Basic English Sentence Structures: Parts of speech

Sentences are formed from words that belong to different categories depending on their function. The word "fire", for example, can be a noun or a verb depending on its usage. Noun: "The fire burned the building." Verb: "Fire the gun."

ADJECTIVE - modifies a noun. Examples: yellow, pretty, useful Adjectives have three degrees: Positive, Comparative, and Superlative. Example: old, older, oldest

ARTICLE - specifies whether the noun is specific or a member of a class. The definite article "the" refers to specific objects. The indefinite articles "a", and "an" refer to an unspecified member of a class. The article "a" is used before a word starting with a consonant sound and "an" is used before a word starting with a vowel sound. Examples: a, an, the

ADVERB - modifies a verb or an adjective. Many adverbs have the suffix -ly. Examples: very, extremely, carefully

CONJUNCTION - joins components of a sentence or phrase. Coordinating conjunctions join clauses which are equally important. A subordinating conjunction joins a dependent clause to a main clause. Some conjunctions occur in pairs, e.g.,

neither ... nor, either ... or. Examples: and, but, or

INTERJECTION - is used for exclamations. Examples: Oh!, Aha!

NOUN - names an object or action. Common nouns refer to ordinary things. Proper nouns are usually capitalized and refer to persons, specific things or specific places. Examples: mouse, fire, Michael

PREPOSITION - indicates relationship or relative position of objects. Examples: in, about, toward

PRONOUN - is used in place of a noun. Personal pronouns are used to refer to persons. Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. Demonstrative pronouns refer to a previously mentioned object or objects. Relative pronouns introduce clauses. Examples: he, this

VERB - specifies an action or links the subject to a complement. The tense of a verb indicates the time when the action happened, e.g., past, present, of future. Examples: take, is, go, fire

CONTINUED: Declarative Sentences

Basic English Sentence Structures

Declarative Sentences
Declarative Sentences are used to form statements. Declarative sentences consist of a subject and a predicate. The subject may be a simple subject or a compound subject. A simple subject consists of a noun phrase or a nominative personal pronoun. Compound subjects are formed

by combining several simple subjects with conjunctions. All the sentences in this paragraph are declarative sentences.
<Declarative Sentence> = <subject> <predicate> Learn to construct Declarative Sentences: Click Here for the Declarative Sentence Syntax Interactive Worksheet. Examples: My name is Mary. <subject> = "My name" <predicate> = "is Mary" Declarative Sentences are used to form statements. <subject> = "Declarative Sentences" <predicate> = "are used to form statements"

Example of a Declarative Sentence

CONTINUED: The Subject of a Sentence

Basic English Sentence Structures

The Subject
The subject is the part of the sentence that performs an action or which is associated with the action.

<subject> = <simple subject> | <compound subject> <simple subject> = <noun phrase> | <nominative personal pronoun>

The nominative personal pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. The pronoun "you" is used to refer to one (singular) or many persons (plural). "He", "she", and "it" are used to refer to masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns, respectively. English nouns do not have a grammatical gender, but singular nouns that represent masculine subjects (king, boy) are referenced with the masculine pronoun "he". Nouns representing feminine subjects (queen, lady) are referenced with the pronoun "she". Inanimate objects in singular form (table, chair) are referenced with the pronoun "it". Nouns In any of the descriptions of the subject where a noun can be used, the <noun> may be substituted by a noun followed by any number of prepositional phrases:
<noun> = <noun> [<prep phr>*]

In this way we can generate noun phrases such as "Tarzan of the jungle", "the difficult chapter in the book", etc. These constructions might be said to consist of a "noun phrase" and a "prepositional phrase" in a traditional grammar. Similarly, we may substitute the following for any occurrence of <adjective>:
<adjective> = <adjective> ("and" | "or") <adjective>

This enables the formal description to generate noun phrases with adjectives joined by conjunctions, such as "a very beautiful and intelligent lady". Prepositional phrases consist of a preposition followed by an object. Objects are defined under complements.
<prep phr> = <preposition> <object>

Noun Phrases A "noun phrase" is generally defined as a syntactic unit that includes a noun. The formal definition of a noun phrase given below describes the most common components of a noun phrase.
<noun phrase> = "the" <specific proper noun> | <proper noun> | <non-personal pronoun> | <article> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> | [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun-plural> | <proper noun-possessive> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> | <personal possessive adjective> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> | <article> <common noun-possessive> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun>

Note: The articles "a" and "an" require a singular noun. Examples: <"the"> <specific proper noun> the Atlantic Ocean the Sahara <proper noun> John America Dr. Allen State Street <non-personal pronoun> someone anyone this <article> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> a very long bridge the book the extremely pretty dress [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun-plural> very yellow flowers books <proper noun-possessive> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> John's very long sentence Mary's shoes <personal possessive adjective> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> his book my very long hair <article> <common noun-possessive> [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> a dog's tail the book's very difficult style

Compound Subjects Compound subjects consist of simple subjects joined by conjunctions.

