Intro - Sentence, Subject & Predicate

Monday, August 07, 2006

We all have learned English in school, at least many of us, it's a continuous process. But most of us, that includes me, have forgotten the basics or need to brush up with the basics. Also the English tested in competitive exams is far more than just elements of grammar or vocabulary, its focus is on reasoning and contextual usage. For the sake of completeness I will start with the basics, if you are good in English you can skip it.

The Sentence
When we speak or write we use words, e.g. The earth revolves around the sun. A group of words like this, which makes complete sense, is called a Sentence.

There are four kinds of sentences.
1. Declarative or Assertive sentence - statement or assertion (The early bird catches the worm.)
2. Interrogative sentence - question (Where do you live?)
3. Imperative sentence - command, requests (Stop!)
4. Exclamatory sentence - strong feeling (How romantic the night is!)

Subject and Predicate
When we make a sentence, we name some person or thing (subject) and say something about that person or thing (predicate). Usually the subject of the sentence comes first, sometimes it is put after the predicate. E.g. Long live the King.

Examples:
1. All roads lead to Rome.
2. A guilty conscience needs no excuse.
3. No man can serve two masters.
4. Nature is the best physician.
5. Bad habits grow unconsciously.
*(bold face is subject, rest is predicate)

*Tip: Basically CAT / GMAT or any other tests will not ask you to spot subject or predicate, but it is essential to get the basics strong, which will later help in sentence correction and other topics.