Subject of a Sentence
English Language: KS3, topic 3.8.1
Identifying the Subject
The subject of a sentence is the noun that is carrying out the main action or the noun that is being affected by the main verb.
Spotting the subject
- The subject is usually the first noun in a sentence.
- But the subject is NOT always the first noun in the sentence.
Subject of a sentence example 1
- ‘Peter ran to the shop.’
- 'Peter' is the subject of the sentence because 'Peter' is the noun doing the running.
Subject of a sentence example 2
- ‘After we ate the food, Peter ran to the shop.’
- You may think ‘we’ is the subject as it is the first noun.
- ‘After we ate the food’ is a subordinate clause, not the main clause.
- 'Peter' is still the subject because 'Peter' is the main noun doing the main action in the entire sentence.
The subject as a pronoun
- The subject of a sentence can be a pronoun.
- E.g. ‘He is going to the shop’ - 'he' is the subject of the sentence.
- E.g. ‘That is a great bag’ - 'that' is the subject of the sentence.
The subject in questions
- If you ask a question, the subject can be found after the (auxiliary) verb:
- E.g. ‘Where are you going?’ - 'you' is the subject.
- E.g. ‘What fish is that? - 'that' is the subject.
Test yourself on Subject of a Sentence
What are the two ways to identify the subject of a sentence?
What is the subject of this sentence?
'I want to see you.'What is the subject of this sentence?
'After I saw Frankie, Justin decided he shouldn't do a bungee jump.'What is the subject of this sentence?
'What is Beyoncé's last name?'