Chapter 11: The Sentence
Subject and Predicate
EXERCISE 3: Identifying the Complete Subject
Underline the complete subject in each of the following sentences.
Ex: What is the source of your information?
1. Martin Miller is a geologist and a photographer.
2. In the September 1993 issue of Earth magazine, readers can see examples of his photographs.
3. Did you see his pictures of desert landscapes?
4. In the desert, strong winds can carve dep ridges in the rocks.
5. Similarly, those fierce winds blast clouds of flying sand against the rocks.
6. Sand and dust in the wind leave behind a hard surface of bare rocks.
7. The sand is eventually redeposited elsewhere in the desert, often as sand dunes.
8. Standing in a dramatic row in one of Miller’s desert photographs are huge send dunes.
9. The dunes are constantly shifting and changing shape because of strong winds.
10. The powdery dunes may be compressed into hard layers of sandstone after many thousands of
years.
EXERCISE 4: Writing Complete Predicates
On your own paper, write ten complete sentences by adding a complete predicate to each of the
subjects below. Be sure to use correct capitalization and end punctuation in your sentences.
Ex: the clerk in that store
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
The clerk in that store is extremely helpful.
one of the buildings on our street
my favorite poem
a popular tourist attraction in our area
dinosaurs
several people
the most interesting books
political leaders
a good way to get exercise
the escalator at the north end of the mall
the artist
llamas and alpacas
a stifaka, a kind of lemur,
your best friend
a group of sixth-graders
my favorite holiday
Chapter 11: The Sentence
Subject and Predicate