This document provides information about identifying the subject of a sentence using "x-words". It defines x-words as 20 common words in English that sentences are built around, including forms of "to be", "to have", and "to do". It explains that the subject of a sentence can be identified by finding the x-word, making it the first word to form a yes/no question, and noting what words are between the original and new positions of the x-word. Examples are given demonstrating how to identify hidden x-words like "does", "did", and "do" through various tests. The document concludes by mentioning compound sentences.

1. Sector Analysis
Solving Sentences for

2. X Words
There are twenty words that are the fulcrum around
which English sentences are built.
What are they?
Can you guess?

3. Words
• am is are was were (to be)
• have has had (to have)
• do does did (to do)
• shall will (future)
• can may might must (one c and 3 m’s)
• could would should (ould)

4. DEFINITION OF A SENTENCE
In the context of Sector Analysis, the
definition of a sentence is:
Any group of English words that we can
change into a logical yes/no question.

5. How to test for yes/no questions
X-WORDS
Finding the subject of a sentence
am do could
is does would
are did should
was
were shall can
will may
have might
has must
had
In order to find the subject of a sentence using x-words, we
must learn the x-words first. Let’s memorize them.

6. Finding the subject of a sentence
To find the subject of a sentence, first find the x-
word. Put an “x” over the x-word.
Example: This is an English class.
Move the x-word to the beginning of the
sentence.
x
Is this an English class?

7. We can see that this is a question that can
only be answered by a “yes” or “no”. And if we
look at where the x-word was originally and
where we moved it, we see that the word in
between those positions is the subject of the
sentence. Therefore, “this” is the subject of
the sentence.

8. Two Rules
1. You may not add or subtract any words with
the exception of negatives – (“no” or “not”
may be crossed out when making the
question).
2. There may be more than one x-word, but
only one has the power to change the group
of words to logical yes/no question.

9. Practice
x
x
x
x
x x

10. The simple sentence:
Using obvious x-words
1. That man is very tall.
2. The students are studying.
3. Those who memorize the x-words will learn
how to find the subject of a sentence.
4. House cats should always be declawed.
5. We could do our homework after dinner.

11. 6. Those students who are very diligent can get good
grades.
7. Students who do their homework may pass this class.
8. The teacher isn’t being very clear.
9. English grammar can be easy.
10. Learning to write sentences should be fun.

12. The yes/no questions:
x x
1. Is that man very tall?
x x
2. Are the students studying?
x x
3. Will those who memorize the x-words learn how to find the
subject of a sentence?
x x
4. Should house cats always be declawed?
x x
5. Could we do our homework after dinner?

13. 6. Those students who are very diligent can get good
grades.
7. Students who do their homework may pass this class.
8. The teacher isn’t being very clear.
9. English grammar can be easy.
10. Learning to write sentences should be fun.

14. Hidden X-Words
DO DOES DID
In order to figure out if there is a hidden x-word in the
sentence, we first look for words ending in “s”. Does ends
in “s”.
For example, if we see a sentence like this:
Mary wants to pass the English final exam.
We need to ask the question, “are there any obvious x-
words in the group of words?
Answer: No.

15. The next question we ask is, are there any words ending in
“s”? Yes.
There are two: wants and pass
We will try the word “wants” first.
Mary wants to pass the English final exam.
(wants = does want)
Mary does want to pass the English final exam.
Does Mary want to pass the English final exam?
Logical? Yes.

16. We could try it with “pass” just to check the
logic.
Mary wants to does pass the English exam.
This makes no sense at all!

17. Therefore, we will go with “does want”.
Put an “x” over the word “does”.
x
Mary does want to pass the English final exam.
Move “does” to the beginning of the sentence.
x x
Does Mary want to pass the English final exam?
Is this a logical yes/no question? Yes.
Is this a sentence? Yes.
The subject of this sentence is Mary.

18. Hidden X Words
DOES
Practice
Practice making yes/no questions by finding
does as the x-word. Underline the subject of
each sentence. The subject is all the words
between the original x-word position and
where you moved it to make a yes/no
question.

