In Predicates^x, Intonations^x

Hello Tallulah The grammatical subject of a sentence isn't necessarily the same as the "subject matter". In this sentence, for instance – 1. My girlfriend ran off with the milkman. – the grammatical subject of the sentence is "my girlfriend"; the predicate is "ran off with the milkman"; and...

I like your predicate/subject idea, Guest. But I'd agree with MrM: there doesn't seem to be a reliable rule. Even a scan through my own synapses has revealed inconsistencies: 1. 'I'm going round Mister Micawber's tonight.' 'Me too!' 2. 'She's a very pretty girl.' 'She's smart, too.' 3....

"Also" is what some authors call a "focusing adjunct" (rather than an "intensifier"). When it appears between the subject and the predicate (as it does in "I also threw the ball"), it can usually focus on more than one parf ot the sentence, and the part focused is marked easily in actual speech...