Free subject and predicate worksheets

How to use these worksheets in class

• Grade 2: the dividing line. Divide the sentence is the whole lesson. Read a sentence, ask "Who or what?" and let children draw the line with a ruler. The last four items have a phrase inside the subject ("The girl with the purple backpack") and show that the line does not always come after the second word.
• Matching before writing. Match the subject to the predicate is a partner task: one reads a subject, the other finds the predicate that makes sense. Copying five sentences out afterwards is where capitals and full stops get practiced.
• Grades 4 to 5: simple versus complete. The table sheet asks for the one key noun and the one verb. Simple predicates that are verb phrases ("have finished", "were fighting") catch many students; connect this to the helping verbs worksheets.
• Compound parts. Item 9 on the compound sheet ("The rain stopped and the sun came out") is actually two clauses. Let students argue about it; the argument is the lesson.
• Writing. Build your own sentences ends with a mix-and-match grid. Silly sentences that are grammatically complete prove the point better than sensible ones: the grammar works even when the meaning is absurd.

Answer key

Every practice sheet carries its own answer key on page 2 of the PDF. The keys are repeated here for quick marking.

• Divide the sentence: 1. The frog | jumped into the pond. 2. My baby brother | sleeps all afternoon. 3. The yellow school bus | stopped at the corner. 4. Our neighbors | planted a lemon tree. 5. Two tiny kittens | were hiding under the porch. 6. Grandpa | tells the best jokes. 7. The children in the choir | sang beautifully. 8. A loud thunderstorm | woke everyone up. 9. The girl with the purple backpack | is my cousin. 10. Fresh bread | smells wonderful. 11. The oldest tree in the park | fell down last night. 12. Everyone in my family | loves pancakes.
• Match the subject to the predicate: The hungry lion = roared at the zookeeper.; My grandmother = knits scarves for the whole family.; The fire engine = raced down the street with its siren on.; A flock of geese = flew south for the winter.; The dentist = checked my teeth for cavities.; Our soccer team = won the final by two goals.; The old clock = chimes every hour.; Three little ducklings = followed their mother across the road.; The librarian = stamped the books and smiled.; A cold wind = blew the leaves off the trees. Write five sentences: Any five correctly matched sentences with a capital letter and a full stop.
• Complete and simple subjects and predicates: 1 | apples | fell 2 | friend | is visiting 3 | mouse | ran 4 | students | have finished 5 | crows | were fighting 6 | captain | steered 7 | puppy | chewed 8 | museum | opens 9 | window | was covered 10 | baker | measured Draw the line: 1. The students in Room 9 | have finished their projects. 2. Every window in the house | was covered in frost.
• Compound subjects and predicates: 1. CS 2. CP 3. Both 4. CP 5. CS 6. CP 7. CS 8. Both 9. CS (two subjects, two predicates: really two clauses; accept Both) 10. CP Combine the sentences: 1. Maria and Jonah like chess. 2. The cat stretched and yawned. 3. The bus and the train were late. 4. We packed a picnic and rode to the lake.
• Build your own sentences: Part 1: who or what?: 1. Sample: The wild horses galloped across the field. 2. Sample: Science is my favorite subject. 3. Sample: My ice cream melted in the hot sun. 4. Sample: The clowns were late for the party. Part 2: what happened?: 1. Sample: The astronaut floated out of the spaceship. 2. Sample: My noisy neighbors played drums until midnight. 3. Sample: A giant purple dragon landed on the school roof. 4. Sample: The chocolate cake disappeared in five minutes.

Common mistakes to watch for

• Drawing the line after the first noun. "The children | in the choir sang" is wrong; the whole noun phrase is the subject. Ask "Which children?" to pull the phrase back into the subject.
• Choosing the noun inside a phrase as the simple subject. In "The captain of the ship", the simple subject is captain, not ship.
• Leaving the helping verb out of the simple predicate. The simple predicate of "have finished their projects" is have finished.
• Calling a compound sentence a compound predicate. If each verb has its own subject, there are two clauses, not one compound predicate.