Monday, March 21, 2011

English Sentence Structure

English Sentence Structure
A sentence is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate and
expresses a complete thought. It describes an action or states a condition of a
person, a place, a thing, or an idea. Depending on the purpose of a sentence, it
may be classified into one of four categories: declarative, interrogative,
imperative, or exclamatory.
A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a period. An
interrogative sentence asks a uestion and ends with a uestion mark. An
exclamatory sentence shows strong feeling and ends with an exclamation point.
An imperative sentence gives an order or makes a reuest. A mild command or
reuest ends with a period, but a strong command or reuest ends with an
exclamation point. !ome imperative sentences take the form of .uestions but are
actually mild commands or polite reuests. !uch sentences end with periods.
DECLARATIVE "arim took the bus to school this
morning.
INTERROGATIVE #hen does your driver$s license expire,
%olly&
EXCLAMATORY 'he barn is on fire(
IMPERATIVE )ass the cauliflower to me, please.
*et your football out of my garden immediately( !tan, will you please mail this
letter when you go downtown.
Subjects n! Pre!ictes
!imple !ubjects:
+very sentence has a subject and a predicate. 'he simple subject is the
noun or pronoun that names the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is
about. 'he simple subject does not include modifiers. 'he complete subject
consists of the simple subject and its modifiers. In this book the term subject
refers to the simple subject. In the following sentences, the simple subject is in
boldface type.
'he officer directing traffic told us to move on.
'he one in the middle was the least expensive.
Does a victory in the championship game mean that much to you&
'he simple subject of an imperative sentence is always you. ,ften, you is
understood rather than stated.
"halid, please practice your yodeling outside. -'hink: "halid, you please
practice..
C"#$"un! Subjects. A compound subject is a simple subject that
consists of two or more nouns or pronouns of eual rank. 'he term compound
subject refers to a compound simple subject.
!everal white hens, a large sheep, and a rabbit with beautiful feathers wandered
through the barnyard. -%ens, sheep, and rabbit form the compound subject..
Si#$le Pre!ictes
'he verb or verb phrase that describes the action or states the condition of
the subject is the simple predicate. 'he /simple predicate does not include
modifiers and words that complete the meaning of the verb. 'he complete
predicate includes all such modifiers and complements. 'he simple predicate
does not include the adverb not or never, but the complete predicate does. In this
book the term predicate refers to the simple predicate. In the following sentences,
the simple predicate is in boldface type.
0ashida tried hard to control her temper.
Sub Pred.
Sub Pred
)erhaps you sh"ul! !"$t a new strategy.
Pred. Sub Pred
%ave 0ahat1s friends been t"l! of his decision&
C"#$"un! Pre!ictes% A compound predicate is a simple predicate that
consists of two or more verbs or verb phrases of eual rank. 'he term compound
predicate refers to a compound simple predicate.
#ith tilled the earth, planted several kinds of seeds, and watered our new
garden. -'illed, planted, and watered form the compound predicate..
C"#$lete Subjects n! C"#$lete Pre!ictes&
'he C"#$lete subject consists of the simple subject and off of the words
that modify it or identify it.
A llrge gust "' (in! carried the flag away. -A, large, and of wind
modify gust, which is the simple subject..
Our ')"urite $lce '"r )cti"n* Murree* has become uite popular.
-,ur, favourite, and for vacations modify place, the simple subject.
The #+"r n! the #nger "n the l"cl '""tbll te# will help
open the new mall. -'he complete subject contains the compound simple subject,
mayor and manager..
'he C"#$lete $re!icte consists of the simple predicate and all of the
words that modify it or complete its meaning.
'he first two runners cr"sse! the 'inish line si#ultne"usl+% -2inish
line is the direct object of crossed, which is the simple predicate, !imultaneously
modifies crossed..
he sun rese#ble! re! !is, s it (ent !"(n be+"n!the h"ri-"n%
-'he complete predicate includes an adverb clause as it went down beyond the
hori3on. A red disk completes the meaning of resembled..
)eople coming to the play this evening cn either #,e reser)ti"ns
b+ $h"ne "r bu+ tic,et t the b". "''ice% -Included in the complete
predicate is the compound simple predicate, can make and buy.4
Plce#ent "' Subjects n! Pre!ictes&
5ou will find subjects and predicates arranged in a variety of ways in
sentences. 'he placement of the subject and the predicate often depends on the
purpose of the sentence. In the sentences that follow, the complete subjects are
underlined once and the complete predicates, twice.
DECLARATIVE SENTENCES&
A flock of honking geese flew above us toward )akistan. -'he subject
precedes the predicate. 2lock, not geese, is the subject..
'here will be no exceptions to the rules. -'he sentence has inverted word
order, meaning that the subject follows the predicate..
