What is the 'subject' of a sentence?

Answer 1

The subject and a predicate make up the two parts of a sentence or embedded clause. The subject is the person or thing that the sentence is about. The subject is performing an action, or being described, in the sentence.

Example: The boy goes to the store. The subject is boy.

Example: The young girl is very tired. The subject is girl. The complete subject is young girl.

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Here are some points to help you identify subjects [in brackets] in English:

1. When converting a statement into a yes/no question, an auxiliary verb moves from the right of the subject to its left:

• The best [student] is going to win a prize.
• Is the best [student] going to win a prize?

2. Subjects are normally noun phrases and will agree in number and person with a tensed verb:

• This [student] is going to win a prize. (third person singular)
• These [students] are going to win a prize. (third person plural)
• [I] am going to win a prize. (first person singular)

3. It is often true that a subject takes nominative case, but this is not always true:

• [She] kissed him. (The subject 'she' is nominative and the object 'him' is accusative)
• [I] expected [her] to kiss him. (The subject of the main clause 'I' is nominative, but the subject of the embedded clause 'her to kiss him' is 'her' and this is marked for accusative case.)

4. Though it is often suggested as a way of identifying a subject, a subject is NOT always the agent that is performing an action described by a verb:

• [Mary] ate the apple. (The subject 'Mary' is an agent)
• The [apple] was eaten by Mary. (But now the subject 'the apple' is NOT an agent)
• The [child] broke the vase. (The subject 'the child' is an agent)
• The [vase] broke. (But now the subject 'the vase' is NOT an agent)
• The [vase] costs a hundred dollars. (Here, the verb doesn't even describe an action or event)

5. As in an interrogative sentence, a sentence that begins with an adjective (or location, or the word "there") has its subject after the linking verb.

• Dark and deep are the [seas] of the Arctic Ocean.
• Farther down the block is the movie [theater].
• There are many [questions] still to be answered.

Answer 2

The subject is the principal noun in a sentence. The subject is the person, place or thing that the sentence is all about.

Washington is the western state with the most reservations. The sentence is all about Washington. Even though 'state' and 'reservations' are nouns, the subject is Washington.

In the Pacific, dolphins are extremely fast swimmers. The subject is 'dolphins'.

Answer 3

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or being described in the sentence. It typically answers the question "who" or "what" the sentence is about.