Looking at the Parts of a Sentence

To make a proper sentence, you need a subject and a verb — all other components of the sentence are just icing on the cake! Here’s how to break down the parts of a sentence:

• Verb: Expresses an action or state of being.

• Subject: The person or thing being talked about.

• Complement: A word or group of words that completes the meaning of the subject–verb pair.

• Types of complements: Direct and indirect objects, subject complement, object complement.