Re: Identifying the Subject and Verb
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02 Feb 2016, 11:20
Follow the following steps.
1. Identify the fluff, such as the prepositional phrases, parenthetical elements, as in brackets, between two dashes and between two commas first. Then temporarily strike out them.
2. Then separate them into individual clauses; they can be independent clauses or dependent clauses.
3. The next step is to identify the verbs in each clause. The verb is identified by an action that will be such as ‘is, was, were or have, will be, or is remaining, sing, walk, talk’ etc.
Then ask a question – who or what does or did that action? The answer to this question will give you the subject.
Let us try these steps in your example
Strike the fluff
LONG after the dust settles in Iowa — and New Hampshire, and even the 2016 campaign itself — one question will remain: Why, after decades of supporting the liberal and conservative establishments, did the white middle-class abandon them?
Clauses
1. LONG after the dust settles in Iowa –
2. One question will remain
3. Why did the white middle-class abandon them?
1. The verb in the first clause is ‘settles’ because it is an action in the third person singular, taking the ‘s’ along with the base form ‘settle’
Ask the question: Who or what settles? The dust settles. Therefore,' the dust’ is the subject.
2. The verb in the second clause is ‘will remain’. Will remain is an action in the future tense marked by the auxiliary verb ‘will’
Who or what will remain? One question will remain. Therefore ‘one question' is the subject
3. The verb in the third clause is ‘did abandon’ (abandoned)
Who or what did abandon? The middle class did abandon. Hence, 'the middle class' is the subject.
If you practice this strategy over a period, you will start to identify them swiftly.