A subject is the person, place, quality, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. Every sentence needs a subject.

Asking yourself, "Who or what is this sentence mainly about?" is one way to find the subject of a sentence. Some people find it easier to identify the verb first, then the subject that belongs to the verb. Use whichever method works best for you.

Here are some tips for finding subjects:

Tip 1: The subject will never be part of a prepositional phrase.
        Example:Some people become addicted to the Internet.
Tip 2: When a subject has two or more parts, usually joined with and, or or nor, we call it a compound subject.
        Example: Racial tension and welfare fraud are unwelcome factors in society.
Neither the judge nor the jury showed mercy for the defendant.
Tip 3: The subject in a question will follow the verb or be found between verb parts.
        Example: How far is the casino from Toronto?
Will you meet me at the cafeteria for lunch?
Tip 4: The subject in a command is seldom written, but it will always be the word you.
        Example: Don’t (you) forget to order the office supplies this week.
Tip 5: When There or Here begin a sentence, the subject will be after the verb.
        Example: Here are the missing cheques.
Tip 6: Some subjects look like verbs, but they are not. These false verbs end in -ing and have no helper verb to make them full verbs. Sometimes these subjects will be a group of words.
        Example: Investing in the black market is against the law.
Gambling can easily become an addiction for some people.