English worksheets: SIMPLE AND COMPOUND SUBJECT AND PREDICATE - Free Printable

Let’s go through each sentence one by one. We’re looking for whether the subject is simple or compound, and whether the predicate is simple or compound.

Remember:
- A simple subject = one person/thing doing the action.
- A compound subject = two or more people/things joined by “and” or “or”.
- A simple predicate = one verb (action word).
- A compound predicate = two or more verbs joined by “and”, “but”, etc., all describing what the subject does.

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1. Jane’s English course was very interesting.

→ Subject: “Jane’s English course” → just ONE thing → simple subject
→ Predicate: “was very interesting” → only ONE verb (“was”) → simple predicate

✔ Answer: a. simple subject / simple predicate

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2. Two countries in central Texas were hit by a tornado yesterday night.

→ Subject: “Two countries in central Texas” → still just ONE group (even though it says “two countries”, it’s treated as one unit here) → simple subject
Wait — actually, let’s think again. Is “Two countries” plural? Yes. But is it *compound*? No — compound means two separate subjects joined by “and/or”. Here, it’s just “Two countries” — that’s a single noun phrase with a number. So still simple subject.

→ Predicate: “were hit by a tornado yesterday night” → only ONE verb (“were hit”) → simple predicate

But wait — “were hit” is passive voice, but still one verb phrase.

✔ Actually, this might be tricky. Let me double-check.

Actually, no — “Two countries” is a plural subject, but not compound. Compound would be like “Texas and Oklahoma were hit...”

So yes — simple subject, simple predicate

BUT — hold on! The answer choices don’t have an option for “simple/simple” for #2? Wait, they do — option ‘a’ is simple/simple.

Wait — let me check the original image text again from your upload:

You wrote:

> 2. Two countries in central Texas were hit by a tornado yesterday night.
> a simple
> b compound
> c simple
> d compound
> subject subject predicate predicate

Wait — that formatting is messy. Looking back at your initial problem statement, I see you pasted the text version too.

Actually, re-reading your original input:

The options are labeled per question:

For Q1:
a. simple subject / simple predicate
b. compound subject / simple predicate
c. simple subject / compound predicate
d. compound subject / compound predicate

Same pattern for others.

So for Q2:

Subject: “Two countries in central Texas” → This is a single noun phrase. Even though “countries” is plural, it’s not compound unless there’s “and” between two different nouns. So → simple subject

Predicate: “were hit by a tornado yesterday night” → Only one verb: “were hit” → simple predicate

✔ So answer should be a

But wait — maybe “yesterday night” is part of the predicate? Yes, but it’s adverbial — doesn’t add another verb.

Still simple predicate.

Hmm… but let’s look ahead — maybe I made a mistake.

Wait — perhaps “Two countries” is considered compound? No — standard grammar: compound subject requires coordination (and/or). Example: “Tom and Jerry ran.” → compound subject. “Two boys ran.” → simple subject (plural, but not compound).

So Q2 → a

But let’s keep going — maybe later questions clarify.

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3. Everyone needs some air, fire, or life-sustaining food.

→ Subject: “Everyone” → one pronoun → simple subject

→ Predicate: “needs some air, fire, or life-sustaining food” → only ONE verb: “needs” → even though the object is compound (“air, fire, or food”), the predicate itself has only one verb → so simple predicate

✔ Answer: a. simple subject / simple predicate

Wait — but “needs” is followed by a list — does that make the predicate compound? NO. Compound predicate means multiple verbs. Example: “She sings and dances.” → compound predicate. Here, only “needs”.

So still a

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4. Some girls picked, dried, and stored seeds from the little flowers.

→ Subject: “Some girls” → one group → simple subject

→ Predicate: “picked, dried, and stored seeds...” → THREE verbs: picked, dried, stored → joined by commas and “and” → compound predicate

✔ Answer: c. simple subject / compound predicate

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5. Who can stand up to these big problems?

→ Subject: “Who” → interrogative pronoun → acts as subject → simple subject

→ Predicate: “can stand up to these big problems” → only ONE verb phrase: “can stand up” → modal + main verb, but still counts as one predicate unit → simple predicate

Note: “stand up” is a phrasal verb — still one action.

✔ Answer: a. simple subject / simple predicate

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6. She will ask him to take his dirty clothes.

→ Subject: “She” → one pronoun → simple subject

→ Predicate: “will ask him to take his dirty clothes” → only ONE main verb: “ask” → “to take” is infinitive, part of the object/complement, not a second predicate verb.

In grammar, if the second verb is in infinitive form after certain verbs (like ask, want, tell), it’s not considered a separate predicate — it’s part of the complement.

Example: “I want to eat.” → simple predicate (“want”), because “to eat” is what is wanted, not a separate action performed by the subject.

Similarly here: “She will ask [him] [to take...]” → “ask” is the only predicate verb.

✔ So → a. simple subject / simple predicate

BUT — some might argue that “to take” makes it compound? No — standard rule: compound predicate requires finite verbs (verbs that show tense) connected by conjunctions.

Here, “to take” is non-finite → not counted as separate predicate.

So still a

Wait — let’s confirm with reliable source logic.

Actually, in many school-level grammars, if there’s only one helping/main verb combo, it’s simple predicate.

Yes.

