Subjects 

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.

"Subjects" in the English Grammar

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:

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.

Example

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:

Example

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:

Example

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.

Example

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.

Example

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.

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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:

Example

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:

Example

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:

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.

Example

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:

Example

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:


1.

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.

Noun phrase
Noun clause
Dummy subject
Subject pronoun
2.

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.

3.

Which of the following sentences demonstrates an exception to the typical position of the subject in a sentence?

A

The boy quickly finished his homework.

B

She loves to travel the world.

C

Never have I been so surprised.

D

The cat sat on the windowsill.

4.

Which of the following sentences has an unaccusative subject?

A

The teacher explained the concept to the students.

B

The manager had the meeting planned for Thursday.

C

My friend and I solved the puzzle quickly.

D

The window shattered during the storm.

5.

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)
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Issam
Nov 2023
Let's learn English
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Apr 2023
Test for identifying subjects such as subject-verb agreement and auxiliary inversion are missing.
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Langeek
Apr 2023
Coming soon! :)
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Humera Faraz
Apr 2023
It is very helpful for the undergraduate students who ar studying grammar and syntax.
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Jan 2023
Change the "What Is Are Subjects?" to just "What Are Subjects?". Maybe there are several mistakes you've made in article.
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Langeek
Jan 2023
Thank you for bringing the problem to our attention. our content team resolved the problem.
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Jan 2023
Were all articles written by AI? If "yes", I think other articles may consist mistakes as well.
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Oct 2022
Excellent
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