<compound subject> = <simple subject> ("and" | "or") <simple subject> |

"Either" <simple subject> "or" <simple subject> | "Neither" <simple subject> "nor" <simple subject>

Examples: <simple subject> ("and" | "or") <simple subject> Someone and I Tarzan of the jungle and Dr. Allen "Either" <simple subject> "or" <simple subject> Either John or Dr. Allen Either the lion or my small dog "neither" <simple subject> "nor" <simple subject> Neither John nor I

CONTINUED: The Predicate of a Sentence Basic English Sentence Structures

The Predicate
The predicate is the part of the sentence that contains a verb or verb phrase and its complements.
<predicate> = (<verb> | <verb phrase>) <complement>

English has three main kinds of verbs: auxiliary verbs, linking verbs, and action verbs. The verb "to be" is the most frequently used verb in English. Learn to use it correctly! Sometimes the verb "to be" is categorized as an auxiliary verb. The following list of auxiliary verbs excludes "be", "do", and "ought" because they have very different usage from other auxiliary verbs.
<auxV> = "must" | "may" |"might" | "will" |"would" |"shall" | "should" |"can" |"could"

The formal description of verbs uses verb forms starting with a "V" followed by an abbreviation with a number and a letter to represent the person and number. For example, "V1s" means Verb 1st person, singular. The abbreviations "Vinf", "Vpast", "Ving", "Vpastp",

refer to the infinitive, past tense, present participle, and past participle forms of the verb, respectively. Verb Conjugation Action verbs constitute the majority of English verbs. The following table illustrates regular verb conjugation and the corresponding verb forms:

Infinitive (Vinf): Present Participle (Ving): Past participle (Vpastp):

start starting started

Person,Number 1st,singular 2nd,singular 3rd,singular 1st,plural 2nd,plural 3rd,plural I you

Present (V1s) start (V2s) start

Past (Vpast) started started

he/she/it (V3s) starts started we you they (V1p) start (V2p) start (V3p) start started started started

Click here to conjugate over 7,400 regular and irregular English verbs.

<verb> = <V1s> |<V2s> |<V3s> | <V1p> |<V2p> |<V3p> | <Vpast> |<linking verb> <linking verb> = "am" |"are" |"is" | "was"| "were" | "look" | "looks" | "looked" | "become" | "became" | "become" | ... <verb phrase> = ("had" |"have" |"has") ["not"] <Vpastp> | ("had" |"have" |"has") ["not"] "been" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] | <auxV> ["not"] "have" <Vpastp> | <auxV> ["not"] "have" "been" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] |

<auxV> ["not"] "be" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] | <auxV> ["not"] <Vinf> | "ought" ("to" | "not") <Vinf> | "ought" ("to" | "not") "be" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] | "ought" ("to" | "not") "have" <Vpastp> | "ought" ("to" | "not") "have" "been" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] | ("do" |"does" |"did") ["not"] [<Vinf>] | ("am" |"are" |"is" |"was" |"were") ["not"] [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] | ("am" |"are" |"is" |"was" |"were") ["not"] "being" [<Vpastp>] | ("am" |"are" |"is" |"was" |"were") ["not"] "going" "to" [<Vinf>]

Verb Phrase Examples: ("had" |"have" |"has") ["not"] <Vpastp> has gone, had finished, had not finished ("had" |"have" |"has") ["not"] "been" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] had been studying, has been gone, have not been studying <auxV> ["not"] "have" <Vpastp> would have gone, might have studied, would not have gone <auxV> ["not"] "have" "been" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] will have been gone, should have been studying, should not have been drinking <auxV> ["not"] "be" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] will be gone, must be studied, will not be done <auxV> ["not"] <Vinf> will go, must study, will not eat "ought" ("to" | "not") <Vinf> ought to study, ought not drink "ought" ("to" | "not") "have" "been" [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] ought to have been studying, ought not have been drinking ("do" |"does" |"did") ["not"] [<Vinf>] do, did study, does swim, did not eat ("am" |"are" |"is" |"was" |"were") ["not"] [<Vpastp> | <Ving>] are, is gone, were swimming, was not eating ("am" |"are" |"is" |"was" |"were") ["not"] "being" [<Vpastp>] are being, was being punished, is not being used

