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SENTENCE
STRUCTURE
ENG 105
WRITING
CHAPTER 1
What is a sentence?
A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject and a
verb and expresses a complete thought. A sentence begins
with a capital letter and ends with a period.
These are sentences:
He is a student.
It is hot today.
He looks tired
Hurry!
Don’t be late.
Does your sister live with you?
Where did you buy that hat?
The man bought a new car.
These are NOT sentences:
 Is very athletic. (There is no subject)
CORRECTED: He
is very athletic.
 The baby sleepy. (There is no verb)
CORRECTED: The baby is sleepy.
 The man bought. (This is not a complete thought. What did the
man buy?)
CORRECTED: The man bought a cup of copy.
object
 When I finish my education. (This is not a complete thought.
What will happen when I finish my education?)
CORRECTED: When
I finish my education, I will work for my uncle.
COMMAND SENTENCES
If a sentence gives a command or instruction, we understand
that the subject is you, but we do not say or write you. The
verb in a command sentence is always in the simple
(dictionary) form – stop, go, wait, be, eat. To make a command
negative, put don’t in front of the verb.
Commands
(You) Be quiet.
(You) Speak slowly.
Negative Commands
(You) Don’t eat so much!
(You) Don’t worry
Subjects, Verbs, and Objects
In English, the subject of a sentence is always expressed (except
in commands).
The subject tells who or what did something. It is a noun or
pronoun.
e.g: My roommate lost his keys.
(Who lost his keys? – my roommate)
The verb usually tells an action. Sometimes a verb does not tell
an action. Sometimes it just links the subject with the rest of
the sentence.
Action verbs name an action, such as hit, live, lose, speak, go and
come.
e.g.The taxi hit the child.
My family lives in a two-bedroom apartment.
Linking verbs link the subject with the rest of the sentence.
Linking verbs do not have objects. The most common linking verbs
are be, become, look, feel, seem, smell, sound and taste.
e.g. Soccer and tennis are my favorite sports.
The object receives the action of an action verb. It is a noun or
pronoun.
SENTENCE TYPES
There are three kinds of sentence in English:
1.
Simple
2.
Compound
3.
Complex
1. Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence that has one subject-verb
pair.
 The word simple in ‘simple sentence’ does not mean ‘easy’. It
means ‘one subject-verb pair’.
 The subject in a simple sentence may be compound.
e.g. My brother and I are completely different.
 The verb in a simple sentence may be compound:
e.g.They laughed and cried at the same time.
 However, each sentence is a simple sentence because it has
only one subject-verb pair.
2. Compound Sentence
A compound sentence is two simple sentences connected by a
comma and a coordinating conjunction.
This is the basic formula for a compound sentence:
 Simple sentence, COORDINATING CONJUCTION Simple sentence
 These are compound sentences:
Simple Sentence
Coordinating Conjunction
Simple Sentence
My family goes camping every
summer,
and
we usually have fun.
Last year we went camping at
Blue Lake,
but
We had a terrible time.
Next year we’ll go to the
beach,
or
Perhaps we’ll stay at home.
We want to buy a house soon,
so
We need to save money.
Compound Sentence
Command sentences can also be compound. Remember that the subject “you” is not
expressed in commands.
e.g. Come visit us again soon,
Have a good time,
and
but
bring your family with you.
don’t stay out too late.
Here are three important points to know about compound sentences:
1. A comma and a coordinating conjunction connect the two halves of a compound
sentence.
2. There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
3. Do not confuse a compound sentence with a simple sentence that has a compound verb.
The first sentence in each of the following pairs of sentences is simple and does not
need a comma.The second one is compound and requires a comma.
Coordinators (Coordinating Conjunctions)
To add a reason
for
Japanese people live longer than most other nationalities, for they eat healthful diets.
To add a similar, equal idea
and
They eat a lot of fish and vegetables, and they eat lightly.
To add a negative equal idea
nor
They do not eat a lot of red meat, nor do they eat many dairy products.
To add an opposite idea
but
Diet is one factor in how long people live, but it is not the only factor.
To add an alternative possibilty
or
However, people should limit the amount of animal fat in their diets, or they risk getting heart
disease.
To add an unexpected or surprising continuation
yet
Cigarette smoking is a factor in longevity, yet Japanese and other long-lived Asians have a very high
rate of tobacco use.
