Subjects For Intermediate learners

In this lesson, discover subjects, which are the nouns or pronouns performing the action in a sentence. Improve with simple explanations and easy examples.

"Subjects" in the English Grammar

What Are Subjects?

The subject of a sentence is the noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that performs the action or is the focus of the sentence. It is what or whom the sentence is about.

Subjects: Types

Basically, there are three main types of subjects and we will learn about two of them here.

Simple Subjects

Compound Subjects

Complete Subjects

Simple Subjects

The simple subject is a single word that is typically positioned at the beginning of the sentence, and it may be preceded by a definite or an indefinite article.

It can be a personal pronoun:

Example

She eats lunch at 2:30.

They are going shopping.

It can be a proper name:

Example

George is wearing a t-shirt today.

Abraham cannot decide what to eat for dinner.

It can be a collective noun:

Example

The class is going on a trip to Italy.

The family will come to the meeting tonight.

Subject Personal Pronouns

All personal pronouns can be used as subjects in sentences. Let us have a quick review of them:

Singular Pronouns

Plural Pronoun

First Person

I

We

Second Person

You

You

Third Person (Male)

He

They

Third Person (Female)

She

They

Third Person (Non-human)

It

They

Compound Subjects

Compound subjects consist of two or more nouns or pronouns. Look:

Example

Dave and Jackie are going on a trip together.

My sister and I will come to the party at 8 o'clock.

Tip!

Typically, 'and' is used to connect the nouns or pronouns in compound subjects.

Subject: Placement

In English, there are different types of sentences. Below, you can see where the subject is placed in each type:

The subject normally comes before the verb.

Example

She talks a lot.

The cat is asleep.

In questions, the subject comes after the auxiliary and before the main verb.

Example

Do you know where we are?

Can she speak English?

In imperative sentences, the subject is hidden.

Example

Go! (You go.)

Here in this example, the subject is omitted because it is an order.

Speak faster! (You speak faster)

Comments

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Sep 2024
pretty good
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Iresi Benedict
Jul 2024
It's nice I learnt a lot today
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