Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Smee]

Hi,
I learned this in German class ages ago, but my wikipedia search didn't turn up anything . . .

In a sentence like "John is a teacher," which one is the subject? My memory is hazy, but I thought that both John and teacher could be the subject. Does word order make a difference here?

Thanks.

[Woland]

[Jeweltone]

Think of it as John=teacher (is being =). The left side is the subject, and the right side is the complement.

On a similar note...
I use a simple pair of sentences to clarify Subject Verb Object sentences.

I write:
John kisses Mary.
S V O
(The students giggle)
Then I have them parse it out.

I then write:
Mary slaps John.
S V O

This also works for substituting pronouns, and you can continue the story (John slaps Mary, Mary tells Father, Father beats John, etc. ).

[The Cosmic Hum]

hmm..not sure if this is what you want...
I wonder if you are confusing subject with noun....as they are both nouns.
John is a teacher.
John - is a noun...functioning as the subject.
teacher - is a noun...it is called a predicate nominative...a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and renames or gives more information about the subject...the linking verb describes a condition, not an action...the most common linking verb is to be in its various forms(am, is, was, and were)
Hope this is useful to you

[The Cosmic Hum]

[Woland]

[faster]

Funny, I'd say being called an English teacher in Korea is not a compliment.