Subject and verb finder
Paste a sentence or a short paragraph. The tool highlights the subject and the verb in each sentence and names the tense.
How to use the subject and verb finder
- Type or paste your text. Click the text box and enter a sentence or a short paragraph. You can use up to 5,000 characters.
- Click Find subject and verb. You can also press Ctrl+Enter. To see a sample first, click Try an example.
- Read the highlighted sentence. The subject has a teal highlight with a solid underline. The verb has an amber highlight with a dashed underline.
- Check the breakdown. Under each sentence you see the complete subject, the simple subject, the verb phrase, the helping and main verbs, the tense and the base form of the verb. Click Clear to start again.
How the tool works
The tool follows the same steps you would use by hand, and it runs entirely in your browser.
1. It splits your text into sentences and clauses. A clause is a group of words with its own subject and verb. Words such as because, when, although, and and but often start a new clause, so a sentence like “Although it was raining, we walked to the market” is analyzed as two clauses.
2. It finds the verb. The tool checks each word against a built-in list of common verbs, including irregular forms such as went and eaten, and against helping verbs such as is, has, will and can. It uses the words around each candidate to tell verbs from nouns, so “The play started” and “They play football” are read differently. Infinitives such as “to go” and “-ing” words used as nouns are not treated as the main verb.
3. It builds the verb phrase. If helping verbs come before the main verb, as in “has been studying,” the tool groups them together and labels the helping and main parts.
4. It finds the subject. In most sentences the subject is the group of words before the verb. The tool also handles the special cases:
- In questions, the subject sits between the helping verb and the main verb: “Does your teacher give homework?”
- In commands, the subject “you” is understood but not written: “Close the door.”
- In sentences that start with “There is” or “There are,” the real subject comes after the verb.
5. It names the tense. The tense comes from the helping verbs and the verb form, for example present perfect continuous, past simple or future perfect. A passive sentence such as “The cake was baked” is labeled as passive voice.
The tool uses grammar rules, not artificial intelligence, so it can misread very unusual sentences, rare verbs and words that work as both nouns and verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What is the subject of a sentence?
The subject is the person, animal, thing or idea that the sentence is about. It usually does the action or is described by the verb. In “The dogs barked,” the subject is “the dogs.”
What is the verb of a sentence?
The verb tells what the subject does or what the subject is. It can be an action word like run or write, or a linking verb like is, seems or became. In “She has been working,” the verb phrase is “has been working.”
What is the difference between a simple subject and a complete subject?
The simple subject is the main noun or pronoun. The complete subject is the simple subject plus the words that describe it. In “The tired dogs barked,” the simple subject is “dogs” and the complete subject is “The tired dogs.”
What is the subject in a command?
In a command such as “Close the door,” the subject is “you,” but it is not written. The tool shows “you (understood)” for these sentences.
Can a sentence have more than one subject and verb?
Yes. A compound or complex sentence has more than one clause, and each clause has its own subject and verb. In “I stayed home because it rained,” the first clause has the subject “I” and the verb “stayed,” and the second has the subject “it” and the verb “rained.” The tool analyzes each clause separately.
Does the tool work on questions?
Yes. In a question the helping verb comes before the subject, as in “Does your teacher give homework?” The tool finds the subject “your teacher” and the verb phrase “does give.”
Is the subject and verb finder always accurate?
No. The tool uses grammar rules and a built-in word list, not artificial intelligence. Unusual sentences, rare verbs and words that can be both nouns and verbs, such as “play” or “work,” may be misread, so check the result against the sentence.
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. The analysis runs in your browser, and your text is not sent to a server. The tool is free to use.