Except for an interjection when it is meant to stand alone, every complete sentence needs a subject and a predicate. In every complete sentence, there will always be a simple subject and a complete subject, as well as a simple predicate and a complete predicate. Every word in a complete simple sentence is either part of the complete subject or part of the complete predicate.

Simple Subject: The key word in the complete subject. It tells specifically what the sentence is about. It may be one word or a group of words, but it does not include words that modify or describe.

Complete Subject: The part of the sentence that is not the complete predicate. It includes all the words that identify the person, place, thing, or idea the sentence is about. The simple subject is always part of the complete subject.

The simple subject and the complete subject can sometimes be the same.

Simple Predicate: The most important word in the complete predicate. It tells what the subject does or is. It may be one word or several, but it does not include modifying words.

¤    There are 23 helping verbs. They are:

            Forms of be:     am   is   are   was   were   be   been   being
            Forms of do:     do   does   did
            Forms of have:  have   has   had
            Other verbs:     can   will   shall   may   must   could   would   should   might

Complete Predicate: The part of the sentence that is not the complete subject. It includes all the words that tell or ask something about the subject. The simple predicate is always part of the complete predicate.

The simple predicate and the complete predicate can sometimes be the same.