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Basic Sentence Structure

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31 views5 pages

Basic Sentence Structure

For studying

Uploaded by

waraporn.tuk.mingkwan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BASIC SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Parts of Sentences: Subject, Predicate, Object, Indirect Object, Complement

Every word in a sentence serves a specific purpose within the structure of that
particular sentence. According to rules of grammar, sentence structure can
sometimes be quite complicated. For the sake of simplicity, however, the
basic parts of a sentence are discussed here.

The two most basic parts of a sentence are the subject and predicate.

SUBJECT

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is performing the
action of the sentence. The subject represents what or whom the sentence is
about. The simple subject usually contains a noun or pronoun and can
include modifying words, phrases, or clauses.

The man . . .

PREDICATE

The predicate expresses action or being within the sentence. The simple
predicate contains the verb and can also contain modifying words, phrases,
or clauses.

The man / builds a house.

The subject and predicate make up the two basic structural parts of any
complete sentence. In addition, there are other elements, contained within
the subject or predicate, that add meaning or detail. These elements include
the direct object, indirect object, and subject complement. All of these
elements can be expanded and further combined into simple, compound,
complex, or compound/complex sentences. (See TIP Sheet on "Sentence
Type and Purpose.")

DIRECT OBJECT

The direct object receives the action of the sentence. The direct object is
usually a noun or pronoun.

The man builds a house.

The man builds it.

INDIRECT OBJECT
The indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the action of the sentence
is being done. The indirect object is usually a noun or pronoun.

The man builds his family a house.

The man builds them a house.

SUBJECT COMPLEMENT

A subject complement either renames or describes the subject, and therefore


is usually a noun, pronoun, or adjective. Subject complements occur when
there is a linking verb within the sentence (often a linking verb is a form of the
verb to be).

The man is a good father. (father = noun which renames the subject)

The man seems kind. (kind = adjective which describes the subject)

Note: As an example of the difference between parts of speech and parts of


a sentence, a noun can function within a sentence as subject, direct object,
indirect object, object of a preposition, or subject complement.

http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/grammar/sentence_struct
ure.html

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

The verb of a sentence must agree with the simple subject of the sentence in
number and person. Number refers to whether a word is singular
(child, account, city, I) or plural (children, accounts, cities, we). Person refers
to whether the word denotes a speaker (I, we are first person), the person
spoken to (you is second person), or what is spoken of
(he, she, it, they; Gary, college, taxes are third person).

Third person singular


Choosing verbs to agree with first and second person subjects is not usually
much of a problem, but a peculiarity of third person singular verbs causes
some students, especially ESL students, some confusion when working with
third person singular subjects.
It matters whether a subject in the third person is singular or plural because
the verb form for third person singular often differs from other verb forms. For
most third person singular verbs, add an s to the root form of the
verb: sit + s = sits, the third person singular form. (Be careful-while an s on a
noun usually denotes a plural, an s on a verb does not make the verb plural.)
Examples of how the verb form changes in third person singular follow; notice
that even irregular helping verbs (to have, to be, to do) add an s --
has, is, was, does -- in third person singular:
Third person singular (he - she - it) Third person plural (they)
sits sit
is sitting are sitting
was sitting were sitting
has sat have sat
has been sitting have been sitting
does not sit do not sit
doesn't sit don't sit
Thus, Olivia sits, Phong sits, the college president sits in her office, and the
remote control sits on the table. When Olivia and Phong get together,
however, they sit; the college trustees sit.

Only the simple subject


The verb must agree with its simple subject -- not with the description or
explanation of the subject; ignore the descriptions and explanations. If the
simple subject is singular, use the singular form of the verb. If the simple
subject is plural, use the plural form of the verb. (For more about subjects, see
the TIP Sheet Parts of Sentences: Subject, Verb, Object, Complement. For tips
on how to use prepositional phrases to help identify the subject,
see Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases.)

The pink and red flowers in the tall vase have wilted.
The old table that my parents gave us needs a coat of paint.
The back wheels of the car you borrowed are wobbling.

The verb must agree with its simple subject -- not with the subject
complement. The subject and its complement are not always both singular or
both plural. Even if one is singular and the other plural, the verb agrees with
the subject:

His only hobby is his pigeons.


Her parents are her sole support.
Compound subjects
A compound subject joined by and is plural and takes a plural verb form:

Olivia and Phong are looking for the remote control. (They are looking.)

The verb for compound subjects joined by or or by (n)either...(n)or agrees


with the subject nearer to the verb:

Olivia or Phong has the responsibility to make the video presentation.


(He has.)
Neither Phong nor Olivia knows if the board will be pleased. (She knows.)
The college president or the trustees interview all the candidates.
(They interview.)
The trustees or the president often asks for a second interview.
(He or she asks.)

Relative clauses
Relative clauses begin with the relative pronouns who, that, or which and
contain a verb separate from that of the independent clause. The verb in a
relative clause agrees in person and number to the word -- the person or
thing -- to which the relative pronoun refers:

Most instructors appreciate students who ask good questions.


The student who asks a lot of questions is a valuable asset to a class.
The logic class, which is known to be difficult, nevertheless attracts a certain
type of student.
The classes, which are held in the fall, usually fill up fast.

Verb preceding the subject


In questions, the subject follows the verb, but the subject still determines the
person and number of the verb:

Where in the house are the medicines kept? (They are kept.)
Why doesn't the soup have any noodles? (It does have.)
Under which tree do the mushrooms grow? (They do grow.)

In sentences that begin with a construction such as here is or there are, the
subject follows the verb but still determines the person and number of the
verb:

Here is the famous flea circus. (It is here.)


Here are the famous fleas. (They are here.)
There is a mouse in the attic. (It is there.)
There are mice in the attic. (They are there.)
Indefinite pronoun subjects
Some indefinite pronouns are always singular, and some are always plural.
(Some can go either way; for more on indefinite pronouns, see the TIP
Sheets Pronouns and Pronoun Reference, or see a writers' guide such as SF
Writer.)

Some indefinite pronouns are always singular no matter how much you feel
that words like everyone are plural. They require the third person singular verb
form:

Nobody knows her.


Has anyone asked?
Everyone says so.
Each gets a ticket.
One uses a hammer.
Another has arrived.

Other indefinite pronouns are always plural and require a plural verb form:

Several work here.


Many have done it.
Few believe it.
Both were yellow.

http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/grammar/subject_verb.ht
ml

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