19. 1. Maria loves to draw with colored pencil. (loves= does love)
2. The big, strong man named Ted likes to work out at the gym.
(likes=does like)
3. The student learns x-words in order to make yes/no questions.
(learns=does learn)
4. Giving students A’s makes the teacher happy. (makes=does make)
5. Amanda makes friends wherever she goes. (makes=does make)

20. x x
1. Does Maria love to draw with colored pencils?
x x
2. Does the big, strong man named Ted like to work out at
the gym.?
x x
3. Does the student learn x-words in order to make yes/no
questions?
x x
4. Does giving students A’s make the teacher happy?
x x
5. Does Amanda make friends wherever she goes.

21. Hidden x-words
DO DOES DID
In order to test a sentence for the x-word did, we
must ask a few questions. Are there words ending
in ed or are there words going on in the past
tense? DID is found in words that end in ed or
words that are going on in the
past tense.

22. Example: The men worked in the house all
day.
In this example, we have a word ending in ed.
(worked)
Change worked to did work, and put an x over
did.

23. X
did work
The men worked in the house all day.
Move the did to the front of the group of words.
X
Did the men work in the house all day?
(Notice that the ed drops out once you change it to did)
Is this logical yes/no question? YES!
The subject of the sentence is the men.

24. New example: The dogs ran around the yard.
In this example, we have a word going on in the
past tense. Ran
There is another way to express ran; it is did run.
The dogs did run around the yard.

25. Now we can put an x over the x-word.
x
The dogs did run around the yard.
And we move it to the front of the group of words.
x x
Did the dogs run around the yard?
Is this a logical yes/no question? Yes!
The subject of the sentence is the dogs.

26. Hidden X Words
DID
Practice
Practice making yes/no questions with words
ending in ed or that are going on in the past
tense. Find the did, move it to the front of the
sentence is. The subject of the sentence is all
the words in between the original x-word
position and where you moved it.

27. 1. The chefs grated carrots for the salad. (grated=did
grate)
2. We gave money to charity last year. (gave=did give)
3. The working students found it harder to keep awake
during class. (found=did find)
4. Working diligently and consistently on essays made
getting a good grade easier. (made=did make)

28. X x
1. Did the chefs grate carrots for the salad?
x x
2. Did we give money to charity last year?
x x
3. Did the working students find it harder to keep awake
during class?
x
4. Did working diligently and consistently on essays
x
make getting a good grade easier?

29. Hidden X-Words
DO DOES DID
DO
In order to find do, look between words. For example, consider this
sentence:
I walk to school.
Is there any obvious x-word in this group of words? No.
Is there any word ending in “s”? No.
Is there any word ending in “ed” or going to be past tense? No.

30. Therefore, we must put the word “do” between
each word to see if it makes sense anywhere.
I do walk to school.
That makes sense, doesn’t it? Yes.
Now we can put an x-word over the word do.
x
I do walk to school.

31. Move the x-word to the beginning of the sentence.
x x
Do I walk to school?
Is this a logical yes/no question? Yes.
Therefore, is this a sentence? Yes!
The subject of this sentence is I.

32. Hidden X Words
DO
Practice
Practice finding the hidden x-word do and turning
these groups of words into logical yes/no
questions. Underline the subject of each
sentence. The subject is all the words between
the original x-word and where you moved it.

33. 1. Students create interesting essays from their
experiences. (create= do create)
2. Students working diligently and consistently pass their
exams. (pass=do pass)
3. The women wearing aprons and chefs hats grate
carrots for the salad. (grate=do grate)
4. The working men with sweat on their brows build
houses every day. (build=do build)

34. x x
1. Do students create interesting essays from their
experiences?
x x
2. Do students working diligently and consistently pass their
exams?
x x
3. Do the women wearing aprons and chef’s hats grate
carrots for the salad?
x x
4. Do the working men with sweat on their brows build
houses every day?