To add an expected result
so
Doctors say that stress is another longevity factor, so try to avoid stress if you wish to live a longer
life.
Independent & Dependent Clauses
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
There are two kinds of clauses in English: independent clauses
and dependent clauses.
Independent Clause
S V
It rained
Dependent Clause
S V
because it rained
Independent & Dependent Clauses
 An independent clause has one SV pair and expresses a complete thought.
Independent clause is just another name for a simple sentence.
e.g. Paris has excellent art museums.
S V
 A dependent clause is an independent clause with a subordinating word,
such as because, after, and when, added to the beginning of it.
e.g. Because Paris has excellent art museums…
Subordinating S V
Word
 A dependent clause does not express a complete thought, so it is not a sentence
by itself. It is only half of a sentence. It MUST be joined to an independent
clause.Together, the two clauses express a complete thought.
e.g. Art students should visit Paris because it has excellent art museums
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
DEPENDENT CLAUSE
After we finished our homework, we watched TV for a while.
DEPENDENT CLAUSE
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
3. Complex Sentences
A complex sentence has one independent clause and one (or
more) dependent clauses.
 When the dependent clause begins with an adverb subordinator,
the clauses can usually be in any order.
e.g.We ran for shelter as soon as it started to rain.
As soon as it started to rain, we ran for shelter.
 If the independent clause is first, do not use a comma.
We ran for shelter as soon as it started to rain.
 If the dependent clause is first, put a comma after it.
As soon as it started to rain, we ran for shelter.
Adverbial Clauses
An adverbial clause is a type of dependent clause. Using an
adverbial clause makes your writing more sophisticated. To
make an adverbial clause from an independent clause, use a
subordinating conjunction.
e.g. Joe has always loved to read. He studied literature in college.
To show that one sentence is the clause of the other one, you can
use the subordinator because or since.
e.g. Because Joe has always loved to read, he studied literature in
college.
Since Joe has always loved to read, he studied literature in
college.
e.g. Joe liked playing sports. Joe was not very good at it.
To show surprise that Joe is not good at sports, you can use even though or
although.
 Even though Joe liked playing sports, he was not very good at it.
 Although Joe liked playing sports, he was not very good at it.
As with transitions, there are many subordinators. Here are some of the
most common ones.
Chronology
Causation
Unexpected
Result
Difference
Condition
after
because
although
whereas
if
as
since
even though
while
before
until
when
while
Time Subordinators
Certain adverb subordinators introduce time clauses. Here are some
common time subordinators.
Time Subordinators
After
I will go straight to bed after I finish writing this paragraph.
As soon as
She felt better as soon as she took the medicine.
Before
Wait for a green light before you cross a street.
Since
It has been a year since I left home.
Until
We cannot leave the room until everyone finishes the test.
When
Where were you when I called?
Whenever
Whenever I do not sleep well, I feel sick the next day.
while
My neighbors were having a party while I was trying to
sleep.
CAUTION!!!
A few time subordinators are also prepositions. Prepositions are
followed by nouns. Subordinators are followed by subject-verb
combinations.
after my accident (preposition)
after I had an accident (subordinator)
before class (preposition)
before class stars (subordinator)
until ten o’clock (preposition)
until the bell rings (subordinator)
Reason Clauses
An adverbial reason clause answers the question “Why?” A reason
clause is introduced by the subordinators because, since, and as.
e.g. Europeans are in some ways better environmentalists than North
Americans because they are more used to conserving
energy.
Since many Europeans live, work, and shop in the
same locale, they are quite accustomed to riding bicycles, trains,
and streetcars to get around.
As the price of gasoline has always been quite high in
Europe, if a European owns an automobile, it is likely to be a
high-mileage model that uses diesel fuel.
Concession (Unexpected Result) Clauses
Adverbial clauses of concession are used to express ideas or actions that are
not expected.
The information in the independent clause indicates a concession or an
unexpected result of something described in the dependent clause.
Adverbial clauses of concession are introduced by the subordinators although,
even though and though.
e.g. Although I studied all night, I failed the test.
I failed the test although I studied all night.
 Notice the difference in meaning between because and even though.
e.g. Because the weather was cold, I didn’t go swimming (expected
result)
Even though the weather was cold, I went swimming
(unexpected result)