What Is an Existential Sentence in English Grammar? - ThoughtCo
The verb most often used in existential sentences is a form of be, though other verbs (e.g., exist, occur) may follow the existential there.
Subject
The examples above show that agreement in English existentials is rather erratic and consistent with any of the following three analyses: (i) agreement is determined by the term following be; (ii) agreement is determined by there; (iii) there may be no controller of agreement at all . . .. In any case, agreement cannot be taken as the decisive criterion in determining which of the two candidates has <anchor>Subject</anchor> function." (Dubravko Kučanda, "On the Subject of Existential There." Working with Functional Grammar: Descriptive and Computational Applications, ed. by Michael Hannay and Elseline Vester. Foris, 1990)
Definition and Examples of Subjects in English Grammar
Definition and Examples of Subjects in English Grammar[Skip to content](#skip-to-content)

Menu

[Home](/)

- [Science, Tech, Math](https://www.thoughtco.com/sciences-math-4132465)  - [Science](https://www.thoughtco.com/science-4132464)
  - [Math](https://www.thoughtco.com/math-4133545)
  - [Social Sciences](https://www.thoughtco.com/social-sciences-4133522)
  - [Computer Science](https://www.thoughtco.com/computer-science-4133486)
  - [Animals & Nature](https://www.thoughtco.com/animals-and-nature-4133421)
- [Humanities](https://www.thoughtco.com/humanities-4133358)  - [History & Culture](https://www.thoughtco.com/history-and-culture-4133356)
  - [Visual Arts](https://www.thoughtco.com/visual-arts-4132957)
  - [Literature](https://www.thoughtco.com/literature-4133251)
  - [English](https://www.thoughtco.com/english-4688281)
  - [Geography](https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-4133035)
  - [Philosophy](https://www.thoughtco.com/philosophy-4133025)
  - [Issues](https://www.thoughtco.com/issues-4133022)
- [Languages](https://www.thoughtco.com/languages-4133094)  - [English as a Second Language](https://www.thoughtco.com/esl-4133095)
  - [Spanish](https://www.thoughtco.com/spanish-4133085)
  - [French](https://www.thoughtco.com/french-4133079)
  - [German](https://www.thoughtco.com/german-4133073)
  - [Italian](https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-4133069)
  - [Japanese](https://www.thoughtco.com/japanese-4133062)
  - [Mandarin](https://www.thoughtco.com/mandarin-4133057)
  - [Russian](https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-4175265)
- [Resources](https://www.thoughtco.com/resources-4132590)  - [For Students & Parents](https://www.thoughtco.com/for-students-parents-4132588)
  - [For Educators](https://www.thoughtco.com/for-educators-4132509)
  - [For Adult Learners](https://www.thoughtco.com/for-adult-learners-4132469)
- [About Us](/about-us-4779650)

Search

CloseSearch the siteGO

- Science, Tech, Math



  - [Science](https://www.thoughtco.com/science-4132464)
  - [Math](https://www.thoughtco.com/math-4133545)
  - [Social Sciences](https://www.thoughtco.com/social-sciences-4133522)
  - [Computer Science](https://www.thoughtco.com/computer-science-4133486)
  - [Animals & Nature](https://www.thoughtco.com/animals-and-nature-4133421)
- Humanities



  - [History & Culture](https://www.thoughtco.com/history-and-culture-4133356)
  - [Visual Arts](https://www.thoughtco.com/visual-arts-4132957)
  - [Literature](https://www.thoughtco.com/literature-4133251)
  - [English](https://www.thoughtco.com/english-4688281)
  - [Geography](https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-4133035)
  - [Philosophy](https://www.thoughtco.com/philosophy-4133025)
  - [Issues](https://www.thoughtco.com/issues-4133022)
- Languages



  - [English as a Second Language](https://www.thoughtco.com/esl-4133095)
  - [Spanish](https://www.thoughtco.com/spanish-4133085)
  - [French](https://www.thoughtco.com/french-4133079)
  - [German](https://www.thoughtco.com/german-4133073)
  - [Italian](https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-4133069)
  - [Japanese](https://www.thoughtco.com/japanese-4133062)
  - [Mandarin](https://www.thoughtco.com/mandarin-4133057)
  - [Russian](https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-4175265)
- Resources



  - [For Students & Parents](https://www.thoughtco.com/for-students-parents-4132588)
  - [For Educators](https://www.thoughtco.com/for-educators-4132509)
  - [For Adult Learners](https://www.thoughtco.com/for-adult-learners-4132469)
  - [About Us](/about-us-4779650)
  - [Contact Us](/about-us-4779650#toc-contact-us)
  - [Editorial Guidelines](/about-us-4779650#toc-editorial-guidelines)
  - [Privacy Policy](https://www.dotdashmeredith.com/brands-privacy)

