English Grammar Lessons

Introduction to Sentence Structure

The two fundamental parts of every English sentence are the
subject and the predicate. A simple sentence can also be
described as a group of words expressing a complete thought.
Subjects can be described as the component that performs the
action described by the Predicate.
SUBJECT + PREDICATE = SENTENCE
A simple sentence or independent clause must have a verb. A
verb shows action or state of being. The subject tells who or
what about the verb.
SUBJECT + VERB = SENTENCE
Sentence Structure Vocabulary
The sentence format consists of a subject and a predicate.
The subject names the topic and the predicate tells about the
subject.
A sentence with one subject and one predicate is called
a simple sentence.
The receiver of actions is called the object.
A group of words used as a single value without subject or
predicate is called a phrase.
A clause is a group of words with a subject and predicate.
Principal or independent clauses can form sentences.
A compound sentence contains two or more principal clauses.

A clause which cannot form a sentence is called a dependant

clause.
A complex sentence contains a principal clause and one or
more dependant or subordinate clauses.
A compound-complex sentence contains two principal
clauses and one or more subordinate clauses.
Four Kinds of Sentences
Four kinds of sentences: declarative, imperative,
interrogative, and exclamatory.
1. A declarative sentence makes a statement.
Example: The hockey finals will be broadcast tomorrow.
2. An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a
request.
Example: Pass the puck to the open man.
3. An interrogative sentence asks a question.
Example: Do you know the rules of hockey?
4. An exclamatory sentence shows strong feeling.
Example: Stop that man!
Declarative, imperative, or interrogative sentences can be made
into exclamatory sentences by punctuating them with an
exclamation point.
The Six Basic Sentence Construction Patterns

1. No Verb Complement
The simplest structure is one without a verb complement. In
traditional grammar, all verb complements are either nouns or
adjectives.

Examples 1. Canada wins.

2. Direct Object Verb Complement
The defining characteristic is the presence of a direct object.
Example: Boys love hockey.
3. Indirect and Direct Object Verb Complements
Both indirect and direct objects are present. Indirect objects are
placed immediately after the verb. Direct objects that are noun
phrases follow the indirect object.
Example: Dad gave [(me)(a puck)].
4. Predicate Nominative Verb Complement
The predicate nominative verb complement is a noun or a
pronoun that redefines, renames, or classifies the subject of the
sentence. The verb in a predicate nominative sentence pattern
is always a linking verb, such as be, seem, or become.
Example: He became a coach.
5. Predicate Adjective Verb Complement
The predicate adjective is an adjective that modifies the subject
of the sentence. The verb is always a linking verb, such as be,
seem, smell, look, taste, or become.
Example: The game became difficult.
6.Direct Object and Objective Complement
The verb complements are a direct object and an objective
complement. An objective complement is a noun or an adjective
that occurs after the direct object and describes the direct
object.
Example: The class made [(me)(bilingual)].
SIMPLE SENTENCES AND CONFIGURATIONS

Simple subject and predicate

Example: Fred slept.
Understood subject (for commands, directives)

Example: Sit!
Questions
Examples: What are you throwing?
Interjection
Examples: Man, that hurt!
Compound predicate
The bear howled and scratched ferociously.
Compound subject and predicate
Fred and Mary worked hard and then rested.
Three subjects
John, Fred, and Cameron are working.
Direct object
Ted sent the letter.
Compound direct objects
Ted sent cards and letters.
Three direct objects
Ted sent posters, cards, and letters.
Compound predicate with direct objects
Jessica cooked lunch and ate it.
Compound predicate with one direct object
Sam proofreads and edits his essays.
Indirect object
The teacher gave the children homework.
Compound indirect objects
The teacher gave Tess and Sam quizzes.
Predicate noun

John is a coach.
Objective Complement
Johnny painted his front porch white.
Direct address
Harold, tell the class now.
Adjective
Athletic moves excite the crowd.
Compound adjectives
The little old lady hit the tall and distinguished gentleman.
Predicate adjective
The engine was powerful.
Compound predicate adjectives
The engine was powerful but expensive.
Comparative Adjective
Joe is considerably older than his brother.
Adverb
Fred works quickly.
Adverbs modifying other adverbs
My dog wags its tail quite often.
Compound adverbs
The cat waited patiently and quietly at the door.
Passive Verbs
The ball was kicked.