35. Compound Sentences
and, but, for, or, nor so, yet
The list above has the coordinating conjunctions
which are used to form compound sentences.
Learn them!
They are sometimes called FANBOYS:
For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

36. Compound sentences consist of two (or more) complete
sentences (two or more yes/no questions) that the writer
wants to put together to form a conjoined thought. When
the writer does this, there must be a conjunction with a
comma before it to join the thoughts.
Example: Mary washed her hair, and she brushed her
teeth.
Here, we have two yes/no questions joined by a
conjunction plus a comma.
That is a compound sentence.

37. The yes/no questions are:
Did Mary wash her hair? Did she brush her
teeth?
or
Did Mary wash her hair, and did she brush
her teeth?

38. However, if we say:
Mary washed her hair and brushed her teeth.

39. We do not have a compound sentence. This
would be a simple sentence, and it gets no
comma. The yes/no question for that
sentence would be:
Did Mary wash her hair and brush her teeth?

40. This rule applies to many of the sentences you write on
your papers. For example, here is one from last week’s
assignment:
“ I knew it would be a lot of work, but now I think
I’m ready.”
As yes/no questions, this is how it would look.
Did I know it would be a lot of work? Do I think
I’m ready now?

41. Here is another example of a student’s use of
compound sentences:
“I have a better attitude, and I know my
behavior will play a big part in my success.”
Find the yes/no questions in the above
sentences.

42. You will find another explanation of
compound sentences in your text on pages
540-543.
Do Practices 1 and 2 for homework. Be sure to
follow the directions! And you can use yes/no
questions to test the sentences, as well.

43. Practice Compound Sentences
Place a comma before the conjunction when there are two
logical yes/no questions.
1. We thought we knew English grammar but we
were mistaken.
2. There were so many movies to choose from so
we tossed a coin to see which one we wanted.
3. We loved eating popcorn and loved watching
this movie.
4. We did not want to go home nor did we want to
study for our test.

44. Complex Sentences
(Putting the X to the comma)
This type of sentence has two groups of words:
dependent clause and independent clause.
( A fragment plus a logical yes/no question)

45. First, we must test a group of words to see if it is a
fragment.
Example: Because I am a student.
Is this a sentence? Test for x. Find the x word and move
it to beginning of the group of words.
x x
Because I am a student. Am because I a student?
Does this make sense? NO.
It is not a sentence. It is a FRAGMENT.

46. Therefore, we must add another group of words that
can be changed into a logical yes/no questions.
Because I am a student I go to the library
every day.
Put a comma directly after the fragment and change
the other group of words into a logical yes/no
question.
Hint: MOVE THE X WORD TO THE COMMA! The X word
is do.
x x
Because I am a student, do I go to the library
every day?

47. The subject of the sentence is I. All the other
words are part of the predicate, including the
whole independent clause (or fragment).
Note: How do we know that the x word is do?
We know this because am is already in the
sentence, so we know we have to keep the
sentence in present tense.

48. Practice Complex Sentences
Put the x-word to the comma, and change the rest of the words to a logical
yes/no question.
1. Because I am a student, I must learn to study smart.
2. When I study my x-words, I do have a powerful tool to learn English.
3. While the teacher was teaching, we listened.
4. If I can manage to sleep with my eyes open, I may be able to get through
this class.
5. Although I am studying all the time.
6. I still find it difficult to be a good student.
7. As the final exam will be coming up soon, I know I need to write many
essays for practice.

49. There is one other rule to consider when
writing a complex sentence. Although we can
write a complex sentence with the dependent
clause (fragment) first, we can also write it
with the dependent clause second in the
sentence.
Example: I go to the library every day because
I am a student.

50. In this example, we have the independent clause
first in the sentence. Notice that there is no
comma when we write the sentence this way.
Change this sentence to a logical yes/no
question.
x x
Do I go to the library every day because I am a
student?

51. It looks like a simple sentence when we write it
this way, but it is not. The subordinating
conjunction, because, tells us that we have a
complex sentence no matter where it occurs in
the sentence.
Study the subordinating conjunctions to know
when you have a complex sentence.
Most Common Subordinating Conjunctions
After, although, as, as if, as soon as, as
though, because, before, even though, if, since
though, unless, until, when, whenever, wherever
, while