How to Identify Subjects and Predicates in Sentences

GrammarSongs by Melissa

This educational whiteboard animation provides a clear, step-by-step guide to understanding the two fundamental parts of a complete sentence: the subject and the predicate. The video begins by defining these components, explaining that the subject is who or what the sentence is about, while the predicate tells what the subject does or is. It uses a friendly narrative style to break down grammatical concepts into digestible pieces, emphasizing the importance of complete sentences for effective communication. The video explores key grammatical themes including identifying nouns, proper nouns, and pronouns as subjects, and recognizing action verbs and linking verbs as the start of predicates. It employs a consistent "think-aloud" strategy where the narrator models the cognitive process of analyzing a sentence—asking specific questions to isolate the subject and then locating the verb to find the predicate. The video progresses from simple sentences to more complex examples involving compound subjects and linking verbs. For educators, this video is an excellent tool for introducing or reviewing sentence structure. The visual color-coding (subjects in red, predicates in yellow) helps students visually distinguish the parts of a sentence. The video effectively models metacognitive strategies, such as visualization ("I get a picture in my head"), which helps students move beyond rote memorization to genuine comprehension. It is particularly useful for addressing the common confusion between action verbs and state-of-being (linking) verbs.