S
T
R
U
C
T
U
R
E
1.SUBJECT
2.VERB
3.OBJECT
4.PHRASE
5.CLAUSE
SUBJECT
Topic
Who/What Performer (Who/What)
Doer
It is usually a noun or pronoun
VERB
Action
AUXILARY VERB (HELPING)
To be – is/am/are/was/were/been/being
To do – did/does
To have- has/had
OBJECT
that receives the action done by the subject
To whom
Did what
Direct & Indirect Object
EXAMPLE
1. Banti reached home
Subject Verb Object
2. Babli is very happy.
PHRASES
A phrase is “a group of words that does not contain a
subject and verb together.
Example:
On the wall
In the water
Over the horizon
CLAUSES
A clause is “a group of words containing a subject and
predicate and functioning as a member of the sentence.
Example:
I came last year.
When I came here, I saw him.
When I came here, I saw him, and he greeted me.
TYPES OF CLAUSES
It functions on its own to make a
meaningful sentence and looks much like a regular
sentence.
Example:
He is a wise man.
I want to buy a phone, but I don’t have enough
money.
Alex smiles whenever he sees her.
It cannot function on its own because it
leaves an idea or thought unfinished.
Example:
•Although I prepared well, I was nervous
•In spite of studying hard, he didn’t answer.
•He is a very talented player though he is out of form.
Understanding the
Building Blocks of a
Sentence
SENTENCES
A group of words containing a subject and a verb, and
an object(optional) that expresses a statement, a
question, etc.
It makes complete sense.
TYPES OF SENTENCES
Types of Sentences on the basis of Function
Types of Sentence Objective of Sentence Punctuation Mark
To make statement or to convey
Declarative Full Stop (.)
message
Interrogative To ask a question Question marks (?)
Exclamatory To express emotion Exclamation mark (!)
To give command, orders and to
Imperative Full stop (.)
request
Examples of Types of Sentences
1.Ram is studying at the Institute.
2.Sam was the topper of his school.
3.Have you had your breakfast?
4.Do you know that boy?
5.Hurray! We won the match.
6.Wow! This painting is so beautiful.
7.Oh! What a lovely day it is.
8.Do not make noise.
9.Oh, do shut up!
10.He has been sleeping since 8 p.m.
Answers of Types of Sentences
1.Ram is studying at the Institute. (Declarative)
2.Sam was the topper of his school. (Declarative)
3.Have you had your breakfast? (Interrogative)
4.Do you know that boy? (Interrogative)
5.Hurray! We won the match. (Exclamatory)
6.Wow! This painting is so beautiful. (Exclamatory)
7.Oh! What a lovely day it is. (Exclamatory)
8.Do not make noise. (Imperative)
9.Oh, do shut up! (Imperative)
10.He has been sleeping since 8 p.m. (Simple)
Every sentence has at least
one clause in it, but not
every clause forms a
complete sentence.
“I like to eat the candy” - independent clause
“Before I watch a movie” - dependent clause,
(It is 'dependent' on the first clause for the phrase to make sense)
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
▪ Simple
▪ Compound
▪ Complex
▪ Compound-Complex
BASIC ELEMENTS OF EVERY
SENTENCE
SUBJECT PREDICATE
BASIC ELEMENTS
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Max plays tennis.
SIMPLE SENTENCE
▪ A simple sentence has one subject and one
predicate.
Observe how a simple sentence is constructed:
We went to Hauz Khas yesterday.
Simple Sentence Structure
Pronoun Verb Prepositional phrase
We went to Hauz Khas yesterday .
Simple subject Complete predicate
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with 1 subject & 1 predicate
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Max plays tennis.
one subject one predicate
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with 1 compound subject &
predicate
Tom and Max play tennis.
Compound Subject
&
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with 1 comp. sub. & 1 comp. pred.
play tennis and swim.
Tom and Max
Compound Subject Compound Predicate
& &
COMPOUND SENTENCE
A compound sentence has more than one part that
can stand alone (independent clauses).
Independent clauses are connected by coordinating
conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, or a semi-colon.
