Sentence Structure

What is Sentence Structure?

Definition: A sentence’s “structure” is the way the words and phrases are arranged to form a sentence.

Importance: Effective sentence structure improves clarity and communication.The knowledge of proper sentence structures and
word order is crucial for anyone who desires to speak and write a language confidently. Words are not only arranged but they follow
some specific orders. They are grouped within sentence elements and the knowledge of these sentence elements, as well as the
basic sentence type is quite essential to language use, especially in written form.

Basic Sentence Elements

1.Subject: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that does an action or Who or what the sentence is about.

2.Verb: Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or concept does. In other words, what the subject is doing or what is
happening to the subject.

3. Object: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that receives the action or Who or what is affected by the action of the
subject.

4. Conjunctions: are parts of speech that connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Examples (but,yet,both,and,so,either,or)

Sentence Structure Elements

Lets disscuss some more sentence structure elements

What ia clause: A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb. Charlie runs. There's a subject;
there's a verb. It's a clause. There are two types of clauses indepentdent and dependent
 1. Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a subject and a verb and is a
complete idea. Example (I drink coffee)

2. Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be attached to an independent clause to
become complete. This is also known as a subordinate clause.Example( whenever I drink coffee)

3. Phrases: Groups of words that add meaning but are not clauses. E.g., “under the table,” “after the party.” (I drink coffee in
the morning.)

In English grammar, there are four main tyes of sentence structures:

o the simple sentence,( A simple sentence consists of one independent clause.). ” she reads everyday”
o the compound sentence (A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction or
semicolon( e.g, “and”,”but”,”or”) “she reads everyday and she writes in her journal
o the complex sentence (A complex sentence consists of an independent clause and at least one dependent clause).
“Although she was tired, she reads every day”
o compound-complex sentence (A compound-complex sentence consists of at least two independent clauses and one or
more dependent clauses). “Although she was tired, she reads every day, and she wrote in her journal”

Each uses a specific combination of independent and dependent clauses to help make sure that our sentences are strong,
informational, and most importantly, that they make sense!

In the picture, independent clauses are green, dependent clauses are purple, and conjunctions are orange. Here are examples of each type of
sentence:
1. The athlete ran. Simple Sentence
2. The athlete ran and he ate popcorn. Compound sentence
3. After the athele ran, he ate popcorn. Complex sentence
4. After the athele ran, he ate popcorn and he drank a big soda. Compound-complex sentence
Examples for Practice

Now, let’s look at a few sentences together. I will read them out, and I want you to tell me whether they are simple, compound,
complex or compound-complex.

1. “I wanted to go for a walk, but it started raining.” (Compound Sentence) Explanation: This sentence contains two
independent clauses: “I wanted to go for a walk” and “it started raining.” They are joined by the conjunction "but."
2. “She reads books.” (Simple Sentence)
3. “Although it was raining, we went for a walk.” (Complex Sentence) Explanation: This sentence has one independent
clause (“we went for a walk”) and one dependent clause (“Although it was raining”), where the dependent clause cannot
stand alone and provides additional information.
4. “While I was reading a book, the phone rang, and my friend called me.” (Compound-complex sentence) Explanation: This
sentence contains two independent clauses (“the phone rang” and “my friend called me”) and one dependent clause (“While
I was reading a book”). The independent clauses are joined by "and," while the dependent clause adds context.

5. “She went to the store because she needed groceries.” (Complex Sentence). Explanation: The independent clause is “She
went to the store,” and the dependent clause is “because she needed groceries,” which explains the reason for the action in
the independent clause.
6. “He studied hard for the test, so he passed with flying colors.” (Compound Sentence) Explanation: This sentence includes
two independent clauses: “He studied hard for the test” and “he passed with flying colors,” connected by the conjunction
"so."

In the end, I am giving you a writing Exercise as a homework. You all have to write your own sentences
or short paragraphs using various sentence structures, we have discussed today.

Thanks for your attention and participation!