LoginSubjects
In this lesson, master subjects, which are essential elements of a sentence, representing the nouns or pronouns performing the action. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.
What Are Subjects?
In grammar, the subject is typically a pronoun, noun phrase, or noun clause that performs the action or is the focus of the sentence. It is what or whom the sentence is about.
Subjects: Characteristics
A typical subject has a specific form and position in the sentence and fulfils a particular semantic role.
Form
Generally, subject pronouns, noun phrases, and noun clauses can act as the subject of the sentence. For example:
We are watching TV.
a subject prnoun
The eight-year-old boy who won the contest dedicated the reward to his mother.
a noun phrase acting as subject
What he said changed everything.
a noun clause acting as subject
Semantic Role
The subject is normally the agent or topic of the sentence. The agent is the person or thing that performs the action of the verb while the topic is a person or thing that is being described by a linking verb.
David ran up the stairs.
Here, the subject is the agent performing the action of the verb.
The girl wearing a red dress looks a lot like my high-school friend.
In this sentence, "the girl wearing a red dress" is being described
Position in Sentence
The typical position of the subject in sentence is before the finite verb. The finite verb is the verb that determines the tense of the sentence. Look at the examples:
He is running to catch up to the bus.
In this sentence, "is running" is the finite verb in the present continuous tense and the subject is placed before it.
The children enjoyed playing in the snow.
Here, "enjoyed" is finite verb in the past simple tense and the subject "the children" comes before it. Remember that "playing" is NOT a finite verb.
Despite all their efforts, the team failed to score.
Here too, "failed" is the finite verb and "to score" is non-finite because it does not show tense.
Agreement
The finite verb of the sentence typically agrees with the subject in person (first-person/second-person/third-person) and number (singular/plural). This is particularly important when the subject is third-person singular, because in English, verbs in present simple tense and auxiliary verbs have different forms for these subjects. Take a look at the examples:
The book on the shelf belongs to me.
"The book" is a singular third-person inanimate noun, so the verb in present simple tense takes "-s" at the end.
Jake and his sister are coming over tonight.
Here, "Jack and his sister" are two people, so the auxiliary verb "be" takes the plural form.
Subjects: Exceptions
The characteristics reviewed so far are the general criteria for a word to be considered a subject. However, there are cases where the subject does not follow these general tendencies.
Exceptional Forms
Sometimes, a prepositional phrase or an adverb can act as the subject of the sentence.
After midnight is too late to call.
Here, "after midnight" is acting as a subject and the rest of the sentence is describing it.
Exceptional Semantic Roles
In some constructions, the subject is not the agent or topic of the sentence.
Passive Sentences
In a passive sentence, the subject is not the agent or topic, but the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. In such cases, the agent may or may not be mentioned in the passive sentence, but it is nonetheless not the subject.
The teacher explained the lesson. → The lesson was explained (by the teacher).
As you can see, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of a passive one and the agent is introduced in a prepositional phrase.
We made a mistake → A mistake was made.
Dummy Subjects
Dummy subjects do not have any semantic role in the sentence. They merely fulfill a grammatical function. In other words, they are only used because the sentence needs a subject, not because they are the agent or the topic of the sentence. Look at the examples:
It's already 5 PM.
"It" is a dummy pronoun that does not refer to anything specific.
There will be a meeting tomorrow.
"There" is an existential dummy pronoun
Causatives
In a causative sentence, the subject is the person or thing that causes the action to happen, rather than the actual agent performing the action. Look at the examples:
I had my car washed.
The subject of the sentence is "I" but it is not the agent actually performing the action.
I got my hair done at the salon.
Unaccusative Subjects
Unaccusative subjects are subjects of intransitive verbs that do not actively perform the action of the verb, but passively experience it. For example:
The glass broke.
In this sentence, "the glass" does not actively perform the action of breaking, rather, it undergoes the change denoted by the verb.
The book fell off the shelf.
Exceptional Positions in Sentence
Sometimes, rules of inversion and fronting require the subject to come after the verb. The most common cases of inversion happen in formation of questions and with fronted negative adverbs.
Has she finished her homework?
The subject "she" comes after the auxiliary "has" to form a question.
Never have I seen such a beautiful sunset.
Inversion also happens after fronted negative adverbs.
Exception in Agreement
When the existential dummy pronoun "there" acts as the subject of the sentence, the verb agrees with the delayed subject that comes after the verb, not the dummy subject. Look at the examples:
There is a book on the table.
There are many books on the table.
Review
Subjects are usually pronouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses, that come before the finite verb and specify the agent or topic of the sentence. The subject and the verb normally agree in number and person. However, there are exception to each of these characteristics that must be remembered.
Quiz:
Fill the table by choosing the type of subject for each sentence.
The old man walked slowly down the road. | |
Running on slippery ground is dangerous. | |
It's five in the morning. | |
She loves to travel the world. |
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in parentheses based on rules of agreement.
The car parked in front of the house
(belong) to me.
My sister and I
(enjoy) playing board games together.
There
(be) many people in the venue.
After dinner
(be) a good time for a walk.
Which of the following sentences demonstrates an exception to the typical position of the subject in a sentence?
The boy quickly finished his homework.
She loves to travel the world.
Never have I been so surprised.
The cat sat on the windowsill.
Which of the following sentences has an unaccusative subject?
The teacher explained the concept to the students.
The manager had the meeting planned for Thursday.
My friend and I solved the puzzle quickly.
The window shattered during the storm.
Identify the subject in each sentence.
After the storm is over, the city will start rebuilding. →
What she decided surprised everyone. →
There are several errors in your report. →
Have you ever seen the Eiffel Tower? →
Comments
(8)
Recommended
