What are the basic elements of a sentence?

Every complete sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject is the element at the beginning of a sentence that performs the action:

•    The dog ran in circles.

•    I stubbed my toe.

•    His car would not start.

The predicate is what comes after the subject. In a simple sentence, the predicate can be just a verb (the action happening in the sentence):

•    She cried.

In the predicate, there may also be an object (the thing receiving the action):

•    He kicked the ball.

In this example, he is the subject, and kicked the ball is the predicate, made up of a verb and an object.

Academic writing is often more complicated than this, but these are the essential building blocks. To have a complete sentence, a writer must have a subject as well as a predicate that contains a verb. 

Additional Resources:

• View some examples and further explanation of the general sentence elements.

• Check out a grammar quiz or an interactive grammar module to practice your grammar skills. 

• Watch the archived and recorded Mastering the Mechanics of Writing webinar series. 

Further Questions?

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