Every sentence in English is made up of two main parts: the Subject and the Predicate. Understanding these two parts is essential to forming correct and meaningful sentences.
1. Subject :
The subject is the part of the sentence that tells who or what the sentence is about. It is usually a noun or pronoun, and it performs the action or is being described in the sentence.
In simple words:
The subject is the “doer” of the action or the main focus of the sentence.
Examples:
Ravi plays cricket. (Who plays? Ravi – Subject)
The dog is barking. (What is barking? The dog – Subject)
She is reading a book. (Who is reading? She – Subject)
A subject can be:
A single word (e.g., Ram, Birds, She)
A noun phrase (e.g., The little girl, A bunch of flowers)
Even implied in imperative sentences (e.g., Sit down! – Here, “You” is the understood subject)
2. Predicate
The predicate is the part of the sentence that tells what the subject does or what happens to the subject. It usually contains the verb and additional information related to the subject.
In simple words:
The predicate tells the action or state of the subject.
Examples:
Ravi plays cricket. (What does Ravi do? plays cricket – Predicate)
The dog is barking. (What is the dog doing? is barking – Predicate)
She is reading a book. (What is she doing? is reading a book – Predicate)
A predicate can also include:
Helping verbs (is, are, was, will, etc.)
Objects, complements, and modifiers
Full Sentence Structure:
A complete sentence = Subject + Predicate
Example:
The teacher (subject) explains the lesson clearly. (predicate)
Why is it important?
Knowing how to identify the subject and predicate helps learners:
Form grammatically correct sentences
Understand sentence meaning easily
Improve both writing and speaking skills
Practice Tip:
Ask two simple questions to break down any sentence:
Who or what is the sentence about? → That’s the subject.
What is being said about the subject? → That’s the predicate.
Mastering Subject and Predicate is essential for clear communication in English. Once you understand this, building more complex sentences becomes much easier!