It's the verb's job to describe these things. A verb denotes action or state of being. Sorry, I don't remember the cute little Schoolhouse Rock song for verbs, so you'll have to settle for the dry definition. Let's look at those examples again, with the verbs set off in italics. Mrs. Jacobi drove to work.
Mt. Hood is in Oregon.
The deer trampled our grass. On the other hand, Mt. Hood simply is. Now there's a simple sentence for you. Not all sentences are simple, though. The following examples are meant to help you learn how to pick out the bare bones subject and predicate from complex sentences.