Elements of Sentence Construction

Subjects and Predicates

Parts of speech have specific tasks to perform when they are put together in a
sentence.
A noun or pronoun functions as the sentence subject when it is paired with
a verb functioning as the sentence predicate.
Every sentence has a subject and predicate.
A subject can be a noun or pronoun that is partnered with an action verb.
Example:

Sometimes a verb will express being or existence instead of action.

Example:

Sometimes we use sentences in which a subject is not actually stated, but is,
nevertheless, understood in the meaning.
Example:

A sentence like this gives an order or a request to someone.

Because we use such statements when we are talking directly to someone, we

omit the word you. It is understood in the sentence. Therefore, in statements like
this one, we say the subject is
you (understood).
This kind of sentence is an imperative sentence.

A predicate is a verb that expresses the subject's action or state of being.

Example:

Sometimes the predicate will be composed of two or three verbs that fit together the main verb preceded by one or more auxiliary (helping) verbs.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To be a predicate, a verb that ends in

-ing must ALWAYS have a helping verb with it. An -ing verb WITHOUT a helping
verb cannot be a predicate in a sentence.

A subject and predicate may not always appear together or in the normal order, as
the following examples show:

Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that
1. does not express a complete thought
2. does not have a subject and predicate pair
One type of phrase is a prepositional phrase.
Examples:

Another kind of phrase is a verbal phrase.

Examples:

Even though these phrases contain nouns (pronouns) and/or verb forms,
none of the nouns/pronouns/verbs are subjects or predicates. None of them
work as apartnership.
Also, these phrases do NOT express complete thoughts.

Clauses
Words and phrases can be put together to make clauses.

A clause is a group of related words that contain a subject and predicate.

Note the difference between phrases and clauses in the following examples:

Only one of the clauses is a sentence.

Clause #1 gives a thought or an idea that is COMPLETE, that can stand by
itself, independent of other words.
However, clause #2 gives an INCOMPLETE thought or idea, one
that cannot stand by itself, one that needs some more words to make it
whole. The word after changes the meaning, making the thought
incomplete. After reading this clause, we are left hanging.

These two clauses illustrate the two kinds of clauses:

independent clauses and dependent clauses
An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject, a
predicate, and a complete thought.
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a
predicate, but does NOT express a complete thought.

Compounding Sentence Elements

Words, phrases, and clauses may be joined to one another inside a
sentence with a conjunction.
The coordinating conjunctions and, but, or, and nor may join subjects,
predicates, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases or dependent clauses
within a sentence. This process is called "compounding."
The following examples show the process of compounding

WORDS

PHRASES

DEPENDENT CLAUSES

When entire independent clauses (simple sentences) are joined this way,
they become compound sentences.

Avoiding Fragments
A complete sentence needs only two elements:
a subject - predicate unit

AND

a complete thought

In other words, a simple sentence is actually the SAME thing as

an independent clause.
Dependent clauses or phrases are called fragments because they are
missing one or more parts needed to make a sentence.

Therefore, they are only pieces or fragments of complete sentences.

