Sentence Structure:
Sentence Types
Basic Elements of Every Sentence
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Basic Elements
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Mary plays tennis.
Sentence Types
• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-Complex
Simple Sentence
Simple Sentence
• A simple sentence has one subject and one
predicate.
Simple Sentence
Observe how a simple sentence is constructed:
We went to San Juan yesterday.
Simple Sentence
Pronoun Verb Prepositional phrase
We went to San Juan .
Simple subject Complete predicate
SIMPLE SENTENCE
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Mary plays tennis.
one subject one predicate
Simple Sentence
Tom and Mary play tennis.
Compound Subject
&
Simple Sentence
play tennis and swim.
Tom and Mary
Compound Subject Compound Predicate
& &
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
Tom and Mary play tennis.
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
and
compound predicate
Tom and Mary play tennis and
swim.
Compound Sentence
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.
Compound Sentence
We went to San Juan, and
most of us danced all night.
Compound Sentence
Subject Verb Prepositional phrase
We went to San Juan,
Predicate
Coordinating
Conjunction
and most of us danced all night .
Subject Verb Modifying phrase
Compound Sentence
Use of Coordinating Conjunctions
SUBJECT PREDICATE
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Compound Sentence
Tom swims,
and
Mary plays tennis.
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
FOR
AND
NOR
BUT
OR
YET
SO
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.
Comma before “and”
in compound
sentences!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
MOREOVER
HOWEVER
OTHERWISE
THEREFORE
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
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.
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
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.
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).
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
SEMICOLON
Tom has benefited from his exercise
program; he is slim and energetic.
Complex Sentence
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
Complex Sentence
Since my boyfriend and I wanted to have
fun,
we went to San Juan yesterday.
Complex Sentence
Since we wanted to have fun,
Subordinating Part that cannot stand alone
Conjunction
Subject Predicate
we went to San Juan yesterday.
Complex Sentence
SUBJECT PREDICATE
even though
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Complex Sentence
Bob is popular
even though
he is ugly.
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
The most common subordinating
conjunctions are "after," "although,"
"as," "because," "before," "how,"
"if," "once," "since," "than,"
"that," though," "till," "until,"
"when," "where," "whether,” and
while."
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Bob is popular even though he is ugly.
Clause 1
Clause 2
Independent
Dependent
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Dependent Independent
Compound-Complex Sentence
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.
Compound-Complex Sentence
Since we wanted to have fun,
my boyfriend and I went to San Juan yesterday,
and we danced all night.
Compound-Complex Sentence
Subordinating
Conjunction
Since we wanted to have fun,
Part that cannot stand alone
my boyfriend and I went to San Juan,
Coordinating Subject Predicate
Conjunction
and we danced all night.
Compound-Complex Sentence
Mike is popular
because
he is good looking,
but
he is not very happy.
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
References
Writing Academic English, Second Edition, by Alice
Oshima and Ann Hogue. White Plains: Addison,
Wesley, Longman, 1999.
The Little, Brown Handbook, by H. Ramsey Fowler and
Jane E. Aaron, Pearson, 2004.
Subject-Verb Agreement means that subjects and verbs
must always agree in number as well as in person. Not only
does a verb change its form to tell time, but it also can
change its form to indicate how many subjects it has.
For example, take the verb “run.” When we are in the
present tense, the verb “run” changes form to show that
its subject is singular when its subject is anything but
“I” or “you.”
Study the following chart.
Singular Subjects Plural Subjects
First Person: I run. We run.
Second Person: You run. You all run.
Third Person: He runs. She runs.
The boy runs. They run.
Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with
the subject.
• 1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.
• 2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.
• 3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.
• 4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.
• 5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.
• 6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.
• 7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.
• 8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.
• 9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to
watch.
• 10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.
Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with
the subject.
• 11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
• 12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.
• 13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.
• 14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
• 15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are)
Andrea's favorite subject.
• 16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.
• 17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?
• 18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner’s.
• 19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only
one left!
• 20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.
Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with
the subject.
• 21. The committee members (leads, lead) very different lives in private.
• 22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press
cordially.
• 23. All of the CDs, even the scratched ones, (is, are) in this case.
ANSWERS
• 1. Annie and her brothers are at school.
• 2. Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.
• 3. The dog or the cats are outside.
• 4. Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.
• 5. George and Tamara don't want to see that movie.
• 6. Benito doesn't know the answer.
• 7. One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.
• 8. The man with all the birds lives on my street.
