BASIC SENTENCES STRUCTURE

Basic Sentence Structure  There are five basic patterns around which most English sentences are built.* They are as follows: S-V Subject-Verb John sleeps. Jill is eating. Jack will arrive next week. S-V-O Subject-Verb-Object I like rice. She loves her job. He’s eating an orange. S-V-Adj Subject-Verb-Adjective He is funny. The workers are lazy. Karen seems angry. S-V-Adv Subject-Verb-Adverb Jim is here. Flowers are everywhere. No one was there. S-V-N Subject-Verb-Noun She is my mom. The men are doctors. Mr. Jones is the teacher. At the heart of every English sentence is the Subject-Verb relationship. Other elements can be added to make a sentence more interesting, but they are not essential to its formation. The following sentences are examples of the S-V pattern. She sleeps. Core sentence She sleeps soundly. An adverb is added to describe how she sleeps. She sleeps on the sofa. A prepositional phrase is added to tell where she sleeps. She sleeps every afternoon. A time expression is added to tell when she sleeps. She is sleeping right now. Verb tense is changed, but S-V relationship remains the same. Mary will sleep later. Subject is named and another tense is used. The dogs are sleeping in the garage. New subject may require a different form of the verb. Note: Any action verb can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-O pattern. They like rice. Core sentence The people like rice. Specific subject The friendly people like rice. Subject modified with an adjective The people in the restaurant like rice. Subject modified with an adjective The people like boiled rice. Object modified with an adjective The people like hot, white rice. Object modified with more than one adjective Note: Only transitive action verbs can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adj pattern. He is fine. Basic sentence with “be” verb He seems happy. Basic sentence with another linking verb Jordan is tall, dark and handsome. Series of adjectives He appears very comfortable. Adverb or intensifier added George became sick last night. Different tense and linking verb Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adv pattern: The teacher is here. Basic sentence The teacher is over there. Using an adverb phrase Teachers are everywhere. Plural noun and verb used The teachers are in the lobby. Prepositional phrase functioning as adverb Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern. The following sentences are examples of the S-V-N pattern. The man is a doctor. Basic sentence The women are doctors. Using plural noun and verb My father is a nice guy. Modified subject and complement My grandparents are senior citizens. Modified plural subject and complement Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern. *Other, less common structures are dealt with in another unit. Sentence Structure and Punctuation Basic English Sentence Structures S – VS – V – OS – V – IO – DO Jack is sleeping. Jack ate an apple. Jack gave Jill a ring. S – LV – Adj. S – LV – AdvS – LV – Noun Jack is sick. Jack is here.Jack is a doctor. Combinations: One verb or one subject (no comma) S V S and S V S V and V S V O and O S and S V O and O Jack is drinking. Jack and Jill are drinking. Jack is eating and drinking. Jack drinks coffee and tea. Jack and Jill drink tea and coffee. Combinations: Two subjects, two verbs Subordination (One idea is stronger.) Jack drinks coffee although Jill drinks tea. (without a comma) Although Jack drinks coffee, Jill drinks tea. (with a comma) Coordination (equal ideas, with coordinator: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) Jack is drinking, and Jill is eating. (A comma [,] is needed here.) Jack drinks coffee, but Jill drinks tea. (closest connection between ideas) Closely related ideas (without coordinator) Jack drinks coffee; Jill drinks tea. (A semi-colon [;] is used here.) Jack drinks coffee; however, Jill drinks tea. (with a sentence connector) Separate sentences (strongest break between ideas) Jack drinks coffee. Jill drinks tea. (Use a period [.] to separate complete sentences.) Jack drinks coffee. However, Jill drinks tea. (with a sentence connector) Jack drinks coffee. Jill, however, drinks tea. (variation) Note:Do not use subordinators and coordinators to connect ideas in the same sentence: Although Jack drinks coffee, but Jill drinks tea. Jack drinks coffee, but Jill drinks tea. Although Jack drinks coffee, Jill drinks tea. Clauses and Phrases Clauses consist of a Subject and Verb and sometimes a subordinating conjunction. Roger went to Japan last summer. After he went to Japan, Roger went to Korea. Roger is the man who went to Japan last summer. Whoever went to Japan had a great time. (Independent clause) (Adverbial clause) (Relative clause) (Noun clause) Phrases are groups of words without a complete subject or verb. After Japan, Roger went to Korea. After going to Japan, Roger went to Korea. Having gone to Japan, Roger went to Korea. (Prepositional phrase) (Participial phrase) (Participial phrase) Some clauses can be reduced to phrases by omitting certain words: The man who is going to Japan is Roger. The man going to Japan is Roger. "When he was traveling to Japan, Roger met Lori. When traveling to Japan, Roger met Lori. When he was in Japan, Roger ate sashimi. When in Japan, Roger ate sashimi. In Japan, Roger ate sashimi. (Relative clause) (Reduced) (Adverbial clause) (Reduced) (Adverbial clause) (Reduced) (Prepositional phrase)