46. Subject and Predicate in a Sentence

Each sentence has two parts: a subject and a predicate.
The subject of a sentence is the person, thing, or idea that the sentence is about.
The predicate of a sentence gives information about the subject.

The gray cat chased a tiny mouse.

We can divide the sentence into two parts, like this: The gray cat / chased the tiny mouse.
Subject: The gray cat
The sentence is about the gray cat. The gray cat is the subject of the sentence.
Predicate: chased a tiny mouse.
The predicate tells what the subject is doing. Chased a tiny mouse tells more about the gray cat.

The subject is always a noun or a pronoun.
The predicate always begins with a verb.

Mary wrote a poem.
Mary / wrote a poem.
Subject: Mary
Predicate: wrote a poem.

Here are some more sentence examples:
The two boys went to the beach.
The two boys / went to the beach.

My mother is a doctor.
My mother / is a doctor.

John and his family visited the Grand Canyon.
John and his family / visited the Grand Canyon.

Every sentence has a subject and a predicate.
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing doing something. The predicate tells what the subject is doing.

  • It’s your turn. Find the subject and the predicate of this sentence. Draw a line between the two parts. The man rang our doorbell. Did you draw a line like this? The man/rang our doorbell. If you did, then you understand the two parts of a sentence. Now write your own sentence with a subject and a predicate