Subjects, Predicates, Fragments, Passive Voice

Sentence Basics Packet

Subjects, Predicates, Fragments, Passive Voice

Subjects (the “do-er”) and Predicates (verbs)

Sentence: group of words expressing a complete thought. Must have a subject a predicate.

Complete subject: all the words that tell whom or what the sentence is about (who or what is doing or being something).

Simple subject: the main word (noun or pronoun) within the complete subject.

Ex: (Many elite athletes) / participate in extreme sports. (athletes = simple subject)

(Their fans) / can watch them during the X-games. (fans = simple subject)

Complete predicate: the verb and all the words that tell either what the subject is or what the subject does.

Simple predicate: the main verb or verb phrase within the complete predicate.

Ex: Many elite athletes / participate in extreme sports. (participate = simple predicate)

Their fans / can watch them during the X-games. (can watch = simple predicate)

Practice:

Place a slash between the complete predicate and the complete subject.

Circle the simple subject and then underline the simple predicate.

Label each “S” and “P,” respectively.

Extreme sports are a relatively new kind of entertainment.
Participants in these sports sometimes ignore the possible danger involved.
The athletes enjoy the great challenge involved in their individual sports.
Great skill is necessary for many of these alternative sports.
A few interesting extreme sports include skydiving, skateboarding, and Parkour.
Most of the world’s rainforests grow near the equator.
Their temperatures remain hot all year long.
Rain falls nearly every day in some part of the forest.
Humid air can make the rainforest uncomfortably hot.
More types of trees grow in the rainforest than anywhere else on earth.

Questions

In most interrogative sentences (questions), the predicatesurrounds the subject!

*In the examples, underlined parts are the predicate, and parts in parenthesis are the subject

*Ex: Are / (you) / eating with us tonight?

Did / (you) / have to leave so early?

Was / (your friend) / on the news last night?

Commands

In imperative sentences (commands), the (subject) is often missing because it is implied.

*Ex:(You) / Practice your piano.

(You) / Do the study guide for homework.

Practice:

Place a slash to indicate separation of the complete predicate and the complete subject.

Circle the simple subject and underline the simple predicate.

Label each “S” and “P,” respectively.

If there is an implied subject, write it in front of the number in front of the sentence.

Do you know Jacob’s dad?
Is he a swim instructor?
Has your younger brother started swim lessons yet?
Swim in groups, not alone.
Choose your swimming locations carefully.

Compound Subjects and Verbs

Sentences can have two subjects (or more) that go with one verb (or verb phrase). Multiple subjects are called compound subjects.

Ex:(Tim) and (Cailynne) ran home together.

Jayden and Ashley helped their parents last weekend.

The heavily penciled eyebrows and colored highlight looked stupid to me.

Another variation is one subject paired with two (or more) verbs. Multiple verbs are called compound verbs.

Ex:Logan’s baby brother only slept and cried.

Queenie baked the cookies and frosted them by herself.

Susan freaked out about Bob’s purchase but then calmed down.

Warnings

Do not confuse a participial phrase(acts like an adjective), a prepositional phrase(acts like an adjective or an adverb), or an infinitive phrase (acts like an adjective, adverb, or noun)for the main subject or verb!

Ex 1:[Wiping his tears dramatically], (Alex)pleaded with his girlfriend to forgive him.

The subject should fit naturally with the verb. If someonesays“wiping” is the verb, try this: say the subject and then the thing you think is the verb. For example, say, “Alex wiping” out loud. This does not sound good or make sense, so “wiping” can’t be the verb.

[Wiping his tears dramatically] is a participial phrase.

Ex 2:(Neither)[of the boys]wanted[to try a piece of pineapple pizza].

Prepositional phrases always act like adverbs or adjectives. You must ignore prepositional phrases like “of the boys” here because it is modifying the pronoun “neither,” which is the subject.

Infinitive phrases can be many things; here, the infinitive phrase [to try a piece of pineapple pizza] acts like a noun, as it is the object of the verb “wanted.”

The subject does not always come before the verb!

Ex:In the small house next to our backyard lives a family with ten boisterous children.

Around the peach trees are several buzzing bumblebees.

Advanced Practice:

Circle the subjects

Underline the verbs/verb phrases.

Canaries and parakeets are popular pets.
Many kinds of birds will sing and chirp merrily all day long.
Parakeets can say and repeat human words and sounds.
Other common pets include tropical fish and goldfish.
Fancy aquariums or plain glass bowls can be found in many homes.
Among small statues and seaweed in the tank, Lively little fish dart and hide.
Additionally, different breeds of hamsters and guinea pigs make good pets.
Creating a little wonderland for their furry pets, owners often buy many toys to fill these pets’ cages.
In dishes and water bottles, pet owners should place their pet’s food and water.
Owners should only give treats occasionally.

Fragments

If a group of words does not contain both a verb and its subject, it is NOT a sentence.

