Download 4 basic sentence structures

4 basic
sentence
structures;
Verb types;
Argument
structures
EDUC 5658
Sandra Powell
Sentence analysis
The first division we
make when
analyzing a
sentence is to
locate.....
 Subject
 Predicate
Sentence analysis
 Subject
 Predicate
Every sentence can be
divided into Subject and
Predicate.
When analyzing a sentence, the first thing to do is to
locate the Subject and the verb.
The verb, along with all of the other parts after it that are
essential to the sentence, is in the Predicate.
In this course, we don’t use the term Predicate very much.
We classify sentences by the TYPE of predicate that the
sentence has.
Verb categories
Some key
terminology for
analyzing sentence
structures:



Transitive
Intransitive
Copular or Linking
These are VERB
categories. We classify
verbs according to
how they interact with
nouns in a sentence.
Verb categories



Transitive
Intransitive
Copular or Linking
These are VERB
categories. We classify
verbs according to
how they interact with
nouns in a sentence.
We will add one more
category:
 Ditransitive
These are the verbs that
take both a direct and
indirect object.
Ditransitive GIVE:
On Father’s Day, we gave
Dad a T-shirt. We gave it
to him after lunch.
Functions
Some key
terminology for
analyzing
sentence
structures:
(chapters 2 and 5,
GB)
 Subject
 Direct
object
 Indirect object
These are roles that
NOUNS (or noun phrases
or noun clauses) play in
relation to verbs
Functions
One more
important
function:
(chapter 4,
GB)
 Subject
complement
A NOUN or an ADJECTIVE can
be the Subject complement
with a copular/linking verb.
Subject
 Direct object
 Indirect object
These are the roles that NOUNS (or
noun phrases or noun clauses) play
in relation to verbs

Sentence constituents
Can you identify
S: Subject,
DO: Direct Object,
IO: Indirect Object,
and SC: Subject
Complement
in these sentences?
(try it before going
to the next slide)






Your sentence doesn’t contain
any mistakes.
However, your sentence sounds
strange.
Studying grammar gives me a
headache!
Grammar is my greatest joy!
In learning grammar, students
usually need some explicit
instruction.
Without it, students may fossilize
at a low level.

Your sentence doesn’t contain any mistakes.
S
V
DO

However, your sentence sounds strange.
S
V
SC (adjective)

Studying grammar gives
S
V

Grammar is
S
V

In learning grammar, students usually need
S
V
some explicit instruction
DO

Without it, students may fossilize at a low level.
S
V
prep. phrase (adverbial)
me
IO
a headache!
DO
my greatest joy!
SC (noun phrase)
Did you get them
all right?
Grammar expert!
If you got some wrong, can
you figure out why? Or
can you formulate a
specific question about
the example?
No problem!
Are you totally lost?
Let’s get you up to speed!
Head over to the University
of Calgary grammar guide
for the basics:
Your sentence doesn’t contain any mistakes.
S
V
DO
However, your sentence sounds strange.
S
V
SC (adj)
Studying grammar gives
S
V
Grammar is
S
V
me
IO
a headache!
DO
my greatest joy!
SC (noun)
In learning grammar, students usually need
S
V
some explicit instruction
DO
Without it, students may fossilize at a low level.
S
V
University of Calgary online reference: The Basic Elements of English
Usage Grammar Guide. Sections II I (Subject and predicate) and II ii
(Objects) http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/ (click on
Sentence Elements on the left-hand side of the page to open Section II)
The verb controls the sentence type
The way nouns line up in association with a
verb is called the verb’s ARGUMENT STRUCTURE.
It’s part of our mental dictionary entry for a
particular verb.
Intransitive
verb
Subject
Transitive
verb
Subject
Linking (or
copular)
verb
Subject
Ditransitive
verb
Subject
• Subject
complement
Direct
object
Indirect
object
Direct
object
Frequency, and possibility of
adding new words to these
verb categories  There are thousands of


There are a limited
number of verbs that
take IO and DO.
There are only a few
copular /linking verbs
(about 10-15, with a
few idiomatic
expressions like “come
true”)
transitive and intransitive
verbs.

