The subject

The subject is the main part of the sentence which is expressed by any word, phrase or clause functioning as a nominal unit.

The room beyond was large and square (a noun); She wrote fast and easily (a pronoun); Five are missing (a numeral); То err is human (infinitive); Seeing is believing (a gerund); For a bridge to collapse like that is unlikely (a phrase); That the driver could not control his car was obvious (a clause).

1.5. The predicate

The predicate is the second principal part of the sentence. It expresses an action, or state or property characterising the subject.

Structurally, predicates are classified into simple (1) and compound (2).

1. He pattered her shoulder and walked out of the kitchen.

2. I could just see her face; The water is beginning to boil; She’s the secretary of a client.

Simple predicates are verbal, i.e. they are expressed by a verb in its finite form (synthetical or analytical) or by a set expression.

Oh, I forgot I had told you; She made no reply ( = did not reply).

Compound predicates may be verbal and nominal. Compound verbal predicates comprise two verbs, the second element always being a non-finite form.

The first element in a compound verbal modal predicate is a modal verb, its equivalent or a verb having some modal force about it.

She must pay for it; We were to meet at five; I tried to save her.

The first element of a compound verbal aspective predicate is a verb which indicates the beginning, duration or end of the action denoted by the infinitive or the gerund.

He continued to work all summer; I’ve only just finished dusting.

Compound nominal predicates consist of a link verb (be, become, feel, look, remain, seem, etc) and a predicative, which is a nominal part expressed by a noun or its equivalent.

If I were you I would become an actor: That really seems final: My aim was to prevent the accident.

1.6. The object

The object is a secondary part of the sentence which refers to the words denoting actions and qualities and completes their meaning. It is expressed by nouns and their equivalents.

Nobody knows anything about him. He was conscious of her trouble: Life shall be worth living again; He shivered at the very thought of it.

Objects can be direct and indirect.

A direct object denotes someone or something directly affected by the action of the verb. It is used after transitive verbs. Ask, answer, forgive, envy take two direct objects.

They helped her; He asked me my name.

It may be also combined with the adjectives like, busy, worth.

I felt like laughing; He was busy writing.

An indirect object denotes a living being to whom the action of the transitive verb is directed.

She never told him anything; He had given it her himself.

Some transitive verbs and adjectives, as well as nouns derived from verbs and adjectives are followed by prepositional objects.

It’s years since I heard from him; Hans was clever at carving in wood; Is there any objection to my seeing her?; The boy began to take a great interest in football.

1.7. The attribute

The attribute is a secondary part of the sentence qualifying the noun or its equivalent. The attribute may be expressed by an adjective, a pronoun, a noun, a numeral, a participle, a gerund, an infinitive, an adverb and a prepositional phrase.

Anne Crowder walked up and down the small room in her heavy tweed coat; The station clock marked there minutes to midnight; He saw their smiling faces raised under the great lamp; Robert works at a motoring school; Bigg’s boy was the first to come round; The sun danced on the warm lawn outside; Far off I heard the whine of a vacuum cleaner; I hate the idea of Larry making a mess of his life.

1.8. The adverbial modifier

The adverbial modifier is a secondary part of the sentence which gives additional information about the action or state expressed in various parts of the sentence. For example, it may point the time when the action happened, the place where it happened, the manner in which it happened, etc. Accordingly, adverbial modifiers are divided into those of time (1), place (2), manner (3), comparison (4), attending circumstances (5), cause (6), purpose (7), result (8), condition (9), concession (10), degree (11).

Adverbial modifiers may be expressed by adverbs, nouns, numerals, participles, infinitives; nouns, pronouns and gerunds introduced by prepositions.

1. They started at seven.

2. The paper lay on the floor at Mr. Davis’s feet.

3. He slept heavily.

4. He complains like mad when things go wrong.

5. Now with the telephone within reach he began to read the memorandum on his desk.

6. The weather being unusually mild, the lake did not freeze over.

7. I turned my face away to conceal a smile.

8. The name was too complicated to read upside down.

9. But for his open eyes, he might have been asleep.

10. I’ll do it in spite of everyone.

11. It is not so big as I thought it would be.