Questions tagged [subjects]
Questions about determining the subject of a sentence or clause
439
questions
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What is the subject of the verb following the comma?
This quote is from Gone with the Wind, where Scarlett met Rhett Butler at a function to collect for the Confederacy:
Hot words bubbled to her lips and it was with difficulty that she checked them. ...
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3
votes
2
answers
693
views
Can preposterousness stifle giggles? Is "preposterousness" part of an adjunct?
The preposterousness of the situation was simply too strange, too unreal, too funny to stifle the uncontrollable giggles.
This sentence is from a book by a New York Times and USA Today bestselling ...
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1
vote
1
answer
49
views
What’s the need for the comma
I’m puzzling over this comma at the beginning of the quote below. Is it another way to make it clear that the author is speaking about two different people - SOME musician and SOME OTHER artist? Doesn’...
0
votes
1
answer
22
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Was/were when listing individually [closed]
I recently wrote something saying:
Present at the meeting was the mayor, the chief of police, and city council members.
My coworker flagged this, as moving the clause to the end of the sentence ...
0
votes
1
answer
27
views
How to use a past event as the subject of a sentence?
I am not a native speaker. My question in the title arise from an actual sentence I wanted to write. "Phone rang interrupted."
Imagine this timeline for context:
Employee was talking to ...
2
votes
4
answers
84
views
Does this sentence have a subject?
The following is a paragraph from an online article:
I don’t know whether Closca will succeed in this: although its foldable bike helmet is available in some outlets in New York, including the Museum ...
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3
votes
1
answer
105
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“a small number of” as an adjective
The official Australian government page https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/national-threat-level/current-national-terrorism-threat-level features the following quote.
This is because there are a ...
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7
votes
1
answer
2k
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Why can't "any" be used as subject in negative sentences, while "no" can?
Why is it that any cannot be used as subject in negative sentences, while no can?
An example pair of sentences might be:
No children came.
Any children didn't come.
Please note that the following ...
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0
votes
1
answer
78
views
What is the grammar term for "John" in "I John want to eat." [duplicate]
Take this sentence, where John is clarifying himself.
I John do hereby declare that I am hungry.
I is the subject.
What is John?
John takes the place of an intensive reflexive pronoun, if the ...
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votes
0
answers
8
views
Subject-verb agreement when citing papers with multiple authors? [duplicate]
Suppose my in-text citation is Hu & Smith (2010).
Should I cite the paper, i.e. "Hu and Smith (2010) says"?
Or should I cite the authors, i.e. "Hu and Smith (2010) say"?
0
votes
0
answers
14
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In “He is easy to take care of,” is “He” the subject, the object, or both?
This is a passive construction, correct? I feel the missing piece of the puzzle is “He is easy to take care of (by or for babysitters/parents/etc.)”
My brain is doing a bit of a loop because ...
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4
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Can an imperative sentence have a subject?
Can an imperative sentence have a subject?
This is a followup to this comment.
User Schmuddi asserted that:
English imperative sentences are subjectless.
but did not cite any source or authority.
I ...
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0
votes
2
answers
39
views
Subject followed by infinitive — what is the grammatical name for this structure?
Example sentence:
"Germany to raise prices ...", which usually can be used as "Germany (is) set to raise prices ..." but the first example is also correct. Can you help me with ...
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0
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0
answers
22
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use of pronoun in the absence of a noun: my vs me [duplicate]
consider the following sentences:
I actually find it quite difficult to remember much about "my being very young".
I actually find it quite difficult to remember much about "me being ...
- 279
0
votes
1
answer
30
views
Subject-modifier-verb agreement [duplicate]
In the following sentence, is the verb 'have' appropriate? Is it not supposed to be 'has' ?
The British council, in partnership with Microsoft philanthropies, have designed a course for young ...
2
votes
0
answers
64
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Passive voice with ditransitive verb, which is the patient?
If I were to make the following constructions, how would I label the parts of the sentence using passive voice terminology? Alice seems to be the agent in both these constructions, but which is the ...
