More About Subjects

Subjects come in a variety of forms:

Simple subjects, like those in the examples above, are limited to who or what:

• The reporter listened.
• Politics is a complex field.

Subjects may include extra words that modify (say more about) the simple subject :

• Mary Hargrove, special-projects editor of the The Tulsa Tribune, interviewed the officials of the Penn Square Bank of Oklahoma.

Compound subjects include more than one main element:

• Albert Ponti and Janice Chan won top honors for their investigation. Subjects may arise in different parts of the sentence, not just at the beginning:
• For decades, advertising copywriters outdid each other in their claims for products they were pushing.

More About Predicates

Predicates may consist of only a verb (and the verb may come in different forms):

• Mayor Parnass deliberated.
• Mayor Parnass is deliberating.
• Mayor Parnass will be deliberating.

Or, predicates may have other words after the verb(s) to give more information about the subject:

• Mayor Parnass is deliberating about the proposal to ban smoking in all public places downtown.

Identify the italicized material in the following sentences: (a) subject or (b) verb.

1			Fifty years ago, half the U.S. labor force worked at routine jobs on assembly lines or on farms.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
2			Today, only 1 worker in 10 isworking on such jobs.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
3			Jobs now require skilled workers.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
4			This means that education is more important than ever.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
5			Despite the need for educated workers, the United States has a low high school graduation rate.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
6			Of the 29 richest countries in the world, the United States ranks 28th in the rate of high school students who graduate.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
7			Those who do not graduate face joblessness and low lifetime earnings.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
8			The United States has slipped also in teacher salaries.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
9			Many other countries pay their teachers more than does the United States.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb
10			Low pay scales make teaching less attractive to college graduates.
			A)	subject
			B)	verb