Any sentence, if it is not a collection of words, is based on the grammatical core. It is represented by a predicate and a subject or one of them. Regardless of which part of the speech the subject belongs and its methods of expression, it always takes the form of a nominative case. This allows you to quickly determine if this main term is present in the sentence or not.
Grammar core
This concept includes the predicate and the subject in the form of the main part of the syntactic construction. They are the semantic core of the phrase, explaining what is being discussed in it, by whom or by what action is being performed.
The predicate is represented by some form of the verb and can be either a simple verb or a compound, as well as a compound nominal, for example:
- The forest stood a dense wall, as if he did not want to let in intruders. The underlying "forest" (who? What?). Predicted: 1) “stood” - solitary, 2) “did not want to let in” - a composite structure consisting of two verb forms.
- He became a doctor by vocation. (The compound nominal predicate is represented by the linking verb and the nominal part of speech).
If the grammatical basis is presented by both main members of the sentence, the ways of expressing the subject are different: both in separate parts of speech, and in whole phrases. To find out which word in the syntactic structure it is, one should ask the question “who?” what?".
Important: the accusative case also contains the question “what?”, So you need to remember that the main morphological ways of expressing the subject are represented by the nominative case. For instance:
- The apple rolled right at my feet. ("Who? What?" An apple is a subject in the nominative case).
- Raising an apple that rolled right at my feet, I ate it. (“Who? What?” An apple is an accusative case).
In Russian, the subject can be represented by the nominal or auxiliary parts of speech, the infinitive, or the whole phrase.
Noun
This part of the speech points to an object that reveals the meaning of what it is or who it is. A noun can refer to animate or inanimate nature, denote abstract or material concepts, be collective, animate or inanimate, own or common noun.
If we consider the subject and its methods of expression, then the noun is one of the most common methods. As a rule, objectified words can act as a subject, both with a concrete and abstract concept. Nouns with an estimated value, for example, skopid, mischievous, dural, boobies and others, act as a subject extremely rarely.
- The student burst into tears of resentment. (The subject student “who?” Is an animated common noun).
- Yegor cried from resentment. (Subject Yegor "who?" - animate proper name).
- The treasured mountain showed us its peak. (The underlying mountain “what?” Refers to inanimate common nouns).
- The air was filled with moisture. (The “what?” Air means the substance, and similar nouns have some one form of number, or plural, for example, sawdust, ink, or the only one - dirt, air and others).
- We had a lot of trouble. (The subject of the “what?” Trouble is a noun with an abstract meaning).
- The foliage was collected by a janitor in a large pile. (The subject foliage “what?” Refers to the collective form, combining a lot of objects of the same type).
The way of expressing a subject in a sentence through a noun is one of the most common.
Pronoun
In second place in frequency of use is the pronoun. It indicates objects, their signs or quantity, without naming them. The morphological indicators of pronouns are determined by what part of speech they replace in the text.
What way of expressing the subject in sentences as a pronoun depends on its type:
- It can be represented in a personal form, for example: I first missed a lecture by Professor Ivantsov. (The subject is capable of being expressed both as a single number of a personal pronoun and a plural). For example: We (you, you, they, she, he) for the first time missed a lecture by Professor Ivantsov.
- Indefinite pronouns as a way of expressing a subject. Examples: Someone knocked on a door. Someone phoned and breathed into the phone.
- Negative forms of the pronoun: Nothing brings together so much as a joint mortal danger.
- The subject and its methods of expression in the form of interrogative-relative pronouns are less common. For example: Who does not like snow on New Year and Christmas?
The remaining categories of pronouns can appear in a sentence as a subject only if they replace nouns, for example:
- It’s good that the rain stopped coming. (Indicative pronoun "that").
- It was so long ago. (The indicative “this”).
- Everyone wants to get the recognition of others. (The definitive pronoun is "every").
Noun and pronoun are the main ways of expressing the subject. The remaining nominative parts of speech are less common.
