1. Simply put, the subject is what the
sentence is about.
Grammatically speaking, it is the one
word that represents what the sentence
is about.

2. The subject usually comes
before the verb.
Gwendolyn was late for class.
This sentence is about Gwendolyn

3. The subject could be a verb form that is
acting as a noun in the sentence
Learning can be challenging
(Learning is the subject)
To be grateful is an important quality.
(To be is the subject)

4. The subject may be a pronoun
Everyone is going to the dance.
(Everyone is the subject)
We need to shut the lights off.
(We is the subject)

5. The subject will never be in a
prepositional phrase
Everyone in the class is going home.
Several of the books are missing.

6. The subject will come after the verb in
an inverted sentence that begins with
“here” or “there”
Here lies a man of great character.
This sentence is about a man of
great character who lies here.

7. To identify the subject in a sentence that
begins with “here” or “there,” look for the
first noun after the verb.
There exists no reason to fear the dark.
If you reverse the order, the subject would become
obvious
No reason exists to fear the dark.

8. Sentences may have more than one
subject – also known as a compound
subject, as in:
Fred and Ethel were Lucy and Ricky’s best
friends.
Fred and Ethel have equal billing in this
sentence and are both the subject.