Across the bridge marched the soldiers. -'he sentence has inverted word order..
Although she had not been chosen to go to the state science fair, twelve/
year/old 0ehana was proud of the science project that she had done. -'he subject
appears between the two parts of the predicate..
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE/
%ave you ever driven a tractor trailer down a narrow street& -'hink: you
have ever driven..
IMPERATIVE SENTENCE&
6ock the cellar door before you go to bed. -'hink: 5ou lock the cellar door.
'he entire imperative sentence is the complete predicate because the subject you
is implied..
EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES&
'he circus is coming to town(
#hat a great singer 7oor 8ahan is(
C"#$le#ents&
A complement is a word or a group of words that completes the meaning of
the predicate. 9omplements are always part of the complete predicate.
%afee3 became a researcher in a computer laboratory. %afee3 became
what& 0esearcher. 0esearcher is a complement..
#e enjoyed the hospitality of the 8amils this summer. -#e enjoyed what&
%ospitality. %ospitality is a complement..
If the preceding sentences did not have complements, their meaning would
be incomplete.
%afee3 becam :became what&4
#e enjoyed. :+njoyed what&4
'his unit covers three types of complements: objects, objective
complements, and subject complements.
Object&
,bjects are nouns or pronouns that follow action verbs in the active voice.
'here are two kinds of objects: direct objects and indirect objects.
Direct Objects&
A direct object is a noun or a pronoun that follows an action verb in the
active voice and receives the action of the verb. It answers the uestion #hat& or
#hom& ;erbs that take direct objects are called transitive verbs. <odifiers are
not part of the object.
'he new streetlights sent a flood of light over the expressway. :!ent what&
2lood4
8avaid opened the door to the closet, grabbed a hanger, and hung his coat
on it.
In!irect Objects&
An indirect object is a noun or a pronoun that names the person or thing to
whom or for whom an action is performed. An indirect object follows an action
verb in the active voice. In most cases an indirect object is used with a direct
object. 'he indirect object comes immediately after the verb and before the direct
object.
'he tumble that Ali took gave an ugly bruise on his knee. -'hink: 'he
tumble gave a bruise to him..
7asir1s teammates awarded him the game ball for his good performance in
the game. -'hink: %is teammates awarded :to4 him the game ball..
C"#$"un! Objects% 6ike subjects and verbs, objects may be compound. A
compound object consists of two or more objects that complete the same
predicate.
C"#$"un! Direct Object&
I noticed a new library and a new auditorium on my trip through town.
C"#$"un! In!irect Object&
%ave you written 0aheel and 0ahat a letter thanking them for your
birthday presents&
Objecti)e C"#$le#ents&
An objective complement is a noun or an adjective that follows a direct
object and explains, identifies, or describes that object. ,nly certain verbs take an
objective complement: make, find, think, elect, choose, appoint, name, consider,
call and synonyms of these verbs.
N"un s Objecti)e C"#$le#ent&
'he committee considered !aeed the best person for )rincipalship.
-)erson is the objective complement of the verb, considered. It identifies the
direct object, !aeed..
A!jecti)e s Objecti)e C"#$le#ent&
<ost critics thought the play uite interesting. -Interesting is the objective
complement of the verb, thought. It described the direct object, play..
A sentence may have a compound objective complement, which consists of
two or more objective complements.
;isitors throughout the years have found <urree varied, tradition/filled,
and colorful. -'he adjectives varied, tradition/filled, and colourful and objective
complements..
Subject C"#$le#ents&
A subject complement is a word that comes after a linking verb and
identifies or describes the subject. !ubject complements often follow forms of the
verb be. ,ther verbs that may take subject complements are in the following list.
appear look sound
become remain stay
feel seem taste
grow smell
'here are two kinds of subject complements: predicate nominatives and
predicate adjectives.
Pre!icte N"#inti)es&
A predicate nominative is a noun or a pronoun that follows a linking verb
and identifies the subject of the sentence. 'he root of the word nominative is
nominate, which means =to name.> In a sense the predicate nominative renames
the subject.
2or the last two summers, "han has been a lifeguard at the pool.
-6ifeguard identifies the subject, "han..
0asheed has remained a force of stability in the company. -2orce identifies
the subject, 0asheed..
'his field will be a playground, a tennis court, or a parking lot. -'he
sentence has a compound predicate nominative: playground, tennis court, and
parking lot..
Pre!icte A!jecti)es&
A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and
modifies the subject of the sentence.
'he scenes of !wat remain uite beautiful in spite of increasing numbers of
visitors. -?eautiful modifies the subject, scenes..
'he air near the factory smelled faintly acrid. -Acrid modifies the subject,
air..
'he tree in the font yard has grown tall and straight. -'he sentence has a
compound predicate adjective: tall and straight..