How do you find a simple subject in a sentence?
The word that describes what we are talking about is the subject.
"The man read to his son" is a sentence. We are talking about the man. Man is the subject. I hope this helps. One of the English gurus can give a much more elegant answer but this cuts to the heart of the matter.
DrBob222 is exactly right.
Often the complete subject and the simple subject are identical, but not always. In the sentence DrBob gave you, that is the case, but if the sentence read like this, it'd be different.
The tall, gray-haired man read Wind in the Willows to his son for a class assignment.
In that sentence, "the tall, gray-haired man" serves as the complete subject -- that is the simple subject and its modifiers. The word "man," however, is the simple subject.
http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammar/subjpred.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/2947/subjectsandpredicates.html
And here's a quiz to test yourself:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/subjector.htm
=)
To find the simple subject in a sentence, you can follow these steps:
1. Identify the verb: Look for the action or state of being in the sentence. The subject usually performs the action or is the one being described.
2. Ask who or what is performing the action: This is your subject.
3. Determine if there are any modifiers: Sometimes, the subject has modifiers that provide additional information. These can be adjectives, articles, or other descriptive words.
4. Look for the main noun or pronoun: In some cases, the subject may be a noun or pronoun that is not the immediate performer of the action but is still the focus of the sentence.
Remember, the simple subject may be the same as the complete subject, or it may be a smaller component within it.
It is always helpful to refer to grammar resources, such as online tutorials or quizzes, to practice and refine your understanding of identifying simple subjects in sentences.