Name: _________________
A sentence has two basic parts: 1. A subject
2. What the subject is or does. (Predicate)
Subject: The Who or What of the sentence.
Predicate: What the subject Is or Does.
Examples:
1. The boat sank.
Subject: boat
(what)
1. The small, plastic boat sank slowly into the tub.
Predicate: sank
(what the subject does)
Subject: boat
(what)
2. The man is tall.
Subject: man
(who)
Predicate: sank
(what the subject does)
2. The man in front of me is tall.
Predicate: is tall
(what the subject is)
Subject: man
(what)
Predicate: is tall
(what the subject is)
Exercise #1 – Subjects and Predicates
Subjects are the who or what of the sentence. Predicates tell what the subject is or what the
subject does.
In the sentences below, put an S above the subject and a P above the predicate. For the
subject, write Who or What on the line. For the predicate, write Does or Is.
S
P
Example #1 Mark plays baseball.
S P
Example #2 The ball is flat.
Subject: __Who__
Subject: __What__
Predicate: __Does__
Predicate: ___Is___
1. Dad fixes cars.
2. We are hungry.
3. The music stopped.
Subject: _______
Subject: ________
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
4. Libraries lend books.
5. The door slammed.
6. The games are broken.
Subject: _______
Subject: ________
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
7. Lions roar.
8. Tina is late.
9. The choir sings.
Subject: _______
Subject: ________
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
Extension: Write five (5) short sentences like the ones in the exercise
above. Put an “S” above your subject and “P” above your predicate.
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Name: _________________
Exercise #1 – Subjects and Predicates
In the sentences below, put an S above the subject and a P above the predicate. For the
subject, write Who or What on the line. For the predicate, write Does or Is.
1. Friends are wonderful.
2. The plane landed.
Subject: _______
Predicate: ________
4. Golf is fun.
Subject: _______
Predicate: ________
3. The door opened.
Subject: ________
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
5. Kittens play.
Predicate: ________
6. The boy was tired.
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
Simple Subject – The simple subject is the subject alone.
The red ball bounced across the street.
Simple Subject = ball
Complete Subject – The complete subject includes all the words that modify the subject.
The red ball bounced across the street.
Complete Subject = The red ball
Simple Predicate – The simple predicate is the verb alone without the words that complete the thought.
The red ball bounced across the street.
Simple Predicate = bounced
Complete Predicate – The complete predicate is the verb with the words that complete the thought.
The red ball bounced across the street.
Complete Predicate = bounced across the street
Exercise #2 – Put an S above the simple subject and a P above the simple predicate. On the lines,
write “Complete Subject” if the phrase is a complete subject. Write “Complete
Predicate” if the phrase is a complete predicate.
S
P
1. Her mom makes delicious cookies.
2. The playful seal balanced a ball on his nose.
Her mom - ____complete subject____
The playful seal - ___________________
Makes delicious cookies - _complete predicate_
Balanced a ball on his nose - ___________________
3. My team is the best in the league.
4. The lady with long blond hair is my mother.
Is the best in the league - _________________
The lady with long blond hair - ________________
My team - ___________________
is my mother. - ___________________
5. Workers began drilling in the morning.
6. Lindstrom students are the best in the world.
Began drilling in the morning - ________________ Are the best in the world - __________________
Workers - ___________________
Lindstrom students - ___________________
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Name: _________________
Exercise #1 – Subjects and Predicates
In the sentences below, put an S above the subject and a P above the predicate. For the
subject, write Who or What on the line. For the predicate, write Does or Is.
1. A fish swims.
2. The water froze.
3. The shirt is dirty.
Subject: _______
Subject: ________
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
4. Children played.
5. The balloon popped.
6. The Yankees are champions.
Subject: _______
Subject: ________
Subject: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
Predicate: ________
Exercise #2 – Put an S above the simple subject and a P above the simple predicate. On the lines,
write the complete subject and the complete predicate of each sentence.
1. The hikers reached the top.
2. The beautiful sunset was breathtaking.
Complete Subject - __________________________ Complete Subject - __________________________
Complete Predicate - ________________________ Complete Predicate - ________________________
3. My thick, leather boots are perfect for hiking. 4. Sharp, tiny rocks jabbed my feet for a mile.
Complete Subject - __________________________ Complete Subject - __________________________
Complete Predicate - ________________________ Complete Predicate - ________________________
5. The campers built their tents by the fire.
6. The nice girls made hotdogs for everyone.
Complete Subject - __________________________ Complete Subject - __________________________
Complete Predicate - ________________________ Complete Predicate - ________________________
Extension:
1. Write three sentences about camping that are ten words or longer. Put an S above the
simple subject and P above the simple predicate.
2. Below each sentence, write “Complete Subject” and “Complete Predicate.” Next to these
labels, write out the complete subject and the complete predicate. See the example below.
Example:
S P
I went camping with my friends in the mountains.
Complete Subject – I
Complete Predicate – went camping with my friends in the mountains.
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Name: _________________
Directions: 1. Put an S above the simple subject and a P above the simple predicate.
2. Write the complete subject and complete predicate on the lines below.
Example:
S
P
A powerful tugboat came to rescue the struggling ship.
Complete Subject: __A powerful tugboat_________________
Complete Predicate: __came to rescue the struggling ship___
1. A large brown bear entered the camp.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
2. After dinner several of us wanted to watch a movie.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
3. The book on the shelf with the torn cover was there for days.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
4. On January 1 the people on the dance committee will enjoy their party.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
5. With the game on the line, Rick made a shot from the foul line.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
6. Dozens of gymnasts waited for the score from the judges.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
7. For many years no one wanted to try the long jump.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
8. Squirrels in the trees played with each other for hours.
Complete Subject: _________________________________________________________
Complete Predicate: _________________________________________________________
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