Parts of Sentences & Rules on Grammar

Parts of Sentences --- The Subject

• Every sentence must have a subject, which may consist of just a single word or an entire phrase. The subject is the one doing or being something in the sentence. Frequently, this subject contains a noun or pronoun. A simple example is the following sentence: The man gave her a flower. The subject of that sentence is "man," because he's the one doing something.

Parts of Sentences --- The Predicate

• Every sentence must also have a predicate. The predicate is the part of the sentence that contains the verb and other information about the verb. As with the subject, a predicate may be simply a word but it can also be much larger. In the example sentence given above, the words "gave her a flower" make up the predicate. All sentences can be similarly divided into these two parts.

Parts of Sentences --- Objects

• A predicate's verb is often followed by a word or a group of words that add to its meaning. This part of the predicate is known as the object. There are direct and indirect objects that receive the action of the verb. In the example sentence given above, the words "a flower" are the direct object because they receive the action of giving directly. The word "her" is the indirect object because that pronoun receives the action of giving indirectly.

Parts of Sentences --- Subject Complements

• There's a special kind of verb known as a linking verb. A frequently used linking verb is "be." When this and other linking verbs are used, the words that follow them are subject complements, which provide more information about the subject. In the sentence "He is sad," the word "sad" acts as a complement to the subject "he."

Rules of Grammar --- Nouns, Pronouns and Verbs

• Although every sentence can be broken down into subject and predicate, these two parts can be further divided into words known as parts of speech. Every word has one or more function as a specific part of speech. Nouns are the names of people, places and things. Pronouns are the words used in place of those nouns, such as if the example sentence above had used the pronoun "he" in place of "the man." Verbs are the words that show action or, in the case of linking verbs, give a state of being.

Rules of Grammar --- Modifiers

• Modifiers are adjectives and adverbs. Adjectives are additional words that modify nouns. In the phrase "long hair," the noun "hair" is modified by the adjective "long." Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the phrase "ran quickly," the adverb "quickly" modifies the verb "ran."