Finding Subjects and Objects of the Preposition

1. Finding Subjects and Objects of the Preposition Your ability to understand this presentation would be made easier if you were knowledgeable of the material in the Nouns, Pronouns, and Linking and Action Verb presentations from Parts of Speech

2. The subjects of sentences are the nouns or pronouns that perform the action of the verb. For example, Lacy narrowed her choice of dress for the party to two outfits. The first question to ask yourself is what is the verb of the sentence, and the answer, of course, would be “narrowed.” Once you have the verb, you need only ask yourself who is doing the action, or in this case, who or what has “narrowed her choice of dress to two outfits”? The answer is “Lacy” and “Lacy” is, therefore, the subject of this sentence. • Let’s try another – find the subject of the following sentence. Vinny swam in his plastic pool for the whole afternoon.

3. Vinny swam in his plastic pool for the whole afternoon. The verb is “swam.” Who or what “swam? “Vinny” is the subject of the sentence. So, as you may already know or have observed, the subject of the sentence is usually toward the beginning of the sentence and usually, therefore, comes before the noun. Thus far, you have only had one word, the subject, to the left of the noun. However, sometimes, there can be other words, so let’s look at some of those examples. Find the subject of the following sentence. In the middle of class Frank received a call from his agent.

4. In the middle of class Frank received a call from his agent. The verb of the sentence is “received.” So, who or what “received a call from his agent”? The answer is “Frank.” If you have know your prepositions, you should recognize the two prepositional phrases to the left of the verb. They are “In the middle” and “of class.” In this group of presentations, you will soon discover that being able to recognize prepositional phrases can make these concepts much easier to understand. Find the subject of the following sentence The ability of this new freshman astounds even me.

5. The ability of this new freshman astounds even me. The verb of the sentence is “astounds” The prepositional phrase has been crossed out. Since no subject can be in a prepositional phrase, the only likely candidate for subject would be “ability,” and fortunately, it is the subject. Try another In my view either of the contestants could win this round of the challenge.

6. In my view either of the contestants could win this round of the challenge. The verb of the sentence is “could win” The prepositional phrases have been crossed out. “Either” is the subject of the sentence. There is often a temptation in a sentence like the one above to say that “contestants” is the subject since they seem to be the ones with the chance of winning the round. However, again, when a word is trapped in the prepositional phrase, it cannot be a subject. Here’s another sentence In the morning Kareema and Hallock will leave for Colorado on their bikes.

7. In the morningKareema and Hallock will leave for Colorado on their bikes. The verb of the sentence is “will leave” The prepositional phrases have been crossed out. This time you have two subjects “Kareema” and “Hallock” So, what happens when you get a question – can you find the subject? Did some of you donate your time to her campaign?

8. To see the sentence more clearly, at least initially, take any question and re-state it as a statement. For example Did some of you donate your time to her campaign? becomes Some of you did donate your time to her campaign. The verb is “did donate” The prepositional phrases have been crossed out The subject of the sentence is “some” Before going farther with finding subject, let’s take care of object of the prepositions. An object of a preposition is a simple one to locate. Just find any noun in a prepositional phrase. So, what is the object of the preposition in the following sentence? At the time no one around here had even heard of him.

9. At the time no one in this town had even heard of him or her. The verb is “had heard” The prepositional phrases are “at the time” – “time” is your object of the preposition or O.P. “in this town” -- “town” is your O.P. “of him or her” – “him” and “her” are both O.Ps. Find any O.P. in the following sentence. We looked at the perfect color for each of them.

10. We looked at the perfect color for each of them. “looked” is the verb of the sentence. “color,” “each,” and “them” are all objects of the preposition. Now look for any subject as well as any object of the preposition in the following sentence. Along the beach Lauren rode her horse amid the sparkling gleam of the water.

11. Along the beach Lauren rode her horse amid the sparkling gleam of the water. The verb is “rode” The objects of the preposition are “beach,” “gleam,” and “water.” The subject is “Lauren” There are a couple of curveballs in the language, occasions when finding the subject is not quite as straightforward, as in the following example. Can you find the subject? (You might remember a sentence like this one, not too long ago.) Find any subject or object of the preposition in the following sentence.

12. Find any subject or object of the preposition in the following sentence. The verb is “find” The prepositional phrases have been crossed out. But there is no word, let alone a noun or pronoun, to the left of the verb. So what do you do? This is called a command sentence by some, an imperative statement by others, but whatever the name, the solution to finding the subject is fairly simple, once you know it. Ask yourself who is being commanded to “find any subject or object of the preposition in the following sentence.” And the answer is – you are the one being asked. Since “you” does not appear, you supply the “you” by writing it like this – (You). The parenthesis needs to be there; it is what indicates the answer is “you implied” or as others would say, “you understood.” So, let’s try a few more – find any OP or Subjects in the following sentence. After lunch Charlie drove him down the most crooked street in the whole nation.

13. After lunch Charlie drove him down the most crooked street in the whole nation. The verb is “drove” The objects of the preposition are “lunch,” “street,” and “nation.” The subject is “Charlie.” Find any subject or object of the prepositions once again. Make it to Tucson by the end of the week in spite of the airline strike or face the consequences of a very upset parakeet.

14. Make it to Tucson by the end of the week in spite of the airline strike or face the consequences of a very upset parakeet. There are two verbs – “make” and “face” The objects of preposition are “Tucson,” “end,” “week,” “strike,” and “parakeet.” “In spite of,” incidentally, is treated as one word. The subject of both verbs is (You) Try another Would a few of the remaining actors remain onstage after rehearsal to help take the costumes from the attic to the dressing rooms?

15. Would a few of the remaining actors remain onstage after rehearsal to take the costumes from the attic to the dressing rooms? Translated into a statement it would read A few of the remaining actors would remain onstage after rehearsal to take the costumes from the attic to the dressing rooms The verb is “would remain” The objects of preposition include “actors,” “rehearsal,” “attic,” and “room.” Please note that “to take” is the infinitive or root of the verb and therefore it is not a preposition. The subject of the sentence is “few.” Another – At that moment Becky was feeding sheep on a farm in France.

16. At that moment Becky was feeding sheep on a farm in France. The verb is “was feeding,” an action verb. The prepositional phrases are crossed out with “moment,” “farm,” and “France” working as the objects of prepositions. “Becky” is the subject of the sentence. Try another In my experience all of the musicians have encountered some challenge along the way with this piece.

17. In my experience all of the musicians have encountered some challenge along the way with this piece. The verb of the sentence is “have encountered” with is an action verb. The prepositional phrases have been crossed out with “experience,” “musicians,” “way,” and “piece” working as objects of the preposition. The subject of the sentence is “all,” a pronoun that is working as a noun. Another Now hold the lamp higher near you head and that pumpkin on the mantle.

18. Now hold the lamp higher near you head and that pumpkin on the mantle. The verb is “hold,” which is an action verb. The prepositional phrases have been crossed out with “head,” and “pumpkin” and “mantle” working as the objects of preposition. The subject is (You) or you understood. Another sentence The car coasted beautifully down the hill but we pushed it up the next hill.

19. The car coasted beautifully down the hill but we pushed it up the next hill. The verbs of the sentence are “coasted” and “pushed.” The prepositional phrases have been crossed out with “hill” working as the object of the preposition in both phrases. The subject “coasted” is “car;” the subject of “pushed” is “we.” Two more sentences to go Did some of you eat more than three of the tacos on this platter?

20. Did some of you eat more than three of the tacos on this platter? Translated into a statement, Some of you did eat more than three of the tacos on this platter. The verb is “did eat,” which is an action verb. The prepositional phrases have been crossed out with “you,” “tacos,” and “platter” working as the objects of preposition. The subject of the sentence is “some,” a pronoun. Last one During the jump send a text message to Margaux and Schuyler before landing.

21. During the jump send a text message to Margaux and Schuyler before landing. The verb of the sentence is “send,” an action verb The prepositional phrases are crossed out with “jump,” Margaux,” “Schuyler,” and “landing.” The subject of the sentence is (You) or you understood. We hope the presentation has given you some confidence in your ability to find subject and objects of the preposition.