Ways of expressing the subject

The subject

Levels of syntactical analysis

§ 39. Within the sentence we usually distinguish two syntactical levels of analysis, one belonging to the sentence proper, which is called the sentence level, and one belonging to various phrases treated as a whole and functioning in the sentence with the same force as separate words. This level is called the phrase level.

The subject and the predicate belong to the sentence level only. The object, the adverbial modifier, the attribute, and the apposition may belong either to the sentence level or to the phrase level.

He did not tell me anything about it. (Me, anything, about it are objects to the verb-predicate - the

sentence level.)

You are unhappy about something, aren’t you? (About something is an object to the predicative unhappy,

which is part of the predicate - the sentence level.)

He will come tomorrow. (Tomorrow is an adverbial modifier to the verb-predicate - the sentence level.)

You seem very tired. (Very is an adverbial modifier to the adjective tired, which is part of the predicate –

the sentence level.)

Poor Amy could not answer. (Poor is an attribute to the noun, which is the subject - the sentence level.)

In other cases objects, adverbial modifiers, attributes and appositions are included in various phrases within which they are not usually treated separately, the whole phrase functioning as part of the sentence on the sentence level.

He insisted on going by train. (On going by train is an object to the verb-predicate - the sentence level;

within the phrase on going by train we distinguish an adverbial modifier by train referring to the word-

form going - the phrase level.)

When analysing a sentence we deal mainly with the sentence levelonly, unless it is necessary for some reason to state the syntactical relations between the words within a phrase.

§ 40. Every English sentence but the one-member and the imperative one must have a subject. The subject is one of the two main parts of the, sentence. The most important feature of the subject in English is that in declarative sentences it normally comes immediately before the predicate, whereas in questions its position is immediately after an operator. It means that in English sentences any word or words which occur in these positions are to be treated as the subject of the sentence.

The subject determines the form of the verbal part of the predicate as regards its number and person.

§ 41. The subject is expressed by:

1. A noun in the common case (including substantivized adjectives and participles) or a nominal phrase with a noun.

The fog is thinning.

Science is not omnipotent.

The blue of the sky deepened visibly.

The dying must be left in peace.

From Marlow up to Sonning is even fairer yet.

Four and three is seven.

A great number of frees were felled.

Occasionally a noun in the genitive case is the subject. This may be if a noun denotes someone’s place of business or residence, as in:

The grocer’s was full.

It may be the result of ellipsis as in:

Jim’s was a narrow escape. (= Jim’s escape was a narrow one.)

The latter type of subject is rather emphatic.

2. A personal pronoun in the nominative case.

I shall do the best I can.

She is very beautiful.

3. Any other noun-pronoun.

Nothing can be done about it.

This is the last straw.

Hers was the final judgement.

One learns by experience.

Who told you this?

4. A numeral (either cardinal or ordinal) or a nominal phrase with a

numeral.

Seven cannot be divided by two.

Two of them were left in the camp.

The third was a young man with a dog.

5. An infinitive or an infinitive phrase.

To understand is to forgive.

To deny the past is to deny the future.

6. A gerund or a gerundial phrase.

Talking mends no holes.

Working for someone keeps a woman calm and contented.

7. An infinitive or a gerundial predicative complex.

For her to fall asleep in broad daylight was not at all usual.

His walking out of the room in the very middle of the argument was quite unexpected.

8. Any word or words used as quotations.

“And” is a conjunction.

The “how” and the “why” of things never seems to occur to children.

His “ How do you do” never sounds cordial enough.

“The War of the Worlds” was first published in 1898.

9. A clause (then called a subject clause), which makes the whole

sentence a complex one.

What girls of her sort want is just a wedding ring.

This kind of subject is treated in full in § 147-148.

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