Look at these examples:

Avoiding Comma Splices and Fused Sentences

Sometimes two independent clauses (simple sentences) can be joined to
form another kind of sentence: the compound sentence.
Two major errors can occur when constructing compound sentences.
Error #1: The Comma Splice
Writers make this error when they try to separate the two independent
clauses in a compound sentence with a comma alone.
A comma is not a strong enough punctuation mark to separate the two
independent clauses by itself; thus, using it causes the clauses to
be spliced together.
Example of a comma splice:

This sentence can be repaired in three ways:

1. by adding an appropriate coordinating conjunction

2. by changing the comma to a semicolon

3. by changing the punctuation and adding an appropriate conjunctive

adverb

Error #2: The Fused Sentence

Writers make this error by joining two independent clauses into a compound
sentence without using any punctuation between them.
No punctuation between the two independent clauses causes them to "fuse"
into an INCORRECT compound sentence.
Example of a fused sentence:

This sentence is also repaired in three ways:

1. by adding a comma and an appropriate coordinating conjunction

2. by placing a semicolon between the two clauses

3. by adding the needed punctuation and an appropriate conjunctive

adverb

Another way to repair a comma splice or fused sentence is to make each

independent clause into a simple sentence.

Kinds of Sentences and Their Punctuation

A sentence may be one of four kinds, depending upon the number and type(s) of
clauses it contains.
Review:
An independent clause contains a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.

A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but no complete thought.

1. A SIMPLE SENTENCE has one independent clause.

Punctuation note: NO commas separate compound elements (subject, verb,

direct object, indirect object, subjective complement, etc.) in a simple sentence.

2. A COMPOUND SENTENCE has two independent clauses joined by

A. a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so),

B. a conjunctive adverb (e.g. however, therefore), or
C. a semicolon alone.

Punctuation patterns (to match A, B, and C above):

A. Independent clause, coordinating conjunction independent clause.
B. Independent clause; conjunctive adverb, independent clause.
C. Independent clause; independent clause.

3. A COMPLEX SENTENCE has one dependent clause (headed by a

subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun ) joined to an independent clause.

Punctuation patterns (to match A, B, C and D above):

A. Dependent clause, independent clause
B. Independent clause dependent clause

C. Independent,
D. Independent

nonessential dependent clause,

essential dependent clause

clause.

clause.

4. A COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE has two independent clauses joined to

one or more dependent clauses.

Punctuation patterns:
Follow the rules given above for compound and complex sentences.
A compound-complex sentence is merely a combination of the two.

CONNECTORS--COMPOUND AND COMPLEX SENTENCES

Two independent clauses may be joined by
1. Coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS)
2. Conjunctive adverbs

Ic;

therefore,

Ic, and

ic

ic.

A dependent (subordinate) clause may be introduced by

1. Subordinating conjunctions (ADVERB CLAUSE)

Dc, ic. or

2. Relative pronouns (ADJECTIVE CLAUSE) I, dc, c.

or

Ic dc.

I dc c.

3. Relative pronoun, subordinating conjunctions, or adverbs (NOUN CLAUSE)

Sentence patterns
Just about all sentences in the English language fall into ten patterns determined
by the presence and functions of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
The patterns are most easily classified according to the type of verb used:
Verb of being patterns (1, 2, 3) use a form of the verb to be as the main verb in
the sentence.
is

are

was

were

has been

have been

had been

Linking verb patterns (4, 5) use one of the linking verbs as the main verb in the
sentence. The linking verb is followed by a noun or adjective functioning as a
subjective complement.
smell

taste

look

feel

seem

become

appear

grow

Action verb patterns (6, 7, 8, 9, 10) use one of the many action verbs as the
main verb in the sentence. The action verb may be either transitive (take a direct
object) or intransitive (not take a direct object).

see

jump

embrace

write

imagine

buy

plummet

think etc.

Terms used to identify various parts of each sentence pattern include the
following:

NP = noun phrase
This abbreviation refers to a headword noun and its modifiers ("noun
phrase") functioning as a subject, direct object, indirect object, subjective
complement, or objective complement.

NP1, NP2, NP3, etc. = designations for different noun phrase functions
Numbers in sequential order are used with each NP to designate its
difference from or similarity to other NPs before and after it.

V-be = verb of being

LV = linking verb
V-int = intransitive verb
V-tr = transitive verb
ADV/TP = adverbial of time or place
ADJ = adjective

THE TEN SENTENCE PATTERNS

1. NP1 + V-be + ADV/TP

The verb of being is followed by an adverb indicating where or when.

