Subject (grammar)
The subject (abbreviated SUB or SU) is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e. the one associated with predicate logic and dependency grammars, the subject is the most prominent overt argument of the predicate. Both traditions see the subject in English governing agreement on the verb or auxiliary verb that carries the main tense of the sentence, as exemplified by the difference in verb forms between he eats and they eat.
The subject has the grammatical function in a sentence of relating its constituent (a noun phrase) by means of the verb to any other elements present in the sentence, i.e. objects, complements and adverbials.
The subject is a phrasal constituent, and should be distinguished from parts of speech, which, roughly, classify words within constituent.
Read more about Subject (grammar): Forms of Subject, Definitions of Subject, Subject in Contrastive Linguistics, Subject Orientation, Subject, Predicates, and The Copula
Famous quotes containing the word subject:
“In my experience, persons, when they are made the subject of conversation, though with a Friend, are commonly the most prosaic and trivial of facts. The universe seems bankrupt as soon as we begin to discuss the character of individuals. Our discourse all runs to slander, and our limits grow narrower as we advance. How is it that we are impelled to treat our old Friends so ill when we obtain new ones?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)