Subject
- In this lesson, we're going to talk about the subject. The subject is one of the most important parts of any sentence, and once you can find it, everything else gets easier.
So, what is the subject? The subject is the noun that answers the question: "Who or what did the verb?" I like to think of it as "who verbed." Let's look at our first example. The boy ate the hot dog.
Now, who ate? "Ate" is the verb, past tense of eat. And who did the eating? The boy, so "boy" is the subject. Now, notice that "hot dog" is also a noun in this sentence, but "hot dog" doesn't answer our question.
"Who ate?" Not the hot dog; the boy. The subject answers, "Who did the verb?" Not just any noun. Here's example B. Mary and Sam went to San Francisco.
Who went? Mary and Sam. Two people. When a sentence has two subjects joined by "and," we call that a compound subject, but whether it's one person or two, they both answer the same question: "Who went?" And the subject doesn't have to be a person.
Look at example C. Soccer is very popular at my school. What is very popular? Soccer. Soccer is a thing, not a person, not even an action, but it's a noun, and it answers our question.
So, soccer is the subject. Here's the rule. Ask yourself, "Who or what did the verb?" The answer is always a noun, and that noun is your subject. It doesn't matter if it's a person, a thing, or an idea.
Let's recap. The boy ate the hot dog. "Who ate?" The boy. Subject. Mary and Sam went to San Francisco.
"Who went?" Mary and Sam. Compound subject. Soccer is very popular. "What is very popular?" Soccer.
Subject. Ask the question, find the noun that answers it. That's your subject. Once you can spot it, you're ready to build everything else on top.
Read full transcriptSo, what is the subject? The subject is the noun that answers the question: "Who or what did the verb?" I like to think of it as "who verbed." Let's look at our first example. The boy ate the hot dog.
Now, who ate? "Ate" is the verb, past tense of eat. And who did the eating? The boy, so "boy" is the subject. Now, notice that "hot dog" is also a noun in this sentence, but "hot dog" doesn't answer our question.
"Who ate?" Not the hot dog; the boy. The subject answers, "Who did the verb?" Not just any noun. Here's example B. Mary and Sam went to San Francisco.
Who went? Mary and Sam. Two people. When a sentence has two subjects joined by "and," we call that a compound subject, but whether it's one person or two, they both answer the same question: "Who went?" And the subject doesn't have to be a person.
Look at example C. Soccer is very popular at my school. What is very popular? Soccer. Soccer is a thing, not a person, not even an action, but it's a noun, and it answers our question.
So, soccer is the subject. Here's the rule. Ask yourself, "Who or what did the verb?" The answer is always a noun, and that noun is your subject. It doesn't matter if it's a person, a thing, or an idea.
Let's recap. The boy ate the hot dog. "Who ate?" The boy. Subject. Mary and Sam went to San Francisco.
"Who went?" Mary and Sam. Compound subject. Soccer is very popular. "What is very popular?" Soccer.
Subject. Ask the question, find the noun that answers it. That's your subject. Once you can spot it, you're ready to build everything else on top.