More information
on subjects

The adverbial indicating where or when may be a prepositional phrase.

2. NP1 + V-be + ADJ

The verb of being is followed by an adjective that functions as the subjective
complement.

More information
on subjective complements

The adjectival functioning as the subjective complement may be a prepositional

phrase.

3. NP1 + V-be + NP1

The verb of being is followed by a noun that functions as the subjective

complement.

Note: The second NP receives the same numerical designation as the first
NP because the second NP, the subjective complement, is the same as the subject
(Mr. James = teacher).
4. NP1 + LV + ADJ
The linking verb is followed by an adjective functioning as a subjective
complement.

The adjectival functioning as the subjective complement may be a prepositional

phrase.

5. NP1 + LV + NP1
The linking verb is followed by a noun functioning as a subjective complement.

Note: The second NP receives the same numerical designation as the first NP
because the second NP, the subjective complement, is the same as the subject
(Joan = Buddhist).
6. NP1 + V-int
The action verb takes no direct object.

Even if the action verb is followed by a prepositional phrase, the verb is still
intransitive as long as it does not take a direct object.

7. NP1 + V-tr + NP2

The action verb is followed by a direct object.

More
information on direct objects

Note: The second NP, the direct object, receives a different numerical
designation (NP2) because it is not the same as the subject (NP1).
8. NP1 + V-tr + NP2 + NP3
The action verb is followed by an indirect object and then a direct object.

More information
on indirect objects

Note: The indirect object and the direct object each receive a new numerical
designation because each is different from the other and both are different from the
subject.
9. NP1 + V-tr + NP2 + ADJ
The action verb is followed by a direct object. The direct object is followed by an
adjective functioning as an objective complement.

More information
on objective complements

Note: The second NP, the direct object, receives a different numerical
designation (NP2) because it is not the same as the subject (NP1).
10. NP1 + V-tr + NP2 + NP2
The action verb is followed by a direct object. The direct object is followed by a
noun functioning as an objective complement.

Note: The second NP, the direct object, receives a different numerical
designation (NP2) because it is not the same as the subject (NP1). The third NP,
the objective complement, receives the same numerical designation as the direct
object (NP2) because it is the same as the direct object (Jacobsen = friend).

A simple sentence consists of one independent clause (IC):

The rain fell for three days.
Every street in town was flooded.
The compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses (IC + IC). The two clauses
are usually connected by a coordinating conjunction, of which there are seven and, but, or, nor,
for, so, yet. However, two other patterns exist for the compound sentence. In one of these, a
semicolon and a transitional word or phrase are placed between the two clauses; in the other, only
a semicolon is used between the two clauses.
The rain fell for three days, and every street in town was flooded. (Uses the coordinating
conjunction and)
The rain fell for three days; therefore, every street in town was flooded. (Uses the semicolon and
the transitional word therefore)
The rain fell for three days; every street in town was flooded. (Uses only the semicolon)
The complex sentence consists of one or more dependent clauses and an independent clause.
The dependent clause may precede the independent clause (DC + IC) or may follow it (IC + DC).
[Punctuation Note: When the dependent clause comes first, it is followed by a comma; the only
exception is that the comma may be omitted after a very short introductory clause if omitting it does

not create confusion. When the dependent clause follows the independent clause, no comma is
usually necessary though one may be used occasionally for emphasis, for clarity, or for
underscoring contrast.]
Because the rain fell for three days, every street in town was flooded. (DC + IC}
Every street in town was flooded because the rain fell for three days. (IC + DC)
The compound-complex sentence consists of one or more dependent clauses and two or more
independent clauses. Heres one with an introductory dependent clause, two independent clauses
in the middle, and a closing dependent clause (the dependent clauses are underlined):
Because the rain fell for three days, every street in town was flooded, and people abandoned their
homes as the river overflowed its banks.