a．The framework of the sentence consists of the subject and the verb．A sentence does not exist unless these two parts are present．The subject is the person or thing that the sentence is talking about．A complete subject may be one word or several words．

最基本的句子结构必须包括主语和动词，否则便不能成句。一个完整的句子主语可能是一个词，也可能是几个词的词组。

I received a copy of the agenda this morning．

You should inform your supervisor of the change in the schedule．

Our new training materials will be delivered later today．

The supervisor and her assistant are now on vacation．(The complete subject is the supervisor and her assistant．This is called a compound subject．A compound subject consists of two or more words that are equally important．Usually these words are joined by and，or，or nor．)

b．The verb together with its modifiers and objects or complements is called the predicate．The predicate is that part of the sentence that tells you something about the action，condition，or state of being of the subject．The core of the predicate is the verb which can also be one word or more than one word．

动词及其修饰语以及动词宾语或补足语一道构成句子的谓语。谓语动词通常表明动作或事物所处的状态，其核心可能是一个动词，也可能是动词词组。

I am revising the schedules for the production meeting．

One accountant whom we consulted was especial ly helpful．

The company raised the price due to the rise of labor cost．