Subjects

Whenever you have a thought, it's about something or someone. When you communicate that thought in speech or writing, that something or someone is the subject of your speech or writing.

The subject of a sentence can be a thing, a person or an idea. Look at the sentences below. The subject of each sentence is underlined.

Thing

The car rolled to a stop.

Person

Derek rode his bike to work.

Idea

Hating others is the easiest way to limit your experiences.

All of this looks fairly easy, but what happens when you have a sentence that is one word? What is the subject? Sometimes the subject is a part of the sentence without actually showing up in it. For example, if you write, “Stop!” the sentence is correct but the subject does not appear in the sentence. The subject is You

Usually, in English, you don't see the subject You when you're asking someone to do something or when you're giving a command.

Sometimes a subject is a group of words or phrase instead of just one word. Look at the example above under Idea. Look at these sentences. The subject is underlined.

Riding a bus is not much fun.

To type fifty words a minute is my goal.

Seeing him healthy and full of life made me happy.