• 9. The movie, including all the previews, takes about two hours to watch.
• 10. The players, as well as the captain, want to win.
ANSWERS
ANSWERS
Read these sentences:
• 1. I ate. (Simple Past)
• 2. I was eating. (Past Continuous)
• 3. I had eaten. (Past Perfect)
• 4. I had been eating since last morning. (Past
Perfect Continuous)
• 5. I had been eating for the last two hours.
(Past Perfect Continuous)
• 1. I shall/will eat. (Simple Future)
• 2. I shall/will be eating. (Future
Continuous)
• 3. I shall/will have eaten. (Future Perfect)
Present Tense
Present Tense
Present Tense
Present Tense
(3) As in broadcast commentaries on sporting events, the Simple
Present is used, instead of the Present Continuous, to describe
activities in progress where there is stress on the succession of
happenings rather than on the duration.
(4) The Simple Present is used, instead of the Present
Continuous, with the type of verbs referred to in § 221 on the
next page.
• The Simple Past is used to indicate an action
completed in the past. It often occurs with adverbs or
adverb phrases of past time.
– The steamer sailed yesterday.
– I received his letter a week ago.
– She left school last year.
The Past Perfect describes an action completed before a certain moment in
the past; as,
– I met him in New Delhi in 1996.
– I had seen him last five years before.
If two actions happened in the past, it may be necessary to show which
action happened earlier than the other. The Past Perfect is mainly used in
such situations. The Simple Past is used in one clause and the Past Perfect
in the other; as,
– When I reached the station the train had started (so I couldn't get into
the train).
– I had done my exercise when Han came to see me.
– I had written the letter before he arrived.
The Past Perfect Continuous is used for an action that began
before a certain point in the past and continued up to that time;
as,
– At that time he had been writing a novel for two months.
– When Mr. Mukerji came to the school in 1995, Mr. Anand
had already been teaching there for five years.
• Several ways to use the future-
1. Using simple future tense
2. Using present continuous tense (for an action that has
already been planned to happen in the near future)
3. Using simple present tense
4. The “going to” form
• “Be to” form – used to talk about official plans and
arrangements
• 1. The river flows under the bridge.
• 2. I shall answer the letter to-night.
• 3. 1 knew he was there, for I had seen him come.
• 4. It has been raining all night.
• 5. I hear he has passed all right.
• 6. I had finished when he came.
• 7. He takes but little pride in his work.
• 8. I have been living here for months.
• 9. Be good, sweet maid.
• 10. By this time to-morrow I shall have reached my home.
• 1. The earth --- round the sun. (move, moves,
moved)
• 2. My friends --- the Prime Minister yesterday,
(see, have seen, saw)
• 3. I --- him only one letter up to now. (sent,
have sent, send)
4. She --- worried about something, (looks, looking, is looking)
5. It started to rain while we --- tennis, (are playing, were playing, had
played).
6. He --- fast when the accident happened, (is driving, was driving,
drove)
7. He --- asleep while he was driving, (falls, fell, has fallen)
8. I'm sure I --- him at the party last night, (saw, have seen, had seen).
9. He --- a mill in this town, (have, has, is having)
10. He --- here for the last five years, (worked, is working, has been
working).
11. He thanked me for what I ---. (have done, had done, have been
doing) 12. I --- a strange noise, (hear, am hearing, have been hearing).
13. I --- him for a long time, (know, have known, am knowing) ‘.
14. We ---,English for five years, (study, am studying, have been
studying) .
15. Don't disturb me. I --- my homework, (do, did, am doing) .
16. Abdul --- to be a doctor, (wants, wanting, is wanting)
17. The soup --- good, (taste, tastes, is tasting)
18. He --- TV most evenings, (watches, is watch, is watching)
19. He --- out five minutes ago. (has gone, had gone, went)
20. When he lived in Hyderabad, he --- to the cinema once a week,
(goes, went, was going)
Exercise in Composition
Exercise in Composition
1. food/good/A/needs/dog.
2. take/dog/Do/your/you/vet/the/to?
3. family/does/your/your/love/dogs?
4. be/need/Dogs/loved/to.
5. water/A/needs/dog/clean.
1. Please shut the windows and doors.
2. Do you like chocolate pastries?
3. My name is Astrid Gracy.
4. Where are you going?
5. Such a beautiful place!
6. Go and try this new flavour.
7. Today is Monday.
8. Please clean your cupboard today.
9. Turn off all the lights and fans when you leave the room.
10.May I come in?