("am" |"are" |"is" |"was" |"were") ["not"] "going" "to" [<Vinf>] am going to travel, is going to study, was not going to go

Negative Contractions
can + not cannot or can't will + not won't shall + not shan't should + not shouldn't have, has, had + not haven't, hasn't, hadn't do, does + not don't, doesn't

Verb Tense
Verb tenses are inflectional forms of verbs or verb phrases that are used to express time distinctions. The following table defines the structure of some common verb tenses. The grammatical term "perfect" expresses an action or state completed at the time of speaking or at a time spoken of. "continuous" or "progressive" indicates an on-going action.
Simple Present Simple Past Simple Future "will" <Vinf> <V1s>|<V2s>|<V3s>| <V1p>|<V2p>|<V3p> John studies everyday. They study everyday. <Vpast> Mary studied yesterday. ("am"|"are"|"is") "going" "to" <Vinf> John will help you tomorrow. Mary is going to help you tomorrow.

Present Continuous (Present progressive)

Past Continuous (Past progressive)

Future Continuous (Future progressive) "will" "be" <Ving>

("am"|"are"|"is") <Ving> John is studying now.

("was"|"were") <Ving> John was studying yesterday.

("am"|"are"|"is") "going" "to" "be" <Vinf> Mary will be studying tomorrow. Mary is going to be studying tomorrow.

Present Perfect ("have"|"has") <Vpastp>

Past Perfect (Pluperfect) "had" <Vpastp>

Future Perfect "will" "have" <Vpastp>

John has studied for three years.

She had studied English before coming here.

By December, she will have studied for three years.

Present Perfect Continuous (Present perfect progressive) ("have"|"has") "been" <Ving> She has been studying for three years.

Past Perfect Continuous (Past perfect progressive) (pluperfect progressive) "had" "been" <Ving> Mary had been studying for three days when she got sick.

Future Perfect Continuous (Future perfect progressive)

"will" "have" "been" <Ving> By midnight, John will have been studying for over three hours.

Adverbial Particles
Some verbs acquire a different meaning when they are followed by "adverbial particles". The most common adverbial particles are: about, across, along, around, behind, by, down, forward, in, off, on, out, over, through, up Adverbial particles are prepositions that are considered part of the verb. The expression "get up", for instance, means to "rise". It is not a request to "obtain" anything. Many of the verbs associated with adverbial particles are separable. One or more words may appear between the verb and the particle.
Examples: "I will wake up early tomorrow." "I will wake him up early tomorrow." "He could not get his hands up."

In traditional grammars, verbs that may be separated from their particles by a noun or pronoun are called "phrasal verbs". The word "up" in the example above is considered an adverb, rather than a preposition. Verbs for which the particle must remain by the verb are called "prepositional verbs". The adverbial particles of prepositional verbs may be interpreted either as adverbs or as prepositions that start a prepositional phrase.

Complements of Verbs
The predicate consists of a verb or verb phrase and its complements, if any. A verb that requires no complements is called intransitive. A verb that requires one or two complements is called transitive. A verb may belong to both categories. We may generate the complete sentence "I walk." with no complements. We may also generate "I walk home.", where "home" is a complement of the verb. Further, "I walk my dog home." has two complements:

"my dog" and "home". In traditional grammars, these complements are called the "indirect object" (my dog) and the "direct object" (home). In this formal description they are called the <indirect object> and <object>. The complement of a verb or verb phrase is described as being optional and consisting not only of objects, but of adjectives, prepositional phrases, etc. This is the formal description:
<complement> = [[<indirect object>] <object>] | [<adverb>* <adjective>] | [<prep phr>*] | ["to" <Vinf> [<object>]] | [<Ving>]

The <adverb>* <adjective> option is for linking verbs or linking verb phrases. The <prep phr>* option is for intransitive or linking verbs. The format of an <indirect object> is the same as an <object>:
<indirect object> = <object> = <simple object> | <compound object>

Notice that objective personal pronouns are used in objects.

<simple object> = <noun phrase> | <objective personal pronoun> <compound object> = <simple object> ("and" | "or") <simple object>

Examples of Sentences with Complements: [<indirect object>] <object> I spent the money. John gave me the little book. <adverb>* <adjective> Mary became very angry. <prep phr>* John slept until 10:00 AM on Thursday. "to" <Vinf> [<object>] John went to pay the rent. I want to drink water. <Ving>

John went shopping.