1
vote
0
answers
31
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Is this sentence wrong: "write a letter for me to teach in the university" and if so, why? [closed]
Suppose I'm applying for a teaching position and asking someone for a reference letter. Then is it correct to say:
Can you write a reference letter for me to teach in the university?
to mean "...
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1
vote
2
answers
52
views
What is the subject in this quoted sentence?
"But perhaps most importantly, UF simply should not be looking to Governor DeSantis to decide which speech activities it will permit its employees and students to engage in,” the ACLU’s Daniel ...
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5
votes
4
answers
3k
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Help Fixing Yoda-like Sentence Structure? [closed]
I'm a native American English speaker and have noticed something in my speech/writing that I don't really understand. I've noticed my speech sounds "Yoda-ish" and have been trying to figure ...
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0
votes
1
answer
37
views
What is the proper way to say "14 Registered Students"? [closed]
Which should it be?
"14 Registered Students"
or
"14 Students Registered"
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0
votes
0
answers
30
views
What is subject of the second sentence joined by "and"? [duplicate]
In some logical reasoning questions, I get stuck in the following type of sentences.
Car A is parked somewhere in the left of Car B and is parked somewhere in the right of Car C.
Jack is at the ...
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1
vote
2
answers
119
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Use of pronoun for objects in the preceding sentence [duplicate]
I am having some doubts regarding the use of pronouns.
Please have a look at the following sentences.
I picked a pen from the dustbin yesterday.
It writes very smoothly.
I picked a pen from the ...
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0
votes
0
answers
40
views
"Enough" can't appear in the subject of a negative sentence
Don't use enough (with or without a noun) as the subject of a
negative sentence, ✳‘Enough people didn’t come', but ‘Not
enough did’.
https://www.wordreference.com/EnglishUsage/enough
Why is it so?
...
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vote
3
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110
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How does "_ and I"/"_ and me" rule change when inside brackets?
This question was specifically motivated by the Youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iitXhgif_lo which has the title "How one little boat (and me) held up miles of London traffic".
...
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3
votes
1
answer
194
views
What is the grammatical explanation for an 'It looks like ...' clause? (dummy subjects)
Recently, I have been trying to understand the nuances of language to turn myself into a better writer. This has led me to the 'dummy subject' or 'dummy pronoun.' I am clear on the function of 'there,'...
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0
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36
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cotton-top tamarins also spend most of their lives in the trees. My question is about why not most of their live ? why lives? [duplicate]
I don't understand (most of their lives) is singular or plural ? what make this sentence singular for what reason ?
2
votes
1
answer
186
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Can 'nowhere' be used as a subject?
I am utterly confused... The thing is I was helping a friend do an exercise in which she needed to put some words in the correct order to form a grammatical English sentence. The words in question ...
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-1
votes
3
answers
76
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What is the subjective of this sentence? [closed]
Dong,2019 said that
A firm that colludes with other firms in a foreign product market is
subject to that country’s antitrustlaws. Foreign leniency law passage
is thus likely to affect firms that operate ...
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vote
2
answers
836
views
These children's favorite indoor game is chess- what is the subject here
Identify the subject and predicate in the sentence
These children's favorite indoor game is chess
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vote
2
answers
184
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Grammar rule: ONE sentence; ONE subject, ONE predicate. Is it?
I just watched a video on grammar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drv6jD8xWdw) that states that English sentences can only have one subject. At first, I thought it was obvious, but then I thought of ...
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1
answer
45
views
Can you omit the "it"
Can the "it" be omitted in this sentence?
It looks like quite the mess.
Looks like quite the mess.
0
votes
0
answers
56
views
Should a prepositional phrase beginning with “of” that follows a plural noun be singular or plural?
Which of these is correct? “Types of citrus fruit” or “types of citrus fruits”? I suspect it is the first example, but I would really like to know what the grammar rule governing these situations ...
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0
votes
1
answer
58
views
Do 'it' and 'there' refer to the correct parts of this sentence?
In the following sentence, the 'it' in the bold part should refer to Acid Grassland and the 'there' should refer to the 'roughs' (rough areas on a golf course).
"Frighteningly, some of the ...