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7. John is finishing the decorations inside the ship right now.

→ Subject: “John” → one name → simple subject

→ Predicate: “is finishing the decorations inside the ship right now” → only ONE verb: “is finishing” (present continuous) → simple predicate

Even though “finishing” is progressive, it’s still one verb phrase.

✔ Answer: a. simple subject / simple predicate

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Wait a minute — almost all answers are ‘a’? That seems odd. Did I misread any?

Let me go back to #2.

#2: “Two countries in central Texas were hit by a tornado yesterday night.”

Is “Two countries” a compound subject? No — unless it said “Country A and Country B”, it’s not compound.

But perhaps in some curricula, plural nouns are mistakenly called compound? Unlikely.

Wait — look at #4: clearly compound predicate → c

Others seem correct.

But let’s check #6 again.

“She will ask him to take his dirty clothes.”

Some teachers might consider “ask... to take” as implying two actions — but grammatically, no. The subject “she” performs only one action: asking. The taking is done by “him”, not by “she”. So predicate for “she” is only “will ask”.

So still simple predicate.

Perhaps the test expects us to count infinitives? I doubt it.

Another thought: in #3, “needs some air, fire, or life-sustaining food” — the object is compound, but predicate is still simple.

I think my analysis is correct.

But let’s list them:

1. a
2. a
3. a
4. c
5. a
6. a
7. a

That seems plausible — most sentences have simple structure except #4 which has three verbs.

Wait — what about #2? “were hit” — is that considered compound? No, “were” is auxiliary, “hit” is main verb — together form one verb phrase.

Unless “hit by a tornado” is seen as two things? No.

Perhaps “yesterday night” adds complexity? No, it’s time adverb.

I think it’s fine.

But let me check online or recall standard examples.

Actually, upon second thought — in sentence #2, “Two countries” — if we interpret strictly, “countries” is plural, but still not compound subject. Compound subject must have coordinating conjunction.

Example from grammar sites:

Simple subject: Dogs bark. (plural, but simple)

Compound subject: Dogs and cats bark.

So #2 is simple subject.

Similarly, predicate: “were hit” — one verb phrase.

So I’ll stick with my answers.

Final Answers:

1. a
2. a
3. a
4. c
5. a
6. a
7. a

But wait — looking back at your original text, for question 2, the options are listed as:

"a simple
b compound
c simple
d compound
subject subject predicate predicate"

This suggests that for each question, the first two options are for subject (a=simple, b=compound), next two for predicate (c=simple, d=compound)? Or is it paired?

No — in your initial paste, for Q1 it's:

"a. simple subject / simple predicate
b. compound subject / simple predicate
c. simple subject / compound predicate
d. compound subject / compound predicate"

And same for others — so each letter corresponds to a pair.

In your text for Q2, you wrote:

"2. Two countries in central Texas were hit by a tornado yesterday night.
a simple
b compound
c simple
d compound
subject subject predicate predicate"

This seems like a formatting error in your paste — probably meant to be same as Q1: a,b,c,d as pairs.

Because otherwise it doesn't make sense.

Looking at the image description you provided initially, it's clear that each question has four options: a, b, c, d, each being a combination.

So I'll assume that for all questions, the options are:

a. simple subject / simple predicate
b. compound subject / simple predicate
c. simple subject / compound predicate
d. compound subject / compound predicate

Therefore, my answers stand.

But let me verify #6 once more.

"She will ask him to take his dirty clothes."

If we parse: Subject = She
Verb = will ask
Object = him
Complement = to take his dirty clothes

The predicate is "will ask him to take his dirty clothes" — but the core verb is "ask". The infinitive "to take" is not a predicate verb for the subject "she"; it's what she asks him to do.

So predicate is simple.

Similarly, in "He wants to leave", predicate is simple ("wants").

So yes.

One last check: #5 "Who can stand up to these big problems?"

Subject: Who
Predicate: can stand up to these big problems

"Can stand up" — modal + phrasal verb — still one predicate unit.

Yes.

So final answers:

1. a
2. a
3. a
4. c
5. a
6. a
7. a

But this feels suspicious — why would only one be different? Maybe I missed something in #2 or #3.

Wait — #3: "Everyone needs some air, fire, or life-sustaining food."

Is "air, fire, or food" making the predicate compound? No — the verb is still only "needs". The objects are compound, but that doesn't affect the predicate type.

Predicate refers to the verb(s), not the objects.

So still simple predicate.

Perhaps in #2, "were hit" — if "hit" is considered past participle and "were" is auxiliary, still one verb phrase.

I think it's correct.

Maybe the intended answer for #2 is different? Let's think differently.

Another approach: sometimes "two countries" could be seen as compound if interpreted as "country A and country B", but without explicit "and", it's not.

In standardized tests, "Two dogs ran" is simple subject.

So I'll go with it.

Final Answer:

1. a
2. a
3. a
4. c
5. a
6. a
7. a

But to match the format, since the user expects boxed answer, and it's multiple choice per question, I'll write them out.

Actually, the instruction says: "Final Answer: [Provide only the final correct answer]"

Since there are 7 questions, I need to provide all 7 answers.

Probably as a list.

So:

Final Answer:
1. a
2. a
3. a
4. c
5. a
6. a
7. a