CONTINUED: Verbal Phrases

Basic English Sentence Structures

Verbal Phrases
English sentences have generally only one verb, but they may have several verbal phrases. Verbal phrases are constructed from the infinitive, present participle, or past participle and their corresponding complements:
["to" <Vinf> [<complement>]] [<Ving> [<complement>]] [<Vpastp> [<complement>]]

Infinitive and present participle verbal phrases may take the place of nouns. Present participle phrases used as nouns are also called gerund phrases. Infinitive verbal phrases are also used as adverbs. Present participle and past participle verbal phrases may act like adjectives. In this case, they are also called participial phrases. Verbal phrases that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence are separated by commas.

Examples: John agreed to run for president. To write was his ambition. The man stopped to rest. Reading books in the train gives me a headache. Buildings constructed during the depression are substandard. Students drinking on campus will be expelled. Trembling with excitement, Mary waited for her friend. The house, remodeled recently, is very attractive.

CONTINUED: Interrogative Sentences

Basic English Sentence Structures

Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative sentences are used to form questions. One form of an interrogative sentence is a declarative sentence followed by a question mark. In verbal communication, the final syllable of the last word of a question is pronounced with a rising pitch or intonation. Place the cursor over the pictures to hear the difference in intonation of a statement and a question.

<Interrogative Sentence> = <Declarative Sentence>"?"

Examples: The computer is not working? An actor became governor?

"Who" <predicate>"?"

Where the verb of the predicate is in 3rd person form. Examples: Who fixed the computer? Who wants to drink water?

("What" |"Which") [<adverb>* <adjective>] <noun> <predicate>"?"

Examples: Which flower is the prettiest? What bridge goes to Manhattan?

["What" |"When" |"Where" |"Who" |"To whom" |"Why"] ("do" |"does" |"don't" |"doesn't" |"did" |"didn't") <subject> <predicate>"?"

The verb of the predicate must be infinitive (Vinf). Examples: Where does John live? Does John go to Manhattan?

"Which" [<noun phrase>] ("do" |"does" |"don't" |"doesn't" |"did" |"didn't") <subject> <predicate>"?"

The verb of the predicate must be infinitive (Vinf). Examples:

Which flower do you like best? Which didn't Mary take home?

["What" |"Which" |"When" |"Where" |"Who" |"To whom" |"Why"] ("will" |"won't") <subject> <predicate>"?" The verb in the predicate must must follow these patterns: "have" <Vpastp> "have" "been" <Ving> "be" <Ving> <Vinf>

Examples: What will John take to Manhattan? When will he return? Will John be thinking about Mary? Why will John cry?

["What" |"Which" |"When" |"Where" |"Who" |"To whom" | "Why"] ("has" |"have" |"hasn't" |"haven't") <subject> <predicate>"?"

Verb in the predicate must be past participle <Vpastp> Examples: Why haven't the tulips flowered? To whom has John sent a letter? What has Mary told John? Hasn't John passed the test?

["What" |"Which" |"When" |"Where" |"Who" |"To whom" | "Why"] ("are" |"is" |"was" |"were" | "aren't" |"isn't" |"wasn't" |"weren't")

<subject> [<adverb>* <adjective> | <prep phr>* | <predicate>]"?"

Verb in the predicate must be present participle <Ving> or past participle <Vpastp> Examples: Why is Mary cooking noodles? Which are the best? Are small airplanes safe? Was John at Mary's party?

CONTINUED: Imperative Sentences

Imperative Sentences
The word "imperative" is derived from the term "emperor". Emperors gave commands, and imperative sentences are commands. Imperative sentences consist of predicates that only contain verbs in infinitive form; verb phrases are not allowed. Imperative sentences are generally terminated with an exclamation mark instead of a period. <Imperative Sentence> = <predicate> = <verb> <complement> Examples: Spend the money! Go to your room! Look in the drawer of the dresser.

Emperor Napoleon using an Imperative Sentence

CONTINUED: Conditional Sentences

Basic English Sentence Structures

Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentences are used to describe the consequences of a specific action, or the dependency between events or conditions. Conditional sentences consist of an independent clause and a dependent clause.
<Dependent Clause> = ("if" | "when") <Declarative Sentence> <Independent Clause> = <Declarative Sentence> | <Interrogative Sentence> <Conditional Sentence> = <Dependent Clause>"," <Independent Clause> | <Independent Clause> <Dependent Clause>

Note: When the Independent Clause consists of an Interrogative Sentence, the question mark is placed at the end of the conditional sentence.
Examples: If the sun is too hot, you will get burned. You will get burned when the sun is too hot. If the sun is shining, is Mary happy? Is Mary happy when the sun is shining? Mary is happy if the sun is shining.

In the following example, the dependent clause contains a compound sentence:

Example: If the sun is too hot and you don't have an umbrella, you will get burned.

CONTINUED: Glossary of English Grammatical Terms