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votes
0
answers
52
views
What are the subjects, objects, complements and gerunds in this sentence?
As with most great avant artists, it’s easier to describe how Arca makes you feel than what it is, exactly, she makes.
Just wanted clarification on a few things. What is the first part of the ...
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2
votes
2
answers
118
views
Identification of the simple subject in a sentence
I am having trouble identifying the simple subject in this sentence:
One of the problems facing journalism today is false news and disinformation
I believe it is one. A friend of mine, however, is of ...
0
votes
0
answers
23
views
What is it here in this paragraph?
The virus is mutations constantly, and each time, there's a new lottery ticket. And once in a while, it really, whatever number appears they get the winning ticket placed randomly found the right set ...
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0
votes
1
answer
59
views
Topic/ subject + controlling idea [closed]
Can someone help me identify the subject + the controlling idea of this sentence.
If you’ve ever dreamed of exploring Andalucia, Catalonia, or Mallorca, we invite you to explore Spain on a bike tour ...
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0
votes
1
answer
49
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Compound Predicate with two Prepositional Phrases / Preposition Deletion
My intention is to say that:
(A) I will be traveling on Mon & Tue. I will be eating on Mon & Tue.
Is this a correct paraphrase -?->
(B) I will be traveling and eating on Mon and Tue.
Or ...
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0
votes
0
answers
27
views
Verb agreement with relative pronoun "what" as subject [duplicate]
The following construction can be found in one of the post in the ELU.
remembering that the heart fibrils are what vibrate abnormally to cause a heart attack
The verb "to vibrate" is in ...
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votes
0
answers
44
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What does "they" refer to in this sentence?
I don't understand the pronoun "they" and the subject of "are" in the following sentence.
Silver prices yesterday jumped 13% to an eight-year high after some online investors ...
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votes
1
answer
47
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More sophisticated case of "me and I"!
Which of the following is correct?
"I agree that it will be just me and you managing the projects."
or
"I agree that it will be just I and you managing the projects."
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-1
votes
1
answer
65
views
Subject in the sentence
The most common kind is the curves.
The data is pairs of y and x.
Are subjects of these sentences kind and data, which means that is is the predicator (not are), right? I am confused by the following ...
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votes
1
answer
57
views
Can subject complement occur after “as”
In the sentence : She first came to Canada on her own in 1998, and committed to music-her passion, both as a songwriter and a singer...”
Is “as [a songwriter]/ [a singer]” subject complement? I found ...
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0
votes
2
answers
84
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Answer should be 'her' or 'their'? [duplicate]
Neither Nancy nor Loma remembered to bring _______ camera ]
Her
Their
Them
Neither
In this questions option C "their" was given correct answer but I need an explanation to it as I read the ...
-1
votes
1
answer
91
views
When an action is not carried out, who is the subject?
“My mother gave me money.”
My mother is the subject, money is the direct object, and I am the indirect object who receives the money.
“My mother did not give me money.”
This sentence states what my ...
0
votes
3
answers
119
views
"about me" versus "about I" [closed]
Consider the following sentence:
The details in the first section are the most important ones about me.
The sentence seems completely natural, and yet, by analysis it appears that "the most ...
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-1
votes
1
answer
79
views
Is it correct to paraphrase "the most" as "one of the most"
I just want to know if I have paraphrased the following accurately or is there another way to paraphrase it?
The original sentence is:
Our previous study also demonstrated that PCP was the most ...
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1
vote
1
answer
69
views
Which of the following sentences uses a subject complement? [closed]
What about C, isn't a bit anxious about the test tomorrow also a subject complement following the linking verb am?
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vote
1
answer
38
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Hello, I need help in understanding the grammatical structure of this sentence
I need help in understanding the grammatical structure of this sentence. Could anyone break it down? Thank you very much!!
"Scattered among the leaves crawl creatures called Zeepers that are ...
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4
votes
1
answer
391
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"Whomever" as both object and subject
I put together a document with my findings in order to help whomever keeps working on this.
I understand that "whomever" should be used as an object, whereas "whoever" as a ...
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