AL-Qadisiyah

A research paper submitted to the faculty of

AL-Qadisiyah University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor degree
of English Language and Literature

Supervised By
Dr. Sami Basheer Al-Hasnawi

2017 A.D. 1438 A.H.

 Dedication

This research paper is dedicated to The sake of Allah, my

Creator and my Master, My great teacher and messenger, Mohammed
(May Allah bless and grant him), who taught us the purpose of life,
My homeland Iraq, the warmest womb; The great martyrs, the symbol
of sacrifice; AL-Qadisiya University; my second magnificent home;
My great parents, who never stop giving of themselves in countless
ways, with light of hope and support, My beloved brothers and sisters;
particularly my dearest brother, Karrar, who stands by me when things
look bleak, To all my family, the symbol of love and giving, My
friends who encourage and support me, All the people in my life who
touch my heart, I dedicate this research.

I
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds; and prayers and peace be
upon Mohamed His servant and messenger.
First and foremost, I must acknowledge my limitless thanks to Allah, the
Ever-Magnificent; the Ever-Thankful, for His help and bless. I am totally
sure that this work would have never become truth, without His
guidance.

I am grateful to some people, who worked hard with me from the

beginning till the completion of the present research particularly my
supervisor Dr. Sami Basheer Al-Hasnawi, who has been always
generous during all phases of the research, and I highly appreciate the
efforts expended by M.A. Muhanned Ajel. I would like to take this
opportunity to say warm thanks to all my beloved friends, who have been
so supportive along the way of doing my research.

I also would like to express my wholehearted thanks to my family

for their generous support they provided me throughout my entire life
and particularly through the process of pursuing the Bachelor degree.
Because of their unconditional love and prayers, I have the chance to
complete this research.
Last but not least, deepest thanks go to all people who took part in
making this research real.

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 Abstract

This research paper aimed to show the importance of sentence

patterns in forming the final structure of the context in the English
language. To achieve this aim, the researcher picked up the most known
theories that discuss and show the differences between these patterns in
forming the context of the sentence. The researcher started with an
introduction that defines and gives the meaning of the sentence according
to linguists as well as the notion of it.
This paper as well, categorized the sentences into four types; simple
sentence, Compound sentence, complex sentence and finally Compound-
complex sentence.
Before this research goes deep to discuss the different types of
patterns, it spotted the light on the element of the sentence to give an idea
about the symbols that been used in the next chapters.
Finally, this research discussed the syntactic classification of
sentence and highlighted the most popular opinion of two known linguists;
Stageberg and Quirk and showed how these linguists used different way to
categorize sentence patterns.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication ………..……………………………..……..…………… I
Acknowledgments ...….…….…………………………….……….. II
Abstract …………….……...………...……………………...……. III
Table of contents ….………………………………………………. IV

Chapter one: An Introduction

1.1 Sentence: A definition

1.1.1 The notion of Sentence ………………………......……. 1
1.1.2 Otto Jespersen's Definition of a Sentence …….....……. 3
1.1.3 Linguistic Definitions of Sentence ………...……..…… 4

1.2 Types of sentence

1.2.1 Simple Sentence ………………………..………..……. 5
1.2.2 Compound Sentence ……………………………...…… 6
1.2.3 Complex Sentence ……………………………….……. 7
1.2.4 Compound-complex Sentence ………………..………. 9

1.3 Elements of sentence ………………………………….……. 10

Chapter Two: Patterns of Sentence

2.1 Syntactic classification of sentence

2.1.1 Stageberg's classification ………...………….….…… 13
2.1.2 Quirk and Greenbaum’s classification ……..………... 26

Conclusion ……………………………………………...………… 29
References ………………………………………………….…….. 31

IV
 Chapter one: An Introduction

1.1 Sentence: A definition

Sentence is a word, clause, or phrase or a group of clauses or phrases
forming a syntactic unit which expresses an assertion, a question, a
command, a wish, an exclamation, or the performance of an action, that in
writing usually begins with a capital letter and concludes with appropriate
end punctuation, and that in speaking is distinguished by characteristic
patterns of stress, pitch, and pauses.

1.1.1 The notion of Sentence

The term sentence is derived from Latin sententia, which literally
meant ‘feeling’ or ‘opinion’. In the field of grammar, this meaning has
specialized to mean ‘an utterance that expresses a feeling or opinion, but a
more technical definition would be a grammatically self-contained speech
unit consisting of a word, or a syntactically related group of words that
expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, or an exclamation,
which in writing usually begins with a capital letter and ends with a period,
question mark, or exclamation mark. (Verspoor & Sauter, 2000: 24)

It is sometimes said that a sentence expresses a complete thought.

This is a notional definition: it defines a term by the notion or idea it
conveys. The difficulty with this definition lies in fixing what is meant by a
'complete thought.' There are notices, for example, is “Hey, you!” a sentence
or not? The answer would depend on whether the function was taken or the
form of the utterance as a starting point. “Hey you!” does express a complete
thought; by saying it, the speaker means something like ‘I want to get your

1
attention’, but in form it is rather incomplete as it doesn’t have a subject or
predicate.
On the other hand, there are sentences that clearly consist of more than
one thought. Here is one relatively simple example:
This week marks the 300th anniversary of the publication of Sir Isaac
Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, a fundamental
work for the whole of modern science and a key influence on the philosophy
of the European Enlightenment.

