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complexes the predicative relation in clauses is expressed explicitly in the grammatical forms of the subject and
the predicate.
I don’t know what you mean.
She came when nobody was in.
Levels of syntactical analysis
§ 39. Within the sentence we usually distinguish two syntactical levels of analysis, one belonging to the
sentence proper, which is called the sentence level, and one belonging to various phrases treated as a whole and
functioning in the sentence with the same force as separate words. This level is called the phrase level.
The subject and the predicate belong to the sentence level only. The object, the adverbial modifier, the
attribute, and the apposition may belong either to the sentence level or to the phrase level.
He did not tell me anything about it. (Me, anything, about it are objects to the verb-predicate - the
sentence level.)
You are unhappy about something, aren’t you? (About something is an object to the predicative unhappy,
which is part of the predicate - the sentence level.)
He will come tomorrow. (Tomorrow is an adverbial modifier to the verb-predicate - the sentence level.)
You seem very tired. (Very is an adverbial modifier to the adjective tired, which is part of the predicate –
the sentence level.)
Poor Amy could not answer. (Poor is an attribute to the noun, which is the subject - the sentence level.)
In other cases objects, adverbial modifiers, attributes and appositions are included in various phrases within
which they are not usually treated separately, the whole phrase functioning as part of the sentence on the
sentence level.
He insisted on going by train. (On going by train is an object to the verb-predicate - the sentence level;
within the phrase on going by train we distinguish an adverbial modifier by train referring to the word-
form going - the phrase level.)
When analysing a sentence we deal mainly with the sentence level
only, unless it is necessary for some
reason to state the syntactical relations between the words within a phrase.
The subject
§ 40. Every English sentence but the one-member and the imperative one must have a subject. The subject is
one of the two main parts of the, sentence. The most important feature of the subject in English is that in
declarative sentences it normally comes immediately before the predicate, whereas in
questions its position is immediately after an operator. It means that in English sentences
any word or words which occur in these positions are to be treated as the subject of the sentence.
The subject determines the form of the verbal part of the predicate as regards its number and person.
Ways of expressing the subject
§ 41. The subject is expressed by:
1. A noun in the common case (including substantivized adjectives and participles) or a
nominal phrase with a noun.
The fog is thinning.
Science is not omnipotent.
The blue of the sky deepened visibly.
The dying must be left in peace.
From Marlow up to Sonning is even fairer yet.