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
LIST OF CONJUNCTIVE
ADVERBS
SEMICOLONS
▪ “If the relation between the ideas expressed in the
main clauses is very close and obvious without a
conjunction, you can separate the clauses with a
semicolon”
(Little, Brown Handbook, 9th Edition, p. 361).
We went to Hauz Khas,
and
most of us danced all night.
COMPOUND SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Subject Verb Prepositional phrase
We went to Hauz Khas,
Predicate
Coordinating
Conjunction
and most of us danced all night .
Subject Verb Modifying phrase
COMPOUND SENTENCE
Use of Coordinating Conjunctions
SUBJECT PREDICATE
and
SUBJECT PREDICATE
COMPOUND SENTENCE
Tom swims,
and
Max plays tennis.
SENTENCE USING
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Tom swims and Max plays tennis.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
‘AND’ IN COMPOUND SENTENCE
Tom swims, and Max plays tennis.
Comma before “and”
in compound
sentences!
SENTENCE USING
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
‘COMMA’ &
‘SEMICOLON’ IN
COMPOUND SENTENCE
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Note: Semicolon
before conjunctive
adverb and comma
after conjunctive adverb!
Conjunctive Adverbs “float”
▪ Conjunctive adverbs are sometimes called
“floating” adverbs because they can be positioned
at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a
clause.
AT THE BEGINNING, IN THE MIDDLE, AT THE
END
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.
Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
USING SEMICOLON
Tom has benefited from his exercise
program; he is slim and energetic.
COMPLEX SENTENCE
A complex sentence has at least two parts: one that can
stand alone and another one that cannot
The part that cannot stand alone is linked to the rest of
the sentence by a subordinating conjunction
LIST OF SUBORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS
COMPLEX SENTENCE
Since my friend and I wanted to have party,
we went to Hauz Khas yesterday.
Complex Sentence
Since we wanted to have party,
Subordinating Part that cannot stand alone
Conjunction
Subject Predicate
we went to Hauz Khas yesterday.
COMPLEX SENTENCE
SUBJECT PREDICATE
even though
SUBJECT PREDICATE
COMPLEX SENTENCE
Bob is popular
even though
he is ugly.
SENTENCE USING
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Bob is popular even though he is ugly.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Dependent
SENTENCE USING
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Dependent Independent
Compound-Complex Sentence
This type of sentence has more than one part that can stand
alone, and at least one that cannot.
Conjunctions link the different parts of this sentence.
(coordinating and subordinating)
Compound-Complex Sentence
Since we wanted to have party,
my friend and I went to Hauz Khas yesterday,
and we danced all night.
Compound-Complex Sentence
Subordinating
Conjunction
Since we wanted to have party,
Part that cannot stand alone
my friend and I went to Hauz Khas,
Coordinating Subject Predicate
Conjunction
and we danced all night.
Compound-Complex
Sentence
Max is popular
because
he is good looking,
but
he is not very happy.
Exercises
Say if the following sentences are:
Simple, compound, complex or compound-
complex.
1. I did not know that this food was meant only for
the staff.
Sentence Type – Complex sentence
Main Clause – I did not know
Subordinate Clause – That this food was meant only for the
staff
2. She is innocent, so she has appealed to the court.
Sentence Type – Compound sentence
Main Clause – She is innocent
Main Clause – She has appealed to the court
3. The sun looks amazing today.
Sentence Type – Simple Sentence
Main Clause – The sun looks amazing today
4. I remember the day that we met very well.
Sentence Type – Complex Sentence
Main Clause – I remember the day very well
Subordinate Clause – That we met
1. The bell rang.
2. Bridget ran the first part of the race, and Tara biked the second part.
3. He stands at the bottom of the cliff while the climber moves up the rock.
4. The skier turned and jumped.
5. Naoki passed the test because he studied hard and understood the
material.
Answers
1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Complex
4. Simple
5. Compound-complex
1. Because Kayla has so much climbing experience , we asked her to lead
our group.
2. You and I need piano lessons.
3. I planned to go to the hockey game, but I couldn’t get tickets.
4. Dorothy likes white water rafting, but she also enjoys kayaking.
5. There are many problems to solve before this program can be used, but
engineers believe that they will be able to solve them soon.
Answers
1. Complex
2. Simple
3. Compound
4. Compound
5. Compound-complex