Common Core Skills Practice:

Grammar Lesson #8
Adapted from resources by Frances Peck available on:
Univ. of Ottawa: arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/subjpred.html
Complete Sentences
Every complete sentence contains two
essential parts:
! Subject (the what/whom of a sentence)
! {Predicate} (reveals something about
the subject)
Example:
Billy {jogs}.
Billy and his brother {jog on the
boardwalk every Tuesday}.
Subject & Predicate
! An easy way to figure out the subject of a
sentence is to identify the verb and asking
who? or what performs the verbs action
the subject.
! The {predicate}, which always includes the
verb, continues to further reveal something
about the subjectwhat about the subject?
Practicing Identification:
The students littered the classroom floor with
pencil shavings and paper fringe.
Imperative Sentences
! These sentences give a command/order
! The subject is always you, which is
implied, but not stated.

Practicing Identification:
Clap your hands.
Turn in your paper with corrections.
There + being verbs
! Caution is needed when determining a
subject of a sentence that begins with
There followed by a form of to be
! There is not the subject; it signals that
the subject will follow the being verb.
Practicing Identification:
There were two baby raccoons trembling
with fright under our deck this evening.
Simple Subject
! Each sentence subject is built around
one or more nouns or pronouns.
! When a subject is stripped of modifiers,
its known as the simple subject.
Example:
A slice of supreme pizza would satisfy her
cravings.
Simple {Predicate}
! A predicate can also be reduced to a
simpler form.
! In the previous example, what was the
verb?
Example:
A slice of supreme pizza {would satisfy}
her cravings.
Compound Subject
! Its a simple subject consisting of
more than one noun or pronoun.
Practicing Identification:
! Postcards, movie posters, and candid
photos of her friends covered
Tanishas floral wallpaper.
Compound {Predicate}
! These have more than one verb
pertaining to the same subject.
Practicing Identification:
! They sighed and walked quickly past
the disturbing photos that depicted
the effects of war.