Identifying Subjects

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Identifying Subjects
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NounsPerson man, Jake, plumber, pilot, golfer,
Amanda Animal dog, mouse, English Springer
Spaniel, ferretPlace island, alley, street,
city, wilderness, Fort Bragg Thing desk,
banjo, Chia Pet, radioAbstract idea democracy,
anger, love, morality
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Common NounA common noun is a noun referring to
a person, place, or thing in a general sense --
usually, you should write it with a capital
letter only when it begins a sentence.computerm
oosepoliticianhousepaintingtownmustard
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Proper NounsYou always write a proper noun with
a capital letter, since the noun represents the
name of a specific person, animal, place, or
thing. The names of days of the week, months,
historical documents, institutions,
organizations, religions, and languages are
proper nouns.CatholicDeclaration of
IndependenceMexican Gray WolfGeorge
BushEnglishSierra Club
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PronounTake the place of common and proper
nouns.Ihesheit wetheyourthemyou
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Carrie combed the snarls out of Carries hair and
scrubbed Carries body with the loofah Carries
friend had given to Carrie.Carrie combed the
snarls out of her hair and scrubbed her body with
the loofah her friend had given to her.
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Finding SubjectsThe subject tells who or what
did it, does it, or will do it, or it reveals who
or what is being talked about in the sentence.
It is generally placed before the verb.The
water rippled.Sparks flew.The little conductor
took a bow.The concert hall roared.My hair
crackled.
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Practice1. A large, white seagull hovered over
the waves.2. She is sitting under the
bridge.3. His huge, calm, intelligent hands
caressed the piano.4. The door slammed in his
flabbergasted face.5. The werewolf and his wife
wreaked havoc in the pantry.
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PrepositionsA preposition is a word that
relates a noun or pronoun to another word. 
For example  In the sentence, "The rabbit ran
around the tree,"  the preposition "around" shows
the relationship between "rabbit" and "tree.
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Finding Prepositions1. She slapped her daughter
on the face.2. They battled with each other in
the ring.3. It used to live near a waterfall
under a canopy of trees.4. With a raging
temper, the boss screamed at his employees.5.
Beside the players on the field stood the coaches
with tears in their eyes.
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Subjects and Prepositional PhrasesPrepositional
phrases contain nouns, but those nouns can never
be the subject of the sentence.1. The storm
broke over the city. 2. Lightning flashed
across the night sky. 3. Across the sky,
ear-splitting thunder roared loudly. 4.
Suddenly, the room was plunged into total
darkness. 5. In the house, most of the candles
were lit. 6. After the crews fixed the lines,
power was restored.
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Special Case QuestionsSentences that express
questions often do not place the subject in the
beginning of the sentence. To find the subject,
ask what or who is the sentence about?Why is
the paper bag in the trash can?Where did the
boys get in trouble this time?What do you want
to do?How well do you think you did on the exam?
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Special Case ThereThe word there can never
be the subject of a sentence.1. There are many
ways to hunt bear.2. There may be too many
people in the kitchen right now.3. There are
always ways to find the subject of a sentence.
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Special Case You understoodSometimes a
sentence begins with a verb that gives an
order.Get me a glass of soda.Go to the
store.Sit there and dont say a word.Relax
and wait for them to get here.In these
sentences, the subject is you but it is not
written it is understood (or assumed to be
there.).
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PracticeBracket any prepositional phrases in the
following sentences. Then underline the subject
of each sentence with a single line. 1.
Jonathan and Matt went to the mall on Friday
afternoon after class. 2. Jonathan wanted a
birthday gift for his new girlfriend, Chantal.
3. Buying a gift for a new friend is hard. 4.
What should he choose as a present? 5. There are
so many interesting ideas for gifts in the
stores. 6. Would Chantal like perfume, jewelry,
or clothing? 7. At last, Jonathan and his friend
asked a salesgirl for advice. 8. Getting help
was a great idea. 9. The salesgirl was a good
friend of Chantal and suggested a bottle of
Chantal's favorite cologne. 10. Of course, there
is a moral to this story. 11. Always ask for
help in a puzzling situation.