Elements of a Sentence A sentence is a group of words that are put together to mean something.

. A sentence is the basic unit of language which expresses a complete thought. It does this by following the grammatical rules of syntax. e.g. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon. A complete sentence has at least a subject and a main verb to state (declare) a complete thought. Short example: Walker walks. A subject is the noun that is doing the main verb. The main verb is the verb that the subject is doing. In English and many other languages, the first word of a written sentence has a capital letter. At the end of the sentence there is a full stop or full point (American: 'period'). The basic parts of a sentence fall into two categories: the subject and the predicate. Know them well, because you cant have a sentence without them. The subject performs the action of the sentence. It can be a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause. To analyze sentences, grammarians have distinguished three kinds of subjects: Complete Subject The old, dusty books on the table havent been read in years. The complete subject includes the entire noun phrase usually everything before the verb. Simple Subject books. The simple subject is the main noun or pronoun stripped of all modifiers. Compound Subject The cowardly mailman and the huge, barking dog didnt get along very well. A compound subject consists of two or more subjects linked together by conjunctions. Note: the simple subject of that sentence would be mailman and dog. As with subjects, predicates can be classified as complete predicates, simple predicates, and compound predicates. The simple predicate, or verb, is the main word or word group that tells something about the subject. e.g. Many people will listen with interest to facts about bugs. The complete predicate consists of a verb and all the words that modify the verb and complete its meaning. e.g. Many people will listen with interest to facts about bugs.

The object is the receiver of the action in a sentence: He broke the table or He threw the ball. Like subjects, objects can be any word or group of words functioning as a noun, and each type of object can also be categorized as a complete, simple, or compound object. Categorized by their different functions within a sentence, the three types of objects are: Direct Object I wrote a letter. (What did I write? A letter.)

 Indirect Object I wrote a letter to my friend. (Who did I write a letter to? My friend.) Prepositional Object I wrote on the paper. (What did I write on?The paper.) Object Complement I painted my room purple. The object complement modifies the direct object, either by describing it or renaming it (They elected him governor). Object complements can cause some confusion; check out this Pain in the English post. Also see Wikipedias note on Object Complements. Adjective Complement He was happy to help. The adjective complement is a special case in which a group of words modifies an adjective. If removed, the adjective complement leaves a grammatically complete sentence, but the meaning of the sentence changes. Verb Complement Some grammarians use the term verb complement to refer to direct and indirect objects (see the Objects section above), while others use it to refer to a complement occuring after a linking verb (a subject complement). An adverbial is an adverb, adverbial phrase, or adverbial clause: any word or group of words that acts as an adverb within a sentence. They usually modify verbs, but they can also modify the whole sentence. Unlike an adverbial complement (He is in the house), an adverbial isnt needed to complete a sentence (He had lunch in the house or He had lunch).

Principles of a sentence construction Centuries of foreign influence has made English quite a convoluted language. Sentence structure, however, remains fairly elemental. There are four possible kernel constructions that writers use in English: subject-verb (intransitive), subject-verb (transitive)-object, subjectlinking verb-predicate noun, and subject-linking verb predicate adjective. If a writer can master an understanding of these four building blocks of syntax, she can avoid such problems that hinder good writing as sentence fragments and run-on sentences. Principles of a sentence construction: Subject-Verb The simplest English sentence construction contains a simple subject and verb. The shortest verse in the Bible is an example of this: e.g. "Jesus wept." (John 11:35). (Here there is a "doer" and something "being done." That is all that is needed to express a complete thought in English. In regular grammar, the subject comes first, followed by the verb.)

 Some verbs, however, require an object. They are known as transitive verbs. These verbs, such as hit, throw, and take, cannot stand alone with only the action. Not only is there a "doer" in the sentence performing the action, but there is also a "receiver" on the other end. A simple example of this type of construction is: e.g. "The batter hit the ball." (In this sentence, the batter is performing the action and the ball is the recipient of the action. The verb "hit" cannot stand by itself and still convey a complete thought.) Principles of a sentence construction: Subject-Verb-Object Some verbs, however, require an object. They are known as transitive verbs. These verbs, such as hit, throw, and take, cannot stand alone with only the action. Not only is there a "doer" in the sentence performing the action, but there is also a "receiver" on the other end. A simple example of this type of construction is: e.g. "The batter hit the ball." (In this sentence, the batter is performing the action and the ball is the recipient of the action. The verb "hit" cannot stand by itself and still convey a complete thought.) Principles of a sentence construction: Subject-Linking Verb-Predicate Noun Not all verbs are "action" verbs. Some verbs, known as linking verbs, express states of being or feelings. In this case, the verb in the sentence "links" the subject with some other word in the predicate of the sentence in order to complete the thought. In one instance, the linking verb can "rename" the subject with some other more specific noun. e.g. "The woman is a nurse." (Here the linking verb takes its usual variation of the verb "to be" and links a non-specific subject with a noun in the predicate that gives clarity to the subject.) Principles of a sentence construction: Combining and "Dressing Up" Writing would be pretty dull, however, if these four methods of sentence construction were the only means by which ideas were presented. Like painters who mix and combine primary colors, good writers combine these four constructions and add adjectives, adverbs, phrases and clauses to provide "color" to their work. Understanding these four basic constructions, however, provides the writer a firm foundation on which to build good writing.

Parallelism In grammar, parallelism, also known as parallel structure or parallel construction, is a balance within one or more sentences of similar phrases or clauses that have the same grammatical structure. The application of parallelism improves writing style and readability, and is thought to make sentences easier to process. Parallelism is often achieved using antithesis, anaphora, asyndeton, climax, epistrophe, and symploce. Parallelism: Antithesis Greek for "setting opposite is used when two opposites are introduced in the same sentence, for contrasting effect. Parallelism: Asyndeton Greek for unconnected", sometimes called asyndetism) is a figure of speech in which one or several conjunctions are omitted from a series of related clauses. e.g. veni, vidi, vici and its English translation "I came, I saw, I conquered". Its use can have the effect of speeding up the rhythm of a passage and making a single idea more memorable. Parallelism: Climax Greek for "staircase" and "ladder e.g. "...Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour." William Shakespeare, The Passionate Pilgrim, XIII Parallelism: Epistrophe Greek for "return is the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences. It is also known as epiphora and occasionally asantistrophe. It is a figure of speech and the counterpart of anaphora. It is an extremely emphatic device because of the emphasis placed on the last word in a phrase or sentence. e.g. is a figure of speech in which words, phrases, or clauses are arranged in order of increasing importance.

Where affections bear rule, their reason is subdued, honesty is subdued, good will is subdued, and all things else that withstand evil, for ever are subdued. Parallelism: Symploce Greek for "interweaving is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is used successively at the beginning of two or more clauses or sentences and another word or phrase with a similar wording is used successively at the end of them. It is the combination of anaphora and epistrophe.