Verbals as Subject

Verbals (and more) as Subjects

​Subjects

• ​the part of the sentence doing or being

• ​works with the verb to form a sentence

• ​are not always at the beginning of the sentence (can come after a phrase

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​Find the main verb in the sentence and ask who? or what? is doing/being

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​EXAMPLES:

• ​After the awards show, we went to Martin's victory party.

• ​All the papers flew off my desk.

• ​Why is it dark?

​Pronouns as Subjects

• ​Pronouns are words that are used to replace a noun

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​he - she - it - they - them - me - I - we - us - her - him - our - your - its

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• ​Pronouns can also be the subject of a sentence

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​EXAMPLES:

• ​Until today, they always ran to school.

• ​He flew down the street on his skates.

​Phrases as Subjects

​sometimes ideas are expressed in phrases

​these ideas can be the subject of a sentence

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​EXAMPLES:

• ​What Amanda said inspired me to take juggling lessons.

• ​How my costume will look is a mystery to everyone except Gracie.

• ​Yesterday, what you did made me very proud to be your sister.

​Verbals as Subjects

​Remember: Gerunds and Infinitives can act as subjects

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​EXAMPLES:

• ​Becoming an astronaut requires a lot of hard work.

• ​To start a successful business is Jack's aspiration.

• ​Yesterday, unwrapping my presents took all afternoon.

Fill in the Blanks

What Bruno Mars said caught me off guard.

Fill in the Blanks

Eating sour candy is Vincent's favorite part of going to the movies.

Fill in the Blanks

At the album release party, we heard the new single for the first time.

Fill in the Blanks

Confetti got stuck in Lauren's hair at the party.

Fill in the Blanks

Reading books was how John Green spent his vacation.