Using Compound Sentences

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Punctuating Simple Sentences and Quotations

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Other Important Parts of the Simple Sentence

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Parts of Speech

Clowns, acrobats, and animal trainers are three kinds of circus performers grouped according to the kind of work they do. Likewise nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections are words grouped according to their use, or the work they do in sentences.

Subject And Verb of Simple Sentence

This morning miserable. Last night home late and no key. a window. The sleepy and cranky. all into our beds. About midnight a over the house. Somewhere a away all night. A violent of thunder me again at dawn. not more than two hours.

These are all familiar words, and yet this isn't English as you speak and write it. What's wrong? The simple subjects and verbs have been omitted. Here's the original paragraph with red color under a simple subject and blue color under a verb.

This morning I feel miserable. Last night we reached home late and had no key. Dad broke a window. The twins were sleepy and cranky. We all fell into our beds. About midnight a thundershower roared over the house. Somewhere a shutter banged away all night. A violent crash of thunder roused me again at dawn. I slept not more than two hours.

The subject and the verb are the essential parts of a complete sentence. This chapter will help you to recognize them and to use them in building complete sentences.

PICTURE to follow

Before prescribing, a doctor makes a diagnosis to find out what is wrong with the patient. Likewise you can take diagnostic test to find out whether you have mastered subject and verb.

TEST 1A (Diagnostic) Subject and Verb

Copy each subject and draw a line under it. Copy every verb.

1. At exactly two o'clock Claire carefully took her gingerbread loaf out of the oven.
2.  The boats on the Erie Canal were drawn by horses and mules.
3. The telegraph and the electric doorbell work on similar principles.
4. The Eskimo had come up the river with his dog team and was stopping overnight in the cabin.
5. To what extent has smallpox been conquered in the United States and Europe?
6. What dog stories by Albert Payson Terhune have you read?
7. There came the sound of footsteps on the squeaky stairs. 
8. Often the mother gear picked her naughty cubs out of the pool by the scruff of their necks.
9. Under Meg's rather stolid exterior was a lively and fertile imagination.

Verb

If someone came into your room and said "The mailman," you would look at him and wait for more. What about the mailman?

If a friend said "This morning the chief," you would listen expectantly. What about the chief?

In both cases you would be waiting for the verb in the sentence to tell you what happened.

The mailman brought me a letter from your teacher.

(Brought makes a statment about the mailman.)

This morning the chief expects a visit from the mayor.

(Expects makes a statement about chief.)

In each of the following sentences what word makes a statement about a person, place, or thing, asks a question, or gives a command?

Baked breadfruit tastes like a cross between hot bread and potatoes.

(Tastes makes a statement about the breadfruit.)

Is Helen a good class prsident?

(Is asks a question about Helen.)

Apply for the position at once.

(Apply gives a command.)

Verb: Words which make statements, ask questions, or give commands are verbs. In the preceding sentences tastes, is, and apply are verbs.

Although most verbs express action (go, dine, fight, stop, eat, learn), some express being: am, is, are, was, were, shall be, will be, have been, has been, had been, and other verbs ending with be or been. Learn to recognize the being verbs; they are used frequently.

Which are being verbs in the following sentences? Which are verbs:

STATEMENT: The wise advertiser speaks truthfully. King penguins are sociable birds.

QUESTION: Were your brothers at the party? Who caught that twelve-inch trout?

COMMAND: Take a ten-minutes break. Gloria, be quiet.

Are, were, and be are the being verbs used in the sentences; speaks, caught, and take are the action verbs.

How to recognize a Verb