How many 'complete thoughts' are there in this sentence? The part
after the comma should be recognized that it introduces two additional
points about Newton's book: (1) that it is a fundamental work for the whole
of modern science, and (2) that it was a key influence on the philosophy of
the European Enlightenment. Yet this example would be acknowledged by
all as a single sentence, and it is written as a single sentence." (Allerton,
1979)

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1.1.2 Otto Jespersen's Definition of a Sentence
Traditional attempts to define the sentence were generally either
psychological or logical-analytic in nature: the former type spoke of 'a
complete thought' or some other inaccessible psychological phenomenon;
the latter type, following Aristotle, expected to find every sentence made up
of a logical subject and logical predicate, units that themselves rely on the
sentence for their definition. A more fruitful approach is that of Otto
Jespersen (1933), who suggests testing the completeness and independence
of a sentence, by assessing its potential for standing alone, as a
complete utterance.

Sentences provide the framework for the clear written expression of

our ideas. The aim in writing is always to write in complete sentences which
are correctly punctuated. Sentences always begin with a capital letter and
end in either a full stop, exclamation or question mark. A complete sentence
always contains a verb, expresses a complete idea and makes sense standing
alone. (Greenbaum & Nelson, 2002)

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1.1.3 Linguistic Definitions of Sentence
 A sentence has been defined in various ways; but the best definition for our
purpose is this: It is a form of words in which something is said
about something. (Ramsay, 1875)
 A sentence is a (relatively) complete and independent unit
of communication (or--in the case of a soliloquy-what might be a
communication were there someone to listen to it)-the completeness and
independence being shown by its standing alone or its capability of standing
alone, i.e. of being uttered by itself. (Jespersen, 1933)
 It is evident that the sentences in any utterance are marked off by the mere
fact that each sentence is an independent linguistic form, not included by
virtue of any grammatical construction in any larger linguistic form.
(Bloomfield, 1933)
 Sentence (a grammatically autonomous unit) can be distinguish from
utterance (a unit which is autonomous in terms of its pragmatic or
communicative function). (Quirk, et al., 1985)
 An orthographic sentence is a unit of writing that begins with a capital letter
and ends with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark. The term
'orthographic sentence' embodies no commitment as to whether or not the
unit concerned is syntactically a sentence, a question which may have no
determinate answer. (Huddleston & Pullum, 2002)

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1.2 Types of sentence

Sentences may have different degrees of complexity. They may consist

of one or more main clauses or they may consist of one or more main clauses
with one or more dependent clauses. They are called simple, compound,
complex or compound-complex sentences, depending on the types of
clauses they contain.

1.2.1 Simple Sentence

In English grammar, a simple sentence is a sentence with only

one independent clause (also known as a main clause).
- I am an invisible man.
- Her eyes were red from crying.
- Though a simple sentence doesn't contain any subordinate clauses, it isn't
always short. A simple sentence often contains modifiers.
- In addition, subjects, verbs, and objects in simple sentences may
be coordinated. (Verspoor & Sauter, 2000: 35)
A sentence is classified simple even when it has a compound subject
or predicate (or both) and includes modifying words and phrases: (DiYanni
& Hoy, 2003)
- You and your friends can see the mountain on your next trip.
- You can see the mountain and climb to the top.
With regard to simple sentences, it ought to be observed first, that there are
degrees in simplicity. 'God made man,' is a very simple sentence. 'On the
sixth day God made man of the dust of the earth after his own image,' is still
a simple sentence in the sense of rhetoricians and critics, as it hath but
one verb, but less simple than the former, on account of the circumstances
specified." (Campbell, 1776)

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1.2.2 Compound Sentence

In English grammar, a compound sentence is a sentence that contains

at least two independent clauses.

Compound sentences can be formed in three basic ways:

(1) using a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) to join
the main clauses.
(2) using a semicolon, either with or without a conjunctive adverb.
(3) on occasion, using a colon.

Compound Sentences can be Tested in these ways:

"Note 1: A quick test for a compound sentence is to see if the sentence can
be divided into two or more simple sentences:

The surveying was to have been completed by October 15; however,

construction must start on or before November 15.

The surveying was to have been completed by October 15. Construction

must start on or before November 15.

"Note 2: Sometimes three or more simple sentences can combine into a

compound sentence:

The site was ready, the construction crew was ready, and the materials were
ready, but the weather was not cooperative." (Covey, 2012)

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 - Word Groups That Aren't Compound Sentences

"Compound sentences contrast with sentences which have only one clause.
These may be simple sentences, with no subordinate clauses or they may
contain subordinate clauses. So the following are not compound sentences.

- I came.
- When Snowy died, he was buried in the garden.
- If that child doesn't go, I resign!

"The definition of compound sentences involves the coordination of whole

sentences, complete with all their normal parts. So cases in which just verb
phrases or predicate phrases are conjoined do not produce compound
sentences. Thus the following are not compound sentences. (Hurford, 1994)

- I came, saw, and conquered.

