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| | * '''Mary and her mother''' ''went to the shops.'' | | * '''Mary and her mother''' ''went to the shops.'' |
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| − | To easiest way to determine the subject of a sentence is to first isolate the verb and then form a question by placing "who?" or "what?" in front of it. The answer to the question is the subject. | + | To easiest way to determine the subject of a sentence is to first isolate the [[verb]] and then form a question by placing "who?" or "what?" in front of it. The answer to the question is the subject. |
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| | So, in the example "The fans in the stadium screamed loudly," the verb is ''screamed''. Asking the question, "Who screamed loudly?" gives the answer - and thus the subject: "The fans in the stadium". The predicate provides us with more information about the subject, in this case it tells us they "screamed loudly." | | So, in the example "The fans in the stadium screamed loudly," the verb is ''screamed''. Asking the question, "Who screamed loudly?" gives the answer - and thus the subject: "The fans in the stadium". The predicate provides us with more information about the subject, in this case it tells us they "screamed loudly." |
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| | Some languages allow omission of the subject [[pronoun]] if it is clear from the [[verb]] form. For example, in [[Spanish]], ''Lo quiero,'' "I want it," is a complete sentence, even though the subject (''yo,'' "I") is omitted, since the verb ending makes it clear that the subject is first person singular. Such languages are called pro-drop (or pronoun-dropping) languages.<ref>[http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Pro-drop_language Pro-drop language]</ref> | | Some languages allow omission of the subject [[pronoun]] if it is clear from the [[verb]] form. For example, in [[Spanish]], ''Lo quiero,'' "I want it," is a complete sentence, even though the subject (''yo,'' "I") is omitted, since the verb ending makes it clear that the subject is first person singular. Such languages are called pro-drop (or pronoun-dropping) languages.<ref>[http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Pro-drop_language Pro-drop language]</ref> |
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| | + | If the verb is transitive, the predicate contains one or more [[noun]]s or [[pronoun]]s, which are the '''objects''' of the verb. If the verb is intransitive, by definition there is no object. If the verb is doubly transitive, there are both a direct object (the thing on which the action is performed) and an indirect object (a person or thing that is the beneficiary of the action). Consider the following examples: |
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| | + | *Mary sang. (The verb is used in its intransitive sense, so there is no object). |
| | + | *Mary sang a song. (The object is "a song.") |
| | + | *Mary sang me a song. (The indirect object is "me," and the direct object is "a song.") |
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| | ==References== | | ==References== |
| | <references/> | | <references/> |
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| | [[category:Grammar]] | | [[category:Grammar]] |