Subject & Predicate
"What They Do"
Listen to this subject and predicate rap song to learn the difference between subject and predicate, as well as how to identify a simple subject and simple predicate. This song follows Dana, a young comedienne who is always disrupting class, much to her teacher’s dismay. We analyze the sentence “Dana couldn't stop laughing,” and many others, to find the subject and predicate. By the end of this subject and predicate song, you’ll be able to identify the parts of a sentence with ease.
Find the verb, the main verb in a sentence,
Then ask yourself who or what did it?
That's the subject. Like a sentence's captain,
Subjects make verbs happen.
So: Dana couldn't stop laughing.
"Dana" is the subject, she's doing the action.
She was rolling on the floor.
"She" is the subject, are you keeping score?
The other kids started laughing, too.
"The other kids" is the subject, that's true.
Her teacher told her to stop, please.
"Her teacher" is the subject, yes indeed.
But let's get a little more tricky,
This one's messy, so follow along with me:
Despite her teacher asking,
Dana couldn't stop giggling and laughing.
Now - you might say that "her teacher" comes first,
But "her teacher" is not the one doing the main verb.
It's "Dana," the subject once again,
Now keep your head bobbing while the hook comes in,
Come on,
A subject does what subjects love to do,
Predicates are what they do.
Subjects and predicates too,
Make all sentences' dreams come true. (x2)
If you want to know what the subject does, it's evident,
You better go get the predicate.
It's based on a verb, the subject's action,
Let's get back to Dana and see what happens:
Dana told her friend a joke.
"Told her friend a joke" is the predicate, yo.
The whole class started chuckling.
"Started chuckling" is the predicate, once again.
Or you find the simple subject, simple predicate,
These are just the main noun and verb that we've got to get.
Take: The girl with the tattoo ate a cashew.
The subject is "The girl with the tattoo,"
The simple subject would just be "girl" true.
The predicate would be "ate a cashew."
The simple predicate? That would be "ate,"
We've got grammar, now we're getting cash--who could ever hate?
A subject does what subjects love to do,
Predicates are what they do.
Subjects and predicates too,
Make all sentences' dreams come true. (x2)
The subject is the main noun or noun phrase in a sentence. It is the person, place, thing or idea that is doing an action in the sentence. To brush up on your nouns, listen to our noun song.
Dana couldn't stop laughing.
Dana is the subject of the sentence because she is the person who couldn't stop laughing. In this sentence, "Mario drove his car down the highway," Mario is the subject. Who is the subject in the following sentence?
Luisa threw the softball to her friend.
The other kids started laughing, too.
The subject doesn't just have to be a single word. "The other kids" is the subject because those are the people who are laughing. When you say, "Jack and Jill went up the hill," "Jack and Jill" are the subject together. What is the subject of this sentence?
Sid and his sister built a worm farm.
Despite her teacher asking, Dana couldn't stop giggling and laughing.
Look for the subject of the sentence in the independent clause. That is the part of the sentence that can stand on its own. In this case, the independent clause is "Dana couldn't stop giggling and laughing." So Dana is the subject again. "Despite her teacher asking" is dependent because it can't exist by itself. So "her teacher" is not the subject. In this sentence, "If you buy me flowers, I will go to the movies with you," "I" is the subject. What is the subject in the following sentence?
Once my brother feeds the dog, I can take Rex out for a walk.
The predicate is the action of the sentence. Once you find the subject, you can figure out what the subject is doing. That's the predicate. The predicate always includes a verb. To brush up on your verbs, listen to our verb song.
Dana told her friend a joke.
What is Dana doing? She is telling her friend a joke! So that is the predicate. In the following sentence, "Mike kicked the soccer ball," "kicked the soccer ball" is the predicate because it is what he is doing. What is the predicate in the following sentence?
Sarah folded the laundry.
When searching for the simple subject and the simple predicate, you just need to look for the main noun and verb of the sentence without any added details, adjectives or objects. In the following sentence, "The lion who couldn't roar walked carefully through the jungle," "lion" is the simple subject and "walked" is the simple predicate. Can you find the simple subject and predicate in the following sentence?
The singing crocodile climbed up onto the stage.
The girl with tattoo ate a cashew.
In this sentence, "girl" is the simple subject, and "ate" is the simple predicate.
Every single sentence has a subject and predicate. Open up any book or website, and choose a sentence. Find the subject and predicate!
Tests and answer keys are only available for paid subscribers.
Click below to sign up for a digital subscription.
Like us? Like us.