- Snowy died and was buried in the garden."

1.2.3 Complex Sentence

In traditional grammar, a complex sentence is a sentence that contains

an independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

 Types of Complex Clauses: Relative Clauses and Adverbial Clauses

"A complex sentence has a main clause, and one or more subordinate
clauses, which come in various kinds. One kind is a relative clause. One
more common kind of subordinate clause is an adverbial clause, often stating
when, how, why, or if something happened, as in the [bold] parts of these
sentences: If John comes, I'm leaving, or He left because he felt ill. None
of the examples just given were particularly exotic, and they could all easily
have occurred in conversational speech. All were, in a technical sense,

7
 complex sentences, because they contained subordinate clauses." (Hurford,
2012)

 Positioning Clauses in Complex Sentences

"Dependent clauses cannot be sentences on their own. They depend
on an independent clause to support them. The independent clause in
a complex sentence carries the main meaning, but either clause may come
first." (Young & Strauch, 2006)

 The Need for Complex Sentences

"Most of the sentences being used in writing or in continuous speech
are complex. . .. There is a recurrent need to expound facts or concepts in
greater elaboration than the structure of the simple sentence permits." (Nash,
1986)

 Four Features of Complex Sentences

"Complex sentences are traditionally divided into two basic types:
(I) sentences including coordinate clauses, and (II) sentences
including subordinate clauses. The former consist of two (or more) clauses
that are functionally equivalent and symmetrical, whereas the latter consist
of two (or more) clauses that constitute an asymmetrical relationship: a
subordinate clause and a matrix clause do not have equal status and equal
function. . . I suggest that prototypical subordinate clauses carry the
following features: they are (I) syntactically embedded, (II)
formally marked as a dependent clause, (III) semantically integrated in a
superordinate clause, and (IV) part of the same processing and planning unit
as the associated matrix clause." (Diessel, 2004)

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  Complex Sentences and Metaphors
"Complex sentences can offer dramatic development, extending
a metaphor, as Melville's Captain Ahab reminds us: 'The path to my fixed
purpose is laid on iron rails, on which my soul is grooved to run.'" (Gerard,
1996)

1.2.4 Compound-complex Sentence

In English grammar, a compound-complex sentence is a sentence with

two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Also
known as a complex-compound sentence.

"The compound-complex sentence consists of two or more

independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
This syntactic shape is essential in representing complex relationships and
so is frequently put to use in various forms of analytical writing, especially
in academic writing. It is also probably true that the ability to use compound-
complex sentences elevates a writer's credibility: it demonstrates that he or
she can bring together in a single sentence a range of different pieces of
information and order them in relationship to each other. This is not to say
that the compound-complex sentence invites confusion: on the contrary,
when handled carefully, it has the opposite effect—it clarifies the
complexity and enables readers to see it clearly." (Rosenwasser, 2012)

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1.3 Elements of Sentence

The basic parts of a sentence fall into two categories: the subject and
the predicate.

- Subjects

The subject performs the action of the sentence. It can be a noun, noun
phrase, or noun clause. To analyze sentences, grammarians have
distinguished three kinds of subjects: (Leech, 2006)

 Complete Subject - "The old, dusty books on the table haven't been read in
years." The complete subject includes the entire noun phrase -- usually
everything before the verb.

 Simple Subject - "books". The simple subject is the main noun or pronoun
stripped of all modifiers.

 Compound Subject - "The cowardly mailman and the huge, barking

dog didn't get along very well." A compound subject consists of two or more
subjects linked together by conjunctions. Note: the simple subject of that
sentence would be "mailman and dog".

- Predicates

As with subjects, predicates can be classified as complete predicates,

simple predicates, and compound predicates. To form a complete sentence,
the predicate must include a verb (a finite verb, more specifically). It can
also include objects, complements, and adverbials. (Longknife, 2002)

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 - Objects

The object is the receiver of the action in a sentence: “He broke the
table” or “He threw the ball.” Like subjects, objects can be any word or
group of words functioning as a noun, and each type of object can also be
categorized as a complete, simple, or compound object. Categorized by their
different functions within a sentence, the three types of objects are:
(Eastwood, 1994)

 Direct Object - "I wrote a letter." (What did I write? A letter.)

 Indirect Object - "I wrote a letter to my friend." (Who did I write a letter
to? My friend.)

 Prepositional Object - "I wrote on the paper." (What did I write on? The
paper.) A thread on EnglishForums.com discusses prepositional objects and
their potential for confusion. (Eastwood, 1994: 4-7)

- Complements

Complements (also called predicative) complete the predicate by

modifying a noun in the sentence; copulas or linking verbs require a
complement to form a complete sentence. (Fabb, 1994)

Subject Complement - "The car is new." The subject complement follows

a linking verb and modifies the subject. It can be a predicate adjective (He
is happy), a predicate noun (He is the boss), or an adverbial
complement (He is in the house).

Object Complement - "I painted my room purple." The object complement

modifies the direct object, either by describing it or renaming it