LESSON 1: SUBJECTS, VERBS, & SENTENCES

Sentence diagrams give us a way to sort our words. They give us specific places to put each
type of word, and they show us how those words are related to each other.

In order to have a sentence diagram, we need to have a sentence! Have you ever thought about
what a sentence is?

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.

In order for a sentence to express a complete thought, it needs to have two parts: subject and a
verb.

1. Subjects tell whom or what the sentence is about.

2. Verbs tell what the subject is or does.

Every single sentence needs to have those two things because every single sentence is
basically a statement about someone or something (subject) doing or being something (verb).

Here is how you diagram those two basic parts of a sentence.

Lesson 1 Sentence Diagramming Exercises

Diagram the following sentences. Be sure that you can identify each part.
1. Fish swim.

Every sentence in this book has a chart like the one below. Some of the spaces in each chart
are left blank. Fill in the blanks with the correct word(s). I've filled in this chart as an example for
you.

Key

Fish swim. sentence

fish subject

(what the sentence is about)

swim verb (what the subject does)

2. Teachers teach.
Key

Teachers teach. sentence

Teachers subject (whom the sentence is about)

Teach verb (what the subject does)

3. Dogs bark.

Key

Dogs bark. sentence

Dogs subject (what the sentence is about)

Bark verb (what the subject does)

4. Cats meow.

Key

Cats meow. sentence

cats subject

meow verb

5. Babies cry.
Key

Babies cry. sentence

Babies subject (whom the sentence is about)

cry verb