Challenging subjects - Grammar Lesson: Examples, Exercises, Pronunciation

Definitions and examples of challenging subjects, including compound subjects, complex subjects, and interrogative subjects:

Compound subject: 

A subject made up of two or more nouns or pronouns that are joined by a conjunction.

Example: 

• "The cat and the dog chased the mouse." (The compound subject is "the cat and the dog.")

• "My parents or my siblings will be joining us for dinner." (The compound subject is "my parents or my siblings.")

Complex subject: 

A subject made up of a clause or phrase. Examples.

• "What he said was surprising." (The complex subject is "what he said.")
• "That he would be late was expected." (The complex subject is "that he would be late.")

Interrogative subject:

 A subject that is used to ask a question.Example:

•  "Who broke the vase?" (The interrogative subject is "who.")
• "What is the capital of France?" (The interrogative subject is "what.")

Practical uses for understanding complex and compound subjects include being able to correctly conjugate verbs and being able to identify the main focus of the sentence.

Here are some example sentences showing the practical use of complex and compound subjects:

• "The cat and the dog are both chasing the mouse." (The compound subject is "the cat and the dog," and the verb is "are chasing," which is in the present tense.)
• "What he said was very confusing." (The complex subject is "what he said," and the verb is "was," which is in the past tense.)

Special cases

In addition to compound and complex subjects, you may also encounter other special cases, such as indefinite subjects and inverted subjects.

Indefinite subject: A subject that refers to a general or non-specific person or thing.

Example: 

• "Everyone was at the party." (The indefinite subject is "everyone.")

Inverted subject: A subject that appears after the verb in a question.

Example:

• "Are you going to the store?" (The inverted subject is "you.")

Comprehension exercises for you to practice identifying challenging subjects in sentences:

1. Identify the compound subject in the following sentence: "The cat and the dog chased the mouse."

2. Identify the complex subject in the following sentence: "What he said was surprising."

3. Identify the interrogative subject in the following sentence: "Who broke the vase?"

4. Complete the following sentence by filling in the missing indefinite subject: "___ was at the party." 
   

5. Rewrite the following sentence with an inverted subject: "The cat chased the mouse."