The Editor’s Manual
Free learning resource on English grammar, punctuation, usage, and style.
A simple subject is the primary word of the noun phrase that acts as the subject. A complete subject is the simple subject and any words that modify or describe it.
Various grammatical forms can function as the subject in a sentence. The subject can be a noun phrase, a noun clause, or a prepositional phrase.
Use the correct form of the verb with singular and plural subjects. To ensure subject-verb agreement, identify the subject and check whether it is singular or plural. Some subjects may appear plural but be singular.
A compound subject is made up of two or more subjects that share the same predicate (“The dog and the cat sat on the rug”). Use pronouns and verbs correctly with compound subjects.
In a cleft sentence, a single thought is split into two parts to emphasize a specific element by moving it from its normal position into a position of focus (e.g., “It was in 2002 I graduated”).
“There” acts as a functional subject in a sentence to introduce a new topic, speak of quantity and number, or describe a situation (“There is an elephant in the garden”).
Anticipatory “it” is used in the subject or object position to refer to the real subject or object, which appears later in the sentence (e.g., “It was nice to meet you”).
Use it as a dummy subject to speak about weather, time, and distance, and to introduce the existence of a situation (e.g., “It’s raining”).
The subject is implied in imperatives (“Please wait here”), certain elliptical constructions (“See you later”), and some nonfinite clauses (“Rita waited, holding her breath”).
The dummy subjects “it” and “there” introduce sentences referring to weather, time, dates, and situations in general. These pronouns fill the slot of subject in such sentences.