Adjective
This part of the speech conveys the sign of objects, answering the questions "whose?" and which?". As a subject, an adjective can only be found if it replaces a noun in a sentence, for example:
- The chief summoned everyone to his office. (The adjective “main” answers the question “who?”, As it is used as a noun).
- The blind man tried to understand where the unfamiliar sound was coming from.
- Childless after the words of the doctor, they felt that they still have hope for the birth of a baby. (The adjective stands in the plural and replaces the noun, answering the question "who?").
Important: whatever method of expression of the subject in the sentences would be, it always answers the questions “who?” what? ”, except when a noun is used in an indirect case with a preposition indicating an approximate amount of something, for example: Over a dozen fishing boats went to sea. (Subject to “over a dozen”).
In some sentences, it is difficult to determine the subject, as it is expressed in parts of speech that are rarely used in this capacity.
Communion as a subject
This independent part of speech conveys the attribute of an object by its action and answers the questions “what?”, “Which?”. According to morphological characteristics, the participle combines the properties of a verb and an adjective.
The subject and its modes of expression through the participles are possible only when they replace the noun. As a rule, this is a real form (it denotes a sign of the action that the subject commits) of this part of speech.
For instance:
- The lost passport must inform the passport office employee about this. (The subject "loser" acts as a noun and answers the question "who?").
- The speaker seemed to stumble, and there was a pause.
- The runners stopped to take a breath and drink some water.
In all sentences of the sacrament, both in the present and in the past tense in the singular or plural, they acted as a noun.
Numeral
This is an independent part of speech, which indicates the number of subjects. The following digits are used as the subject:
- Quantitative (answer the question “how much?”), For example: Three is a sacred number in many religions. One was different from her friends.
- Collective numerals indicate the presence of several items combined together, for example: Two entered the bar, and for a second the visitors looked at them. Both were worthy of victory, but only one will reach the final.
- Ordinal numerals indicate the place of the item when counting, for example: The first is the most difficult, since the rest follow him. The second was tastier than lean soup.
In all the examples given, the numerals answered the question “who?” what?" and played the role of a noun.
Service parts of speech as a subject
Immutable parts of speech such as interjections, conjunctions, particles, and adverbs rarely become subject in sentences. As a rule, they also replace nouns, for example:
- Will there be a new tomorrow? (the adverb “tomorrow” answers the question “what?”).
- “And” is a connecting union.
- “Let” is used in the formation of the imperative form of the verb.
Since these are non-independent parts of speech, they are used as a subject mainly as explanations in the rules of the Russian language.
Phrases in the role of the subject
Often there are whole phrases as a way of expressing the subject. The table below shows when they are used:
Type of combination | What does it mean | Example |
Numeral or adverb + noun in the genitive | Number of items | Three guys went to class. Some of the students separated from the group. |
Names: numeral and pronoun in the nominative case + pronoun with the preposition "from" in the genitive case | Indicates item selectivity. | Only three of us will receive a scholarship. Many of us will go to competitions. |
Noun or pronoun in the nominative case + name in the instrumental case with the preposition "c" or "co" and the verb in the plural | Indicates item compatibility | Brother and brother will always agree. They share everything with them in half. |
Words beginning, middle or end + noun in the genitive | Stage or development | The end of the year has come. The beginning of spring was gloomy and cold in winter. |
Combination of a noun with a matching name or title | Have an indivisible concept | The whole sky was occupied by the shining Milky Way. |
An indefinite form of pronoun with the basis “who” or “what” + a coordinated adjective or participle | Uncertainty value | There was something indescribable in this moment. Someone invisible seemed to be watching us. |
Important: subject words are also stable phrases (terms, phrases, botanical, geographical or other names) or catch phrases. For instance:
- Aesopian language denotes a fable.
- Redcurrant is ugly this year.
- The Cape of Good Hope was on track.
These and similar combinations are indivisible, therefore they are a single whole as a subject.
Conclusion
To determine the subject, the question is, “who?” or "what?" performs an action in this sentence. The above ways of expressing it will help in this.