Identifying Subject Predicates

Every sentence consists of two essential sentence elements, the subject and the predicate. The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about, and the predicate tells us what that subject is doing-or sensing-or is. The most basic part of the predicate is the verb. In fact, sometimes the predicate may consist of only a verb, but it still tells us what the subject is doing. Example: Airplanes fly. One way is to first ask yourself, "What is this sentence about?" Once you have identified the subject, to find the verb ask, "What is this subject doing?" Some people find it easier to do the reverse-first find the verb and then find the subject. Here are other hints that my students have proposed: