The st martin's handbook 8th edition

sentence Subjects ■ 37b 549 Positioning subjects The subject usually comes before the predicate (37a), but sometimes writers reverse this order to achieve a particular effect. o Up to the plate stepped Casey. In questions, the subject appears between the helping verb and the main verb. o o Can statistics lie? How did the manager turn these players into a winning team? In sentences beginning with there or here followed by a form of the verb be, the subject always follows the verb. There and here are never the subject. o There was no joy in Mudville. ■ Using explicit subjects MULTILINGUAL While many languages can omit a sentence subject, English very rarely allows this. You might write Responsible for analyzing data on a résumé, but in most varieties of spoken and written English, you must state the subject explicitly. In fact, with only a few exceptions, all clauses in English must have an explicit subject. it o They took the Acela Express to Boston because was fast. ^ English even requires a kind of “dummy” subject to fill the subject position in certain kinds of sentences. o o It is raining. There is a strong wind. Imperative sentences (37f), which express requests or commands, are an exception to the rule of explicit subjects; the subject you is usually implied rather than stated. o (You) Keep your eye on the ball. EXERCISE 37.1 Identify the complete subject and the simple subject in each sentence. Example: The tall, powerful woman defiantly blocked the doorway. Complete subject: The tall, powerful woman Simple subject: woman 1. That container of fried rice has spent six weeks in the back of the refrigerator. 2. Did the new tour guide remember to stop in the Ancient Greek gallery? 3. There was one student still taking the exam when the bell rang. sentence 37c 550 GRAMMAR
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4FOUFODFT 4. Japanese animation, with its cutting-edge graphics and futuristic plots, has earned many American admirers. 5. Sniffer dogs trained to detect drugs, blood, and explosives can help solve crimes and save lives. 37c Predicates In addition to a subject, every sentence has a predicate, which asserts or asks something about the subject or tells the subject to do something. The key word of most predicates is a verb. The simple predicate of a sentence consists of the main verb and any auxiliaries; the complete predicate includes the simple predicate and any modifiers of the verb and any objects or complements (37a) and their modifiers. o COMPLETE PREDICATE Both of us are planning to major in history. A compound predicate contains two or more verbs that have the same subject, usually joined by a coordinating or a correlative conjunction (36g). o Omar shut the book, put it back on the shelf, and sighed. On the basis of how they function in predicates, verbs can be divided into three categories: linking, transitive, and intransitive. ■ Identifying linking verbs A linking verb connects a subject with a subject complement (sc), a word or word group that identifies or describes the subject. S V SC o Christine is an excellent teacher. o She is patient. S V SC A subject complement can be either a noun or pronoun (teacher) or an adjective (patient). The forms of be, when used as main verbs, are common linking verbs. Other verbs, such as appear, become, feel, grow, look, make, seem, smell, and sound, can also function as linking verbs, depending on the sense of the sentence. S V SC o The neighborhood looked prosperous. ■ Identifying transitive verbs MULTILINGUAL A transitive verb expresses action that is directed toward a noun or pronoun called the direct object (do). o S V DO He peeled all the rutabagas. cs/fused Linking two independent clauses with a dash 46g 641 EXERCISE 46.1 Using two of the methods in this chapter, revise each item to correct its comma splice or fused sentence.