Students often make the mistake of thinking a present participle (a verb form usually ending in –ing or –ed, like going, seeing, crushed, or emptied) can be used alone as the sentence’s main verb.

Ex: Linda going home.Linda will be going home.

Chet playing the guitar.Chet is playing the guitar.

Horses drinking from the trough.Horses were drinking from the trough.

Crushed by the weight of the car.The man was being crushed by the

weight of the car.

Participles can only be verbs when they have a helping verb with them. Otherwise, they are adjectives. In the previous examples, all of the participles were adjectives. Above, they were made sentences by adding a helping verb to each.

We can also allow the participles to stay as adjectives, but we’ll need to add more to the sentence.

Ex: Linda going home.Linda going home is making me sad.

Chet playing the guitar.It’s nice to see Chet playing the guitar.

Horses drinking from the trough.Horses drinking from the trough lifted

their heads to stare at the cars.

Crushed by the weight of the car.Crushed by the weight of the car, he

struggled to free himself.

A group of words that does not contain both a verb and its subject cannot express a complete thought; therefore, it cannot be a sentence. We call these “fragments.” All of these fragments lack a verb:

*Ex:Under the second-longest bridge in the county (prepositional phrase)

Laughing with her friends in the dining hall (participial phrase)

The ladies at the library’s circulation desk (noun phrase)

Tamara creating the entire mural by herself (absolute phrase)

Mr. Austin, his boss at work (appositive phrase)

Practice:

Underline the fragments.



Ex:It was the end of a long day. At the end of the long road to his house. Henry was

wondering about his future. The girl in the green dress. He remembered the day he first

met her. Running with her little sister across the street. His phone rang. Crystal, his friend

from high school. She had been trying to get ahold of him for a while. He didn’t want to

answer. The girls in the sorority. They were messing with her. Greg didn’t want to deal

with it. Maybe she was calling about something else though. Greg winning a promotion

at his job. Maybe she had heard about it from someone.
Practice 1: Fragments leave you hanging!

Circle the subject(s) and underline the verb(s).

Write “S” if it’s a sentence and “F” for fragment.

Acting like a mischievous chimpanzee.
Running like a gazelle, Joe bounded across the stage.
Layla’s mind was tired, having stored away so many lines.
The audience, laughing at his comedic performance.
John, the director of this high-school theatre production.
Near the end of the first act.
Stella was playing the part of a brown bear.
Lumbering about aimlessly and scratching her back on the fake trees.
The most successful performance yet.
A very difficult and trying task for these young actors

Practice 2:

Fragments lack either a subject, a verb, or both!

Below, you see prepositional phrases, participial phrases, dependent clauses, noun phrases, but no full sentences! Label these DC for dependent clause or PH for phrase.

Such as chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering.
Leaving her team at a time when we needed her.
Because the one I have now isn’t working out too well.
Toys of all kinds thrown everywhere.
After we get a record of your previous employment.
With the ultimate effect of increasing all advertising revenue.
Paying too much attention to the polls.
In Japan, during the last war and just before the armistice.
By ten in the evening on the 1st of the month.
Before he writes a classic story with all the right twists and turns.

Final Note

Sometimes, fragments can be stylistically effective. Taking stylistic license can be okay in some situations, but only when it is obvious you are using a fragment on purpose, for effect.

Ex: In a New York minute! That’s pretty much what Harrison Ford said when asked if he would be willing to take on another Indiana Jones project.

Passive Voice

Passive voice places the cart before the horse; the object of the action comes first (now, it’s the subject), then comes the harnessing verb, as though the carriage were running backwards, and finally, the driver, the subject, is either dead last (the object of the preposition “by”) or forgotten.

SIMPLE: If the “do-er” is either missing or at the end of the sentence, a sentence is passive.

ADVANCED: Passive voice will always includea form of “to be” and a past participle.

To Be: is, are, am, was, were,

has been, have been, had been,

will be, will have been, being

Past Participle: Past participles are verbs in past tense, and they usually end in –ed, although there are many irregulars, like swam, rang, and ate. They work together with helping verbs to create the past perfect tense (I had seen the movie). They can also act like adjectives, in which case, they are participles, a type of verbal (Finished, Alex pushed her plate away).

Examples:

ACTIVE

Subject  Verb  Object (Ex: The chicken crossed the road.)

PASSIVE

“Receiver” Verb “Do-er”(Ex: The road was crossed by the chicken.)

“Receiver” Verb(Ex: The road was crossed.)

Is it okay?

Active voice is USUALLY best; passive voice can be wordy, vague, and wishy-washy.

However, Passive voice is okay when…

You don’t know who/what the subject is.

Sewage was spilled into the river.
All the dogs were adopted.

You want to be vague for some rhetorical reason.

Your power will be turned off.
Mistakes have been made.

You feel it doesn’t really matter who/what the subject is.

The baby was delivered yesterday.
After her car was totaled, Elizabeth had to save up for a new one.

You want to put the subject at the end in order to emphasize the object.

The Prime Minister was assassinated by members of the opposition party.
The bill was finally passed by the U.S. Senate.

Practice 1:

Find the verb. Underlineit.

Ask who or what is “doing” the verb or “being” something

Now (Circle) the “do-er,” whoever or whatever is doing/being.

Note: The “do-er” is usually in the subject position, but in passive sentences, it is the object.

“Do-er” missing/at the end? Mark it “P.” “Do-er”before verb?Mark it “A.”

I ate a piece of chocolate cake.

The librarian read the book to the students.

The money was stolen.

They are paid on Fridays.

The movie is being made in Hollywood.

I washed my car three weeks ago.

His hair was cut by a professional.

I will introduce you to my boss this week.

It would have been fixed on the weekend.

The national anthem is being sung by Jason this time.

Practice 2:

Eliminate vagueness and wordiness by making sentences active.

Q: Are all of the sentences passive? A: Yes.
Q: What if there is no “do-er”? A: Make one up!

When you are finished, count the number of words you were able to cut out of each sentence.

# of words cut

It canbe claimed she acts this way due to pride.

A dangerous situation could easily be seen.

The struggle for power is explored.

This theory is proven through the character’s actions.

Mr. Darcy is driven by a strong desire to uphold his obligations.

As his motives are explained, Elizabeth begins to realize she judged him too quickly.

Greed is a driving force of many actions made by people.

Elizabeth, however, is not associated with either wealth or respect.

The cause for any war can always be traced back to a struggle for power.

Faith has been seen as a constant and unyielding source of goodness in people’s lives.

Grammar Topic: Passive Voice

(Key: bold = subject, underline = verb, italics = object)

Active Voice

In an active sentence, the subject is doing the action. A straightforward example is this active sentence: "StevelovesAmy." Steve is the subject, and he is doing the action: helovesAmy, the object of the sentence.

Passive Voice

In passive voice, the object (the target) of the action is moved to the subject position (it comes before the verb). Instead of saying, "StevelovesAmy," to create a passive sentence, I would say, "Amyis loved by Steve." Amy isn't doing anything. Rather, she is just the recipient of Steve's love. The word “Amy” would be the object in an active sentence, but now “Amy” is in the subject position, even though she is NOT the one doing the verb. Additionally, although Steve IS doing the loving (which means the word “Steve” is supposed to be the subject), now the word “Steve” is an object because “Steve” is the object of the preposition “by.”

Also, passive voice occurs when the “do-er” is missing. In the passive sentence “Amyis loved,” one may ask, “By whom?” There is no answer, so whoever or whatever would have been the subject in an active sentence is simply not present in this kind of passive sentence. “Amy,” which would have been an object in an active sentence, is now the subject of the sentence, even though she is NOT the one doing the verb.

Examples:

The chickencrossed the road.

The roadwas crossed by the chicken.

Who crossed? The chicken did! The word “chicken” would be the subject in an active sentence because it is the “do-er.” However, “chicken” is the object of the preposition “by” in a passive sentence like this. Because our “do-er” is at the end, this sentence is passive.

The roadwas crossed.

Who crossed it? No one knows! In an active sentence, something or someone would be doing the crossing, but this sentence is passive because there is no “do-er” here. Instead, “road” has become the subject, even though it would be the object in an active sentence.

GrammarHack:

If you aren’t so good at understanding grammar, you can identify passive voice by asking yourself the following question:“Who or what is “doing” the verb?”

In an ACTIVE sentence, the who or what is the SUBJECT, and it comes BEFORE the VERB.

If the “DO-ER” (the who or what doing the verb) does NOT come BEFORE the VERB, it’s a PASSIVE sentence.

Practice 3:

Underline verbs first.

Then ask who or what “verbed.” Who is the “do-er?” Circle the “do-er.”

Label each sentence “P” or “A.”

Reggie feels really bad for his friend Thomas.
The cake was made by a very famous chef.
The slide on the playground had been broken for a long time.
The band was under the direction of Mrs. Gibson.
Kendra had to go visit her dad in Colorado.
The world’s oldest alligator was killed.
Pinwheels have been used for decorations at Prom in the past.
Some kinds of birds can be taught to speak.
My backpack is starting to break.
It is not that hard for people to falsify documents.

Practice 4:

Underline verbs, then circle the “do-er”.

Write “S” above the subject in the sentence.

Label each sentence “P” or “A.”

Nike shoes are made in that sweat shop.
Men of great character and tremendous grit built this famous skyscraper in 1934.
The new golf course will be finished by July.
The streets on the east side of the city are being repaired this month.
Young kids in the third world make Old Navy clothing.
My mother finally finished her new product design at work.
Dinner was cooking.
The popular novel was written in the early 1600s by Cotton Mather.
The excellent plan was abandoned.
People must not skateboard in front of these office buildings.