When you are done, compare your responses with the answers at the bottom of the page.
1. The dog shivered.
2.An owl shrieked.
3. The moon disappeared behind the clouds.
4. We waited.
5. For a moment, nobody even breathed.
6. A light rain fell on our heads.
7. The leaves trembled.
8. Our hearts beat faster.
9. Then the black sky opened up.
10. Furious flames lit up the night.

Exercise B: Identifying Subjects and Verbs

For each of the following sentences, decide whether the word inbold print is the subject or the verb. When you are done, compare your responses with the answers at the bottom of the page. (The sentences in this exercise have been adapted from the paragraph "Rolling Along with Mr. Bill," which appears in Sentence Combining with Adjective Clauses.)
1. Mr. William Herring is the jolliest man I know.
2. His outward features reflect the delightful characterwithin.
3. His hair is red and frizzy, like Orphan Annie's.
4. His head is fat and round.
5. He has small, dark, hamster-like eyes.
6. His eyes peer inquisitively from behind metal-rimmed glasses.
7. His small mouth is always formed into a friendly grin.
8. His thick neck connects this funny head to an egg-shaped torso.
9. He has two fat arms with plump hands and fingers shaped like hotdogs.
10. On one of these fingers is a diamond-studded gold ring.
11. The gleam of the ring matches the brilliance of Mr. Bill's smile.
12. His Santa Claus belly, girded by a cowboy belt, hangs over the sort of baggy trousers that went out with leisure suits and platform shoes.
13. Mr. Bill's shoes, however, are invisible beneath his trousers.
14. Still, his walk is distinctive.
15. Infact, he seems to roll rather than walk.
16. He rolls to the rhythm of his own laughter.
17. His students roll right along with him.




The subject is a noun phrase in the sentence and can be realised by the following forms
A determinerless noun phrase, also called a bare noun phrase. In English, this is mostly limited to plural noun phrases and noun phrases headed by a mass noun.Builders are at work.
A noun phrase introduced by a determiner. This complex (determiner + noun phrase) is usually called a determiner phrase: The large car stopped outside our house.
A gerund. These can be shown to behave as noun phrases in many respects, for example, in being able to form determinerless phrases Eating is a pleasure. His constant hammering was very annoying.
An infinitive. Thesecan be shown to behave in many respects as embedded clauses, for example in allowing question words like "who." To read is easier than to write. Whom to hire is a difficult question.
A full clause, introduced by the complementizer that, itself containing a subject and a predicate. That he had travelled the world was known by everyone.
A direct quotation: I love you is often heard these days....