When English adds new
verbs (like GOOGLE and
POWN), they are transitive
or intransitive. We aren’t
accepting any new
copular/linking verbs!
(sometimes a new ditransitive is
derived from a related verb: He
emailed me the information. )
4 basic sentence structures
Most sentences fall into one
of these basic sentence
types.
Given a sentence, you
should be able to identify
the core of the sentence
(Subject and Verb) and
figure out which sentence
structure it is.
Remember, the VERB
controls what kind of
sentence structure is
needed.
S V:
intransitive verb
S V O: transitive verb
S V SC: linking verb
(copular verb)
S V IO DO: ditransitive
verb
S V sentence structure
These sentences are built around intransitive verbs.
S V (intransitive verb): Snow was falling.
The verb does not need anything to complete it;
there is only one argument, the subject.
S V sentence structure
S V (intransitive verb): Snow was falling.
We can add optional information about how, when,
where, why: this information is Adverbial, not Direct
object, because it can be omitted and we still have
a complete sentence:
Snow was falling steadily outside my window.
S
V
Adv
Prep phrase (adverbial)
S V O sentence structure
S V O sentences are built around transitive verbs.
We held a meeting.
A noun phrase, the direct object, comes right after
the verb, with no preposition. The object is needed to
complete the sentence;
?? We held.
It’s not a complete sentence.
English speakers would say, “Huh?
What did you hold?”
S V O sentence structure
Adverbials can be added to tell things like when,
where, how, why…
We held a meeting S V O
with parents
prep. phrase (adverbial)
after the incident prep. phrase (adverbial)
to decide what to do adverbial of purpose (with TO)
The adverbials are “extra” because we still have a
complete sentence without them.
The Direct object is not optional: it is part of the
sentence core structure.
S V SC sentence structure
The defining characteristic of a linking verb
(copula) is that it can take an adjective, which
describes the Subject, as its Subject complement
S V SC: The snow looked beautiful.
S V SC: It’s getting dark.
S V SC: The curry seems hotter than usual
today.
S V SC sentence structure
The most common copular/ linking verb is BE:
S V SC: Extreme sports are dangerous.
The Subject is the only noun we need, just like S V: Snow
was falling.
However, unlike S V, something is needed to complete
the sentence. We can’t say:
?? Extreme sports are.
Linking verbs don’t indicate action performed by the
Subject. They link the subject to something that
describes or characterizes or re-names the Subject. It’s
called a Subject Complement, not a direct object, to
show this relation to the Subject.
S V SC sentence structure: BE
as copular/linking verb
S V SC: Extreme sports are dangerous.
N
V
Adjective
Unlike many of the linking verbs, BE can also take a
noun or a prepositional phrase as its subject
complement:
S V SC: Extreme sports are my passion.
Noun phrase
S V SC: Extreme sports are out of control!
Prep phrase
S V IO DO sentence structure
Some verbs can be followed by 2 nouns, or
noun phrases, with no preposition:
Josh gave his friend a present.
S V
IO
DO
These verbs are called ditransitive.
That term is not commonly used in
pedagogical grammars of English; you’ll find
information about this sentence structure
listed under Indirect Object instead.
S V IO DO sentence structure
These verbs have 2 objects, an Indirect object and
a Direct object.
What’s the difference? Most ditransitive verbs
involve transferring something TO a person, or
doing it FOR a person.
The Direct object is the thing that gets transferred
or done or made.
The Indirect object is the person TO WHOM, or FOR
WHOM, it is done.
Indirect objects are usually human, occasionally
animals or organizations, but almost never
inanimate objects.
S V IO DO sentence structure
Example sentences:
The government promised us a tax cut.
This protest should send the government a message.
Good news! The university has offered me a job!
You’d better give the dog some water. He looks thirsty.
The Direct object is the thing that gets transferred or done or
made. The Indirect object is the person TO WHOM, or FOR
WHOM, it is done.
Indirect objects are usually human, occasionally animals or
organizations, but almost never inanimate objects.
S V IO DO sentence structure
