Parts of the

SentenceSubject, Predicate,

Complement

The

Sent

ence

A sentence is a word or word group that contains a subject (noun phrase subject) and a verb (the predicate phrase).

It takes two parts to

make a sentence!

Subject

The Subject

is a word or

word group

that tells

whom or

what the

sentence is

talking about.

Predicate

The predicate is

a word or

word group

that tells

something

about the

subject.

This is a complete

sentence with a subject

and predicate phrase.

The monsoon rains

pelted the students on

their way to Professor

Snape’s class.

The Complete Subject of the

sentence is:

“The monsoon rains” while the

simple subject is: “rains”

The

pred

icate

al

ways

star

ts w

ith

the

verb

phr

ase.

The complete predicate of the

sentence is: “pelted the students on

their way to Professor Snape’s class.”

Black Metal :

“Guess what? I have

four tootsie pops.”

“Guess what?” is a sentence

indicating that “you” guess what.

“I have four tootsie pops.”

indicates a pronoun subject and

a predicate that shows a linking verb.

Know your verb form

s!Action Verbs

Speak, sleep,

carry, throw,

think, imagine,

dream, know.

Action verbs

show physical

or mental

action.

Linking/Helping

Verbs

Helping

verbs use

the “be,”

“have,”

“do,” form.

They also

use the modal form.

Linking verbs connect the

subject to

the predicate.

Complem

ents

A Complement is a

word or word group

that completes the

meaning of a verb.

Dire

ct O

bjec

ts te

ll wh

o or

wha

t rec

eive

s th

e ac

tion

of th

e ve

rb.

Ramen NoOdLes loves his mummy. Who is loved? “his mummy.”

What is the Direct Object? “mummy.”

Indirect Objects tells

to whom or to what

or for whom or for

what the action of the

transitive verb has

done.

So, what the

heck is a

“Transitive

Verb”?????

A transitive Verb has an object…a word or

word group that receives an action.

It has a free noun phrase after the verb:

“Hagrid gave the magic wand back.”

“wand” is the direct object of the verb “gave.”

“Hagrid gave Harry the magic wand back.”

“Harry” is the indirect object because he receives the wand.

How to tell the

difference…Direct objects

Direct objects can

be found as the first

and only noun after

a transitive verb.

The owl licked the

sucker.”

Sucker” is the direct

object receiving the

action of “licked.”

Indirect

Objects

Indirect objects

may be the first

noun after the

verb, but it does

not indicate the

“who” or “what”

factor.

Tell Joe and Mike

that crazy joke.”

Joe” and “Mike”

(indirect objects)

receive the

“telling” of the

“joke”(which is the

direct object).

Objective ComplementsAn Objective Complement is a

complement that helps complete

the meaning of a transitive verb

by identifying or modifying the direct object.Think of these as adding color to the sentence…

Objective complements can be

nouns, a word group, a

possessive pronoun, or and

adjective.

Nouns: France named Miles Davis a knight.

[A “knight” names what “Miles Davis” was

“named” by France.]

Bob named Joe “Fart Master.”

[“Fart Master” is a word group that names

what moniker “Joe” was bequeathed.]

Ramen Noodles considers Mummy his.” [The possessive

pronoun “his” modifies the direct object “Mummy.”]

Objective

Complements can

also be adjectives.

We have painted the new house blue.

[The adjective “blue” modifies the direct

object: “house”.]

I have dyed my hair purple.

[The adjective “purple” modifies the direct

object: “hair”.]

Finally, SubjectComplementsA subject complement is a

complement that identifies

or modifies the subject of a linking verb.

Noun and Pronoun as

Subject Complem

ent.Noun” as subject complement

Anne Rice is my favorite

author.”

“is” is my linking verb.

“author” is my subject

complement.

By using this subject

complement, I do not have to

further explain who is Anne Rice

to me. “Pronoun” as subject complement:

“Who are those kids over there?”

[“Who” identifies the subject: “kids”]

[“are” is my linking verb.]

Infin

itive

phr

ases

as

subj

ect c

ompl

emen

t

First, an infinitive phrase starts with the word “to”:

“To fly above the clouds” is an infinitive phrase.

When an infinitive phrase is used to modify the subject of the sentence, then it is a subject complement.