Subject vs complete subject in a particular sentence

Hi people, newbie here - so pardon me if I make rookie mistakes and feel free to point me to another subforum if need be. I've got a fairly basic question (or so I think) about a sentence which is teasing me:

Subject

”telling someone they smell good” (complete subject)
”someone” (simple subject)

Verb

"is" (not nice)

It that analysis correct? How should I deal with a sentence like that?

You haven't given a sentence, CuriousJoe. Not obviously, anyway.

Telling someone they smell good is not nice.

Is this what you're asking about?

Make sure you tell us what exactly you want to analyse and why. What are your aims?

jutfrank said:

You haven't given a sentence, CuriousJoe. Not obviously, anyway.

Telling someone they smell good is not nice.

Is this what you're asking about?

Make sure you tell us what exactly you want to analyse and why. What are your aims?

Click to expand...

Correct, that is the sentence I want to analyze ("Telling someone they smell good is not nice"). Why? Because I don't feel altogether confident when it comes to complete subjects (e.g. understanding the concept of complete subjects). Should I have put the question into the "ask a teacher" category?

CuriousJoe said:

Should I have put the question into the "ask a teacher" category?

Click to expand...

No, it's in the right place here.

Because you're a new member, we must consider the possibility that your question is part of an academic assignment. We don't answer questions that are. Also, giving us an idea of what your aims are can really help us answer more usefully.

Telling someone they smell good is not nice.

The blue part is the sentence subject. The red part is the predicate. The word in bold is the main verb, which in this case is a linking verb.

CuriousJoe said:

How should I deal with a sentence like that?

Click to expand...

NOT A TEACHER



My teachers taught me that one way to find the subject is to find the predicate first.

What "is not nice"? Answer: "Telling someone [that] they smell good."

*****


I think that another way that native speakers might phrase your sentence would be: "It is not nice to tell someone [that] they smell good." In such a sentence, it is a little more difficult to find the complete subject.

What "is not nice"? Answer: "It."
What is "it"? Answer: "To tell someone [that] they smell good."

Therefore, the complete subject is "It (to tell someone [that] they smell good)."