What Are Two Main Parts Of A Sentence? | No Guesswork

If you’ve ever stared at a sentence and thought, “Why does this feel off?”, you’re not alone. Most of the time, the fix comes down to one simple check: does the sentence clearly tell who or what it’s about, and does it clearly tell what’s happening? Those two jobs belong to the two main parts of a sentence.

This article gives you a clean way to spot them fast, even in longer lines with extra phrases, commas, and add-on details. You’ll get quick tests and a practice set you can use right away.

Two main parts of a sentence with quick checks

Part	What it does	Quick way to spot it
Subject	Names who or what the sentence is about	Ask “Who?” or “What?” right before the verb
Predicate	Tells what the subject does, has, feels, or is	Find the main verb, then keep what travels with it
Simple subject	The main noun or pronoun in the subject	Strip away describing words: “The tired dog” → “dog”
Complete subject	Simple subject plus its describing words	Keep modifiers that stay attached to the subject
Simple predicate	The main verb or verb phrase	Circle the action or linking verb: “has been running”
Complete predicate	The verb plus words that finish the thought	Include objects, complements, and needed phrases
Compound subject	Two or more subjects sharing one predicate	Look for “and/or” joining nouns: “Mia and Jay laugh”
Compound predicate	Two or more predicates sharing one subject	One subject, two verbs: “She packed and left”

What “subject” means in plain class terms

The subject is the “who” or “what” of the sentence. It can be a single word, a phrase, or a whole clause. In this line, the subject is easy:

• The cat slept.

Still, subjects love to wear disguises. They can hide inside longer groups of words:

• The cat with the bell on its collar slept.
• Running through the rain feels great on hot days.

What “predicate” means without the jargon

The predicate is all the sentence says about the subject. It starts with the verb. It can show an action, a state, or a link to more detail.

• The cat slept.
• The cat was hungry.
• The cat seemed calm.

One fast habit: find the verb first. Then ask, “What else must stay with this verb so the sentence feels complete?” That chunk is the predicate.

What Are Two Main Parts Of A Sentence?

When someone asks what are two main parts of a sentence?, they’re asking for the backbone. Each full sentence needs:

1. A subject (who or what)
2. A predicate (what the subject does or is)

That’s it. Extra pieces like adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and clauses can add detail, but they don’t replace the backbone.

How to find the subject fast

Here’s a simple routine you can run on almost any line.

Step 1: Find the main verb

Look for the verb that carries the sentence. In “The candles on the cake were flickering,” the verb is “were flickering.” In “My friend laughed,” the verb is “laughed.”

Step 2: Ask “Who?” or “What?” did that

Put “Who?” or “What?” right before the verb.

• What were flickering? → The candles.
• Who laughed? → My friend.

Step 3: Keep the words that belong with the subject

Once you’ve found the simple subject, pull in its describing words if you’re marking the complete subject.

• Simple subject: candles
• Complete subject: the candles on the cake

A quick warning: prepositional phrases often sit near the subject, but they’re not the subject. In “The box of crayons is open,” “crayons” is not the subject. The verb “is” goes with “box.”

How to find the predicate without getting lost

The predicate starts at the verb, but it often stretches farther than students expect.

Start with the verb phrase

Verb phrases can stack helping verbs before the main verb: has walked, will be singing, could have been waiting. Keep the whole verb phrase as the simple predicate.

Keep what the verb needs

Some verbs feel complete by themselves: “He smiled.” Many others pull extra words that finish the thought.

• Object: “She kicked the ball.”
• Complement: “He is tall.”
• Needed phrase: “They put the coat on the hook.”

If you cut those pieces, the sentence feels broken. So they belong in the complete predicate.

Don’t let front-loaded phrases fool you

Writers often start with a phrase that sets the scene:

• After the day, the team rested.
• In the back row, my cousin waved.

Those opening phrases are not the subject. They’re add-on details. The subject still answers “Who rested?” or “Who waved?”

Subject and predicate types you’ll see all the time

Once you can spot the backbone, the next level is naming what kind of subject and predicate you’re dealing with. This helps a lot with diagramming, editing, and test questions.

Simple vs complete

Simple means the core word. Complete means the core word plus its attached describing words.

• The noisy, happy kids ran. (simple subject: kids)
• The kids ran to the park after lunch. (simple predicate: ran)

Compound subject

If two subjects share the same predicate, you’ve got a compound subject.

• Rain and wind battered the windows.

