Question

Identify the subject in the following sentence:
On the topmost shelf of that cupboard are lying several books written by them.
A) On the topmost shelf of that cupboard
B) On the topmost shelf
C) Several books
D) Them

Answer 1

Hint: The subject is the part of the sentence that talks about the main theme or character. It mentions the noun or the pronoun that is performing the task. Another part of the sentence is known as a predicate.

Complete answer:
Let us analyze each option one by one:
Option A is ‘on the topmost shelf of that cupboard’. This part of the sentence does not talk about what is the main character of this sentence. Therefore, option A is not the correct answer.
Option B is ‘on the topmost shelf’. This part of the sentence also does not fulfill the conditions mentioned in the hint. Therefore, option B is also incorrect.
Option C is ‘several books’. The phrase several books denote the subject. This is because, in the sentence, we are talking about the location of the books. Therefore, according to the hint, option C is possibly the correct answer.
Option D is ‘them’. ‘Them’ is a pronoun and here in the given sentence, it is not replacing the main character or the subject. Therefore, option D is also an incorrect option.
So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note:
 It is not important that the subject of the sentence will be mentioned in starting only. The subject can be in the middle or at the end of the sentence as well as in this case. Therefore, the sentence needs to be keenly analyzed to identify the correct answer.