Subject

The subject is the part of the sentence that shows what the sentence is about. It always toward the beginning of the sentence, and it is often the first word.

Simple Subject

The simple subject is one word. It is the primary topic of the sentence with the sentence.

• I love sushi.
• The man at the corner of the street looks sad.

Complete Subject

The complete subject is essentially everything before the verb in the sentence. Sometimes the simple subject and the complete subject are the same things. Often, they are not.

• I love sushi. (The “simple subject” and “complete subject” are the same.)
• The man at the corner of the street looks sad. (The “simple subject” and “complete subject” are not the same.)

Compound Subject

Sometimes, there are two or more primary topics.

• My wife and I love sushi. (Both “my wife” and “I” are the primary topics of the sentence.)
• The man at the corner of the street and the lady on the other side look sad. (Both the man and the lady are the primary topics of the sentence.

Predicate

The predicate is the second half of the sentence. It’s tempting to say that it’s the action of the sentence, but that would only be true with action verbs but not linking verbs.

Simple Predicate

The simple predicate is the main verb of the sentence. If there are auxiliary verbs, they are included as well.

• I love seafood.
• He went to London last week.
• She is going to follow him there.
• I have been living in Greenville for three years.
• She‘s been in Greenville all her life.

Complete Predicate

The complete predicate is the verb and everything after it.

• I love seafood.
• He went to London last week.
• She is going to follow him there.
• I have been living in Greenville for three years.
• She‘s been in Greenville all her life.

Compound Predicate

Sometimes, there are two or more main verbs in a sentence.

• Janet went to the mall and bought a few new DVDs. (Janet did two things in this sentence: went to the mall and bought something.)
• Of all the subjects in school, English always brought me the most satisfaction and provided the most academic success. (English did two things for me: brought satisfaction and provided success.)