Hi, I'm Ashley and this is Mia!
In this video, we'll learn about compound subjects and predicates. You ready? Let's go!
You already know that a sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought,
like "Louis is playing soccer." A sentence has a subject that tells who or what the sentence
is about and a predicate that gives us more information about the subject. The predicate
always contains a verb, but sometimes the subject isn't quite that simple.
What if our sentence is "Louis and his friends are playing soccer"? Our predicate is "are playing
soccer," but our subject is now "Louis and his friends." We actually have two subjects joined
with the coordinating conjunction "and." We call this kind of subject a compound subject.
A compound subject contains two or more subjects joined by a coordinating conjunction.
Both of the subjects share the same predicate.
Let's find the compound subject in this sentence. "Kara and Esther are reading together."
Well, I know that "are reading together" is the predicate. It contains the verbs "are"
and "reading," so that makes "Kara and Esther" the subject. And it's a compound subject because the
sentence is about two people, and their names are joined with the coordinating conjunction "and."
Let's try another. "Rusty and Socks like to play."
Did you spot it? The sentence is about both Rusty and Socks.
"Rusty and Socks" is a compound subject, and they share the same predicate, "like to play."
Okay, last compound subject. "Markers, paints, and colored pencils make my work colorful."
The compound subject is "markers, paints, and colored pencils." This sentence is about
three things that all share the same predicate, "make my work colorful." Remember,
a compound subject contains two or more subjects joined by a coordinating conjunction.
If we have more than two subjects, we separate them with commas.
You may have already guessed that sentences can also have
compound predicates. A compound predicate contains two or more verbs or verb phrases
that are joined by a coordinating conjunction. These predicates share the same subject.
For example, in the sentence "Malachi dribbled the ball and ran toward the basket,"
we have one subject, "Malachi," doing two different things. He dribbled the ball
and ran toward the basket. These two verb phrases are joined by the coordinating conjunction "and."
Let's see if you can spot the compound predicate in this sentence.
"Ali hangs from the bar and points her toes." Our subject is "Ali," and she "hangs from the bar and
points her toes." Those two predicates are joined together by the coordinating conjunction "and."
Okay one more. Let's look at this sentence. "Kids play, eat, or talk at the park."
Remember, a compound predicate contains two or more verbs or verb phrases. The subject here
is "kids," and what do the kids do? Kids play, kids eat, or kids talk at the park. Notice that
the word "or" is the coordinating conjunction joining these three predicates to their one
subject. Also notice that when we have more than two verbs, we use commas to keep them separate.
Mia and I think it's time to review. Hey, did you notice my compound subject,
"Mia and I"? Remember, a compound subject is two or more subjects
joined by a coordinating conjunction, and both of these subjects share the same predicate.
And we have a compound predicate when we have two or more verbs or verb phrases
joined by a coordinating conjunction, and both of these predicates share the same subject.
Just one more reminder – always be clever!