Grammar and Punctuation: Subject and Verbs

[Matthew Villegas]

This is the first of a series of posts I'd like to use to start detailing proper use of grammar and punctuation. It is crucial in our line of work that we know not only how to use grammar and punctuation, but also that we can properly identify the different parts of a sentence. Much like mathematics, grammar builds on itself and assumes you know the basics. If you understand the basics, knowing the correct punctuation and grammar becomes much easier. With that said, let's get started.

A subject is a person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or being something. If you can find the verb, you can find the subject. In order to find the verb, you must ask who or what is doing or being something. This is important because the main basics of English center around knowing how to identify the subject and verb. It may seem silly or patronizing to go over such simple concepts, but it will make identitying other parts of a sentence much more manageable.

In my next post, I'll discuss how to identify a dependent clause.