Today's Subject: Subject, Object & Predicate
You`ve probably noticed that the predicates all have a verb in them. That`s because verbs are action words and predicates are the action of a sentence.
Some of you are probably asking, “If all a sentence needs to be complete is to have a subject and a predicate, what the heck is an object?” Good question! Objects are optional things that some sentences have and others don’t. Think of them like extra features on a car. A car doesn’t need air conditioning or heated seats to be a working car, but some have them anyway.
Object
If the subject of the sentence is the person or thing doing the action, the object is the person or thing being acted upon. Take a look at these sentences and see if you can figure out what the objects are:
1. Alphonse hid my stolen bees in a secret cave.
2. The brave fireman rescued the ferocious cat.
3. The firing squad executed Alphonse, the infamous beenapper.
How did you do? If you said the stolen bees, the ferocious cat and Alphonse were the objects, you are correct. If you said the secret cave, you are also correct. Sentence #1 has two objects! Alphonse is acting upon the bees by hiding them, and he is acting upon the cave by hiding bees in it.
The subjects, objects and predicates covered here have been pretty basic. They can get far more complex than this. Compound subjects, objects and predicates will be covered in another post.
Some of you are probably asking, “If all a sentence needs to be complete is to have a subject and a predicate, what the heck is an object?” Good question! Objects are optional things that some sentences have and others don’t. Think of them like extra features on a car. A car doesn’t need air conditioning or heated seats to be a working car, but some have them anyway.
Object
If the subject of the sentence is the person or thing doing the action, the object is the person or thing being acted upon. Take a look at these sentences and see if you can figure out what the objects are:
1. Alphonse hid my stolen bees in a secret cave.
2. The brave fireman rescued the ferocious cat.
3. The firing squad executed Alphonse, the infamous beenapper.
How did you do? If you said the stolen bees, the ferocious cat and Alphonse were the objects, you are correct. If you said the secret cave, you are also correct. Sentence #1 has two objects! Alphonse is acting upon the bees by hiding them, and he is acting upon the cave by hiding bees in it.
The subjects, objects and predicates covered here have been pretty basic. They can get far more complex than this. Compound subjects, objects and predicates will be covered in another post.