The topic of a text. What the text is about.

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

• A. Subject
• B. Predicate
• C. Topic
• D. Main idea

Answer: (A)

The thing being tested is understanding which part of a sentence names who or what it is about. The subject is that noun or pronoun—the thing the sentence is about; the rest of the sentence (the predicate) tells what the subject does or is like. So when someone says “the topic of a text” or “what the text is about” in a sentence-structure sense, that points to the subject. The other terms don’t fit as precisely: the predicate covers the action or state of the subject, not the topic itself; the main idea refers to the central point of a broader passage rather than a single sentence element; and while topic can mean the subject matter in general, the grammatical label for what a sentence is about is the subject.

The thing being tested is understanding which part of a sentence names who or what it is about. The subject is that noun or pronoun—the thing the sentence is about; the rest of the sentence (the predicate) tells what the subject does or is like. So when someone says “the topic of a text” or “what the text is about” in a sentence-structure sense, that points to the subject. The other terms don’t fit as precisely: the predicate covers the action or state of the subject, not the topic itself; the main idea refers to the central point of a broader passage rather than a single sentence element; and while topic can mean the subject matter in general, the grammatical label for what a sentence is about is the subject.