Indirect objects are not always essential elements:
The government promised a tax cut.
The government promised citizens a tax cut.
This protest should send a clear message.
This protest should send politicians a clear message.
“Promise” and “send” can be transitive or
ditransitive.
S V IO DO sentence structure
Indirect objects are not always essential elements. It
depends on the verb used.
? Mount Saint Vincent has offered ( ) a job!
This sentence is a little strange. “Offer” seems to
need both recipient and thing offered.
?You’d better give ( ) some water.
I gave blood. I gave cash instead of a present.
We can omit the recipient IO with GIVE when it is
obvious to the listener.
GIVE implies an indirect object: There has to be a
giver and a recipient, but we don’t have to include
the IO in the sentence structure.
Indirect object movement
Most verbs that take indirect objects allow two
grammar patterns for expressing the IO:
S V IO DO
S V DO (to or for) IO
Give the dog some
water.
I baked you some
cookies.
The university has
offered me the job!
Give some water to the
dog.
I baked some cookies for
you.
The university has offered
the job to an external
candidate with extensive
experience.
Learner problems with
sentence structures and
argument structures of verbs
?? Sandra is blue eyes.
?? I looked the painting with admiration.
?? An earthquake collapsed the building.
?? Tattoos changed popular recently.
?? My friend sent me.
The problem in all of these
sentences is that the
argument structure is wrong
for the chosen verb.
?? Sandra is blue eyes.
Sandra’s eyes are blue
S
V SC
With copular/ linking verb BE, the subject is
characterized or described or re-named by the
subject complement.
To fix the sentence, we need “Sandra” to be
the possessor of “eyes.” “Blue” describes “eyes,”
not “Sandra”
?? Sandra is blue eyes.
Sandra has blue eyes.
S
V
DO
But look how the original argument structure
works perfectly with a different verb.
The verb controls the sentence structure.
?? I looked the painting with admiration.
The sentence sounds strange because we feel
that the verb LOOK should be followed by a
direction (adverbial), not a thing (direct object)
We can look at, or towards, or in, a thing.
I looked at the painting with admiration.
S V
prep. phrase prep. phrase
I regarded the painting with admiration.
S V
DO
prep. phrase
On the other hand, the verb REGARD, with a
very similar meaning, has a different argument
structure. It takes a direct object.
Our mental dictionary entry for a verb includes
grammatical information as well as meaning.
?? An earthquake collapsed the building.
The building collapsed in an earthquake.
S
V
prep. phrase
An earthquake destroyed the building..
S
V
DO
Look at the different argument structures for
the verbs COLLAPSE (intransitive) and DESTROY
(transitive).
But the verb BREAK works with both argument
structures. It can be transitive or intransitive:
You broke my Ipad! S V DO
My Ipad broke.
SV
?? Tattoos changed popular recently.
Tattoos became popular recently.
S
V
SC
This learner has used CHANGE as a linking
verb. “Popular” is an adjective; it characterizes
the subject “tattoos.”
CHANGE is not a copular/linking verb. It can
be transitive: I changed my mind
Or intransitive: The world has changed
The copular/linking verb we use to express this
meaning of change is BECOME.
?? My friend sent me.
My friend sent me a letter.
S
V IO DO
SEND takes both a direct object (usually a thing)
and an indirect object (almost always a person).
We can omit the IO, but not the DO:
My friend sent a letter
But verbs like CALL and CONTACT take only a
D O. They are transitive, not ditransitive, even
though the meaning seems similar to SEND:
My friend called me.
?? My friend called me a phone call.
We will contact you soon.
?? We will contact you a letter soon.
Why is this important for
teachers?
Many of our learners’ problems with
sentence structures are actually not
problems with general principles.
When learners make a mistake in
basic sentence structure, it’s usually
not useful to explain the sentence
structure rules (for example, “you have
to have a direct object with a transitive
verb.”)
They need information on that specific
VERB and how it arranges nouns around
it in a sentence. (“That verb needs a
direct object after it.”)
Questions
about the
Powerpoint?
I’d be happy to talk
grammar with you!
Sandra Powell