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Grammar Terms

Parts of Sentences
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Sentence

A Sentence is a grammatical unit that is syntactically independent and has an expressed or implied subject and a predicate containing at least one verb. “The baby bit the dog” is a sentence. “Woof!” is an utterance but not a sentence.

Subject

The subject of a sentence (or clause) is the person or thing —the actor— performing the action of the verb.

• “The motor died.”
• “Her allergies worsened.”
• “He jumped from the car.”
• “The clown entertained us.”
• “The clown that entertained us yesterday didn’t seem funny any more.”
• “The clown with the blue nose kicked the clown with the red nose.”

In English the pronoun “it” sometimes serves as a dummy subject:

• “It’s raining.”
• “It bothers me that he says things like that.”

Caution: “That” has many other uses.

Predicate

The predicate is all parts of a sentence or clause other than its subject. For example:

• “He (subject) became the king of all that he beheld (predicate).”
• “Geoffrey Chaucer, who lived from 1343 to 1400, (subject) wrote the Canterbury Tales in verse (predicate).”

A predicate complement is a noun or adjective that refers back to the subject after a linking verb (usually a form of “be”).

• “He is an ugly cat (predicate noun).”
• “He is stupid (predicate adjective), but we love him.”
• “Money is a fine thing.”
• “The whole wall was deep purple.”
• “The title ‘duke’ only seems impressive.”

Objects

An object is a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun affected by the action of a verb, or associated with and governed by a preposition to make a prepositional phrase. Typical objects are direct and indirect objects. (See following.) In European linguistics the term “complement” is usual.

Direct objects

The direct object is the person or thing receiving the action of the verb. In many languages the direct object is marked in the accusative case. (For example, in Esperanto the direct object ends with N.) In English personal pronouns have accusative case forms.

• “The cat ate the canary.”
• “Jeff sang a solo.”
• “The teachers examined them.”
• “Mary hit her poor, defenseless little brother who was totally innocent.”

Indirect objects

See oblique objects.

Oblique objects (Including Indirect Objects)

An oblique object is any participant in the action of the sentence other than the subject or direct object. The most common types are “indirect object” and “benefactive object,” respectively the person to whom and the person for whom an action is performed.

In English oblique objects are presented as prepositional phrases. Indirect objects can alternatively be shown by word order by preceding the direct object.

• “Mary [subject] gave [verb] the wrench [direct object] to Jane [indirect object].”
• “Mary [subject] gave Jane [indirect object] the wrench [direct object].”
• “Mary [subject] gave [verb] the wrench [direct object] to Jane [indirect object] for John [benefactive object].”

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