Compound predicate

If one subject has two verbs (or verb phrases), it’s a compound predicate.

• The dog shook and trotted toward the door.

Tricky cases that still follow the same rule

Some sentences don’t look like the usual “noun + verb” pattern. They still have a subject and a predicate. You just have to know where to look.

Commands with an implied subject

In commands, the subject is often understood as “you.”

• (You) Close the door.
• (You) Please take a seat.

It’s still there, even if you don’t see it on the page.

Questions that flip the word order

Questions can place part of the verb before the subject.

• Are the lights on?
• Did your brother call?

To find the subject, rewrite the question as a statement: “The lights are on.” “Your brother did call.” Then the subject pops out.

Sentences starting with “there is” or “there are”

In “There is a problem,” the word “there” is a placeholder. The real subject comes after the verb: “a problem.” The same goes for “There are two reasons.” The subject is “two reasons.”

Gerunds and infinitives acting as subjects

A subject can be an “-ing” word that acts like a noun (a gerund) or an infinitive phrase.

• Swimming in the ocean relaxes me.
• To finish early feels great.

These look like verbs, but they fill the subject role in the sentence.

Why this matters when you write and edit

Spotting subject and predicate isn’t just a school exercise. It’s a fast way to fix common writing problems: fragments, run-ons, and muddled meaning.

Fixing fragments

A fragment often lacks a clear subject, a full predicate, or both. A line like “Because the meeting ran late.” has a subject (“the meeting”) and a verb (“ran”), yet it leaves the reader hanging. It needs a main clause to stand on its own.

Purdue University’s writing lab has a helpful page on sentence fragments.

Keeping subjects matched with verbs

Long subjects can trick you into picking the wrong verb form. In “The list of names is on the desk,” “list” is the subject, not “names.” So the verb stays singular.

Clearing up vague “this” and “it”

Pronouns work fine when the subject is obvious. When the reader can’t tell what “this” points to, your sentence wobbles. A quick fix is to swap the pronoun for a clear noun: “This rule” or “This habit,” then the predicate lands with more force.

Practice set you can use right now

Grab a pen, or just use your finger on the screen. Mark the subject once, then mark the predicate. Try the verb-first method each time.

Practice sentences

1. My little brother with the red backpack missed the bus.
2. Across the street, the bakery smells sweet each morning.
3. Eva and Noor built a paper bridge and tested it.
4. Close the window before the rain starts.
5. There are three pages left in the packet.
6. To read aloud in class takes courage.
7. Did the new teacher grade the quizzes already?
8. The bright stars seemed closer on the hill.

Answers with quick notes

Check your work. If you missed one, rerun the steps: find the main verb, then ask “Who?” or “What?”

• 1) Subject: My little brother with the red backpack | Predicate: missed the bus
• 2) Subject: the bakery | Predicate: smells sweet each morning
• 3) Subject: Eva and Noor | Predicate: built a paper bridge and tested it
• 4) Subject: (You) | Predicate: close the window before the rain starts
• 5) Subject: three pages | Predicate: are left in the packet
• 6) Subject: To read aloud in class | Predicate: takes courage
• 7) Subject: the new teacher | Predicate: did grade the quizzes already
• 8) Subject: The bright stars | Predicate: seemed closer on the hill

Quick checklist for spotting the backbone

When you get stuck, run this short checklist. It works for homework, editing, and even quick grammar checks during a timed test.

If you see this	What it usually means	What to do next
A long phrase before the verb	The subject has extra describing words	Find the verb, then ask “Who/What?”
A prepositional phrase near a noun	A “decoy” noun may appear inside the phrase	Ignore nouns after “of, in, on, with” at first
A command sentence	The subject is implied	Insert “(You)” as the subject
A question with a helping verb up front	Word order is flipped	Rewrite it as a statement
“There is/There are” at the start	“There” is a placeholder	Find the real subject after the verb
A linking verb (is/are/seems)	The predicate may be an adjective or noun	Look for the complement after the verb
Two verbs with one subject	Compound predicate	Split it into two sentences to test
Two nouns with one verb	Compound subject	Check if each noun can “do” the verb

One last pass that saves time

Before you turn in writing, scan each sentence and make sure you can point to a subject and a predicate. If you can’t, you’ve found the spot to fix.

On a longer draft, underline each subject once and circle each main verb. You’ll catch fragments and mismatched verbs fast.

And if the question pops up again—what are two main parts of a sentence?—you can answer it in one breath: subject plus predicate. Done.