The Subject
The subject is usually a noun phrase or a pronoun in the nominative case that typically occurs before the verb in declarative sentences and after the auxiliary verb in “yes-no" interrogative sentences. The subject defines the number and person of the verb, which is particularly clear with the verb "to be" [Kirvalidze, 60].
Syntactic properties as definitional for subjects: agreement of the finite verb with its nominative case in non-copular clauses omitted in infinitival clauses (control) optional in imperatives [Muller, 35].
The subject is the noun phrase or pronoun that precedes the verb or auxiliary in pragmatically neutral clauses [Payne, 172].
There are three types of subjects:
1. Simple Subjects (It’s one person or thing, or one word).
2. Compound Subjects (contain two or more nouns or pronouns).
3. Noun Phrases (group of words that function together as a noun) [4].
⠀ 1. Nino Kirvalidze. (2013). Theoretical Course of English Grammar. Tbilisi: Ilia State University.
⠀ 2. Stefan Müller. (2016). Grammatical theory: From transformational grammar to constraint-based approaches. Berlin: Language Science Press.
⠀ 3. Thomas E. Payne. (2011). Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
⠀ 4. Retrieved from: Your Dictionary https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar/sentences/what-is-the-subject-of-a-sentence.html