21st Century Grammar Handbook

with jargon, stilted academic or bureaucratic constructions, or otherwise far less accessible or open than the speaker or writer had intended. Similarly, it is all too common to nd dialect, for instance, in statements that should adhere rigorously to the highest standard of formal English. Not that any single style is inherently wrong or inappropriate. The point is to be sure to find the right style for the right moment.
The safest, most certainly communicative style is usually formal standard English,
especially when it is unclear who the audience fora statement will be. Standard
English is more or less universally understood and accepted in this country, and therefore it is unlikely to seem very out of place under any ordinary circumstances.
See order of words and grammar.
Subject. The word or words that designate the thing or person in a sentence that performs an action or is in a condition is the subject of the sentence Connie dances the polka Connie is the subject of the example sentence.
Subjects can be single or multiple nouns, pronouns, phrases, or clauses. More than one subject in a sentence is called a compound subject. All noun and pronoun subjects are in the nominative case, not marked or changed from the basic or main form of the word (uninflected). See case.
Whatever structure or shape of subject is chosen fora sentence, it must agree with its verbis) and any pronouns that are linked to it in an antecedent relationship (see
agreement). Consistency and parallelism of subjects should also be observed—more or less equivalent subjects should be joined in compounds.
In some sentences, particularly imperative mood commands or requests, the subject is only suggested Shape up The subject of the example is the suggested or implied
“VOM
,” which does not normally appear in imperative constructions. See mood.
NOUN SUBJECTS. Any common noun or proper noun and its modifiers (of whatever length or complexity) can serve as a sentence subject. The underlined words in the following examples are all noun subjects (and their modi ers); note that not all fall at the beginning of the sentences. “Herband Gladys, the couple from Bu alo, spent the night at our house Our house, standing on the banks of the river, holds guests comfortably Throughout the winter, there stands the house, guarding us from the weather, standing sentinel over the water, and giving us and our guests peace of mind Take care that long, complex subjects like some of those in the examples have verbs to complete the sentence and not leave it-a fragment.
PRONOUN SUBJECTS. Here are some examples. The underlined words are the pronoun subjects. He is mowing the lawn She was supposed to mow the lawn, but she is too tired She washed the cars last night when he was tired It is a busy time for

them, but they keep themselves calm We help them out as much as we can.”
PHRASE SUBJECTS. The underlined words are phrase subjects. To err is human”
(infinitive phrase. Standing calmly is the best defense against charging rhinos”
(gerund phrase. In these functions such phrases are said to be “noun phrases.”
CLAUSE SUBJECTS. The underlined words area clause subject. What you are looking for is fool’s gold The whole clause, including its own subject, verb, and object, is the subject of the verb “is.” Like noun phrases, “noun clauses” may contain many other words that do not function as nouns within the subject phrase or clause.

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