[Humanities](https://www.thoughtco.com/humanities-4133358) [›\
English](https://www.thoughtco.com/english-4688281)

# Subject in English Grammar

Print

![Young woman scratching cat on sofa](https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/TLvsq1DRo7cxG5zWYW9IJDkmDw8=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/young-woman-scratching-cat-on-sofa-641166092-5af1ab60ff1b78003686647f.jpg)

CaoWei / Getty Images

[English](https://www.thoughtco.com/english-4688281)

- [English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/english-grammar-4133049)  - [An Introduction to Punctuation](https://www.thoughtco.com/punctuation-definition-1691702)
- [Writing](https://www.thoughtco.com/writing-4133048)

By

[Richard Nordquist](https://www.thoughtco.com/richard-nordquist-1688331)

[Richard Nordquist](https://www.thoughtco.com/richard-nordquist-1688331)

English and Rhetoric Professor

- Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
- M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
- B.A., English, State University of New York

Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks.

Learn about our [Editorial Process](/about-us-4779650#toc-editorial-guidelines)

Updated on June 24, 2019

In [English grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-english-grammar-1690579), the _subject_ is the part of a [sentence](https://www.thoughtco.com/sentence-grammar-1692087) or [clause](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-clause-grammar-1689850) that commonly indicates (a) what it is about, or (b) who or what performs the action (that is, the [agent](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-agent-grammar-1689073)).

The subject is typically a noun ("The dog . . ."), a noun phrase ("My sister's Yorkshire terrier . . ."), or a pronoun ("It . . ."). The subject pronouns are _I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who,_ and _whoever_.

In a declarative sentence, the subject usually appears before the verb (" _The dog_ barks"). In an interrogative sentence, the subject usually follows the first part of a verb ("Does _the dog_ ever bark?"). In an imperative sentence, the subject is commonly said to be " _you_ understood" ("Bark!"). Its etymology is from the Latin, "to throw".

## How to Identify the Subject

"The clearest way of spotting the **subject** of a sentence is to turn the sentence into a [yes-no question](https://www.thoughtco.com/yes-no-question-grammar-1692617) (by this we mean a question which can be answered with either 'yes' or 'no'). In English, questions are formed by reversing the order between the subject and the first [verb](https://www.thoughtco.com/verb-definition-1692592) which follows it. Look at the following example:

> He _can_ keep a Tamagotchi alive for more than a week.

The appropriate question here if we want a 'yes' or 'no' as an answer is:

> Can _he_ keep a Tamagotchi alive for more than a week?

Here 'he' and 'can' have changed places and that means that 'he' must be the subject in the first sentence. . . .

"If there is no suitable verb in the original sentence, then use [dummy](https://www.thoughtco.com/dummy-word-grammar-1690486) _do_, and the subject is the [constituent](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-constituency-grammar-1689792) which occurs between _do_ and the original verb."

(Kersti Börjars and Kate Burridge, "Introducing English Grammar", 2010)

## Subject Examples and Observations

- " _The Grinch_ hated Christmas."

(Dr. Seuss, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" 1957)
- " _We_ should take Bikini Bottom and push it somewhere else!"

(Patrick in "Squid on Strike." "SpongeBob SquarePants", 2001)
- " _Momma_ was preparing our evening meal, and _Uncle Willie_ leaned on the door sill."

(Maya Angelou, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". 1969)
- " _My master_ made me this collar. _He_ is a good and smart master, and _he_ made me this collar so that _I_ may speak."

(Dug in "Up", 2009)
- " _The saber-toothed tiger_ was prowling around the bottom of the tree, growling, as _it_ looked for an easier way up. Then _something_ caught its attention."

(Damian Harvey, "The Mudcrusts: Saber-Toothed Terrors". 2010)
- " _Sophie_ was especially excited because _she and her friends_ were performing the opening dance at the Misty Wood fair."

(Lily Small, "Sophie the Squirrel". 2017)
- " _Fettucini alfredo_ is macaroni and cheese for adults."

(Mitch Hedberg)
- " _You_ can't try to do things; _you_ simply must do them."

(Ray Bradbury)
- " _Great spirits_ have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

(Albert Einstein)
- "Look at the circles under my eyes. _I_ haven't slept in weeks!"

(The Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz", 1939)
- "The _orderly_ came back in a few minutes with a rifle and five cartridges, and meanwhile some _Burmans_ had arrived and told us that the _elephant_ was in the paddy fields below, only a few hundred yards away."

(George Orwell, "Shooting an Elephant." "New Writing", 1936)
- "Up to the farmhouse to dinner through the teeming, dusty field, the _road_ under our sneakers was only a two-track road."

(E.B. White, "Once More to the Lake." Harper's, 1941)
- "To do the thing properly, with any hope of ending up with a genuine duplicate of a single person, _you_ really have no choice. _You_ must clone them all."

(Lewis Thomas, "The Tucson Zoo")
- "Every _sentence_ has a truth waiting at the end of it, and the _writer_ learns how to know it when he finally gets there."

(Don DeLillo, "Mao II". 1991)

**Challenging Traditional Definitions of a Subject**

"The traditional definition of **subject** as referring to the 'doer of an action' (or agent), though it is adequate for central or typical cases, will not work for all cases. For example, in passive sentences, such as _John was attacked_, the subject is _John_, but John is certainly not the 'doer' of the attacking. Again, not all sentences, even those with transitive verbs, express any action. Examples are _This book cost fifty francs_ and _I loathe relativism_. But such sentences have always traditionally been held to have subjects (in these cases, _this book_ and _I_)."

(James R. Hurford, "Grammar: A Student's Guide". 1994)

**Subjects and Predicates in Poetry**

"\[Robert\] Frost's 'Dust of Snow' justifies its form by devoting one stanza to the grammatical **subject** and the other to the [predicate](https://www.thoughtco.com/predicate-grammar-1691660):

> _The way a crow_
>
> _Shook down on me_
>
> _The dust of snow_
>
> _From a hemlock tree_
>
> Has given my heart
>
> A change of mood
>
> And saved some part
>
> Of a day I had rued."

(Paul Fussell, "Poetic Meter and Poetic Form", 1979)

Cite this Article

Format

mlaapachicago

Your Citation

Nordquist, Richard. "Subject in English Grammar." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/subject-grammar-1692150.Nordquist, Richard. (2023, April 5). Subject in English Grammar. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/subject-grammar-1692150Nordquist, Richard. "Subject in English Grammar." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/subject-grammar-1692150 (accessed September 13, 2024).

copy citation

- [What Does "Null Subject" Mean?](https://www.thoughtco.com/null-subject-subject-drop-1691353)
- [Finite Verb Definition and Examples](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-finite-verb-1690860)
- [Person in Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/person-grammar-1691615)
- [Definition and Examples of Inversion in English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/inversion-grammar-term-1691193)
- [Habitual Past (Grammar)](https://www.thoughtco.com/habitual-past-grammar-1690829)
- [Extraposition in Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/extraposition-grammar-term-1690626)
- [Predicators or Main Verbs in English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/predicator-grammar-1691525)
- [Definition and Examples of Agreement in English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-agreement-grammar-1689075)

- [Complete Subject in English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-complete-subject-grammar-1689771)
- [The Anticipatory 'It' in English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-anticipatory-it-1689044)
- [Understanding the 'wh'-clause in English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/wh-clause-grammar-1692498)
- [What Are Expletives in English Grammar?](https://www.thoughtco.com/expletive-grammar-term-1690694)
- [Simple Subject in Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/simple-subject-grammar-1691961)
- [Infinitive Phrase (Verbs)](https://www.thoughtco.com/infinitive-phrase-verbs-1691063)
- [What is a Main Clause in English Grammar?](https://www.thoughtco.com/main-clause-grammar-term-1691584)
- [Delayed Subjects in English Grammar](https://www.thoughtco.com/delayed-subject-grammar-1690375)

[Home](/)

Follow Us

- [Visit ThoughtCo's Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/thoughtcodotcom)
- [Visit ThoughtCo's Flipboard](https://flipboard.com/@thoughtco?utm_source=thoughtco&utm_medium=follow&utm_campaign=tools)

[Access TRUSTe's Enterprise Privacy Certification program](//privacy.truste.com/privacy-seal/validation?rid=e166d0ee-e663-4ad0-9384-f5bd78093a89)

- [Science, Tech, Math](https://www.thoughtco.com/sciences-math-4132465)
- [Humanities](https://www.thoughtco.com/humanities-4133358)
- [Languages](https://www.thoughtco.com/languages-4133094)
- [Resources](https://www.thoughtco.com/resources-4132590)

- [About Us](/about-us-4779650)
- [Advertise](https://www.dotdashmeredith.com/advertising)
- [Careers](https://www.dotdashmeredith.com/careers)
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.dotdashmeredith.com/brands-privacy)
- [Editorial Guidelines](/about-us-4779650#toc-editorial-guidelines)
- [Contact](/about-us-4779650#toc-contact-us)
- [Terms of Service](https://www.dotdashmeredith.com/brands-termsofservice)

ThoughtCo is part of the [Dotdash Meredith](https://www.dotdashmeredith.com) publishing family.