2. Background
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. In
linguistic there are some branches: General linguistic, Micro
linguistic, and Macro linguistic. Some fields of micro
linguistic: Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax,
Semantics, Pragmatics, and Discourse analysis. One of the
brances of linguistic discussion is syntax.
3. Syntax is the grammatical structure of words and
phrases to create coherent sentences. Basically, syntax is the
rules by which signs are combined to make statements. If
you consider the words of a language to be its signs, then
its syntax is the rules which put signs together to make
statements, ask questions, and produce other utterances.
4. Problem Statements
In accordance with the background above, this paper elaborates
the following questions.
• What is the definition of subject?
• How many kinds of subject?
• How to identify the subject
5. The Definition of Subject
Subject is a grammatical relation that exhibits certain
independent syntactic properties. In English grammar, the subject is
the part of a sentence or clause that commonly indicates (a) what it
is about, or (b) who or what performs the action (that is, the agent).
6. The kinds of Subject
The four grammatical forms that can function as the subject are:
• Noun phrases
• Noun clauses
• Verb phrases
• Prepositional phrase
7. 1. Noun Phrases as Subjects
The first grammatical form that performs the grammatical
function of subject is the noun phrase. Noun phrases are defined as
phrases that consist of a noun or pronoun plus any modifiers,
complements, and determiners. Noun phrases are the most frequent
grammatical form that function as the subject in the English
language
8. 2. Noun Clauses as Subjects
The second grammatical form that can perform the grammatical
function of subject is the noun clause. A noun clause is defined as a
subordinate clause that consists of a subordinating conjunction
followed by a clause and that performs a nominal function.
9. 3. Verb Phrases as Subjects
The third grammatical form that can perform the
grammatical function of subject is the verb phrase in the
form of present participles and infinitives. Verb phrases are
defined as phrases that consist of a verb plus any modifiers,
complements, particles, infinitive markers, or other verbs.
10. 4. Prepositional Phrases as Subjects
The fourth grammatical form that can perform
the grammatical function of subject is the
prepositional phrase. Prepositional phrases are
defined as phrases that consist of a preposition
directly followed by a word, phrase, or clause that
functions as a prepositional complement.
11. How to Identify the Subject
The clearest way of spotting the subject of a
sentence is to turn the sentence into a yes-no
question (by this we mean a question which can be
answered with either 'yes' or 'no'). In English,
questions are formed by reversing the order between
the subject and the first verb which follows it.
