Subject and Predicate — Important Questions

You

Step 1: 'Close the window' is a command, which is an imperative sentence. Step 2: In imperative sentences, no subject is written, but one is always understood. Step 3: The sentence actually means 'You close the window' or 'You must close the window.' Step 4: The subject is always 'you' in imperative sentences — it is implied, not stated. Step 5: This rule applies to all commands and requests like 'Sit down', 'Eat your food', etc.

walked slowly down the road

Step 1: Find the subject first — 'The old man' is who the sentence is about. Step 2: The predicate is everything said about the subject. Step 3: 'walked slowly down the road' tells us what the old man did and where — this is the full predicate. Step 4: 'down the road' alone is incomplete; the predicate must start from the verb 'walked'. Step 5: Always include the verb and all the words after it that describe the action as part of the predicate.

On the shelf lay an old dusty book.

Step 1: In normal sentences, the subject comes before the predicate. Step 2: In 'On the shelf lay an old dusty book', ask what the sentence is about — it is about 'an old dusty book'. Step 3: 'an old dusty book' (the subject) comes at the end, not the beginning. Step 4: 'On the shelf lay' is the predicate placed before the subject — this is inverted order. Step 5: Inverted order is used for emphasis. The other options all follow normal subject-before-predicate order.

The bright stars

Step 1: Ask — what is this sentence about? It is about stars. Step 2: Include the describing words with the noun: 'The bright stars' is the complete subject. Step 3: The predicate is 'twinkled in the night sky' — it tells us what the stars did. Step 4: 'the night sky' is just a phrase inside the predicate, not the subject. Step 5: Always take the full noun phrase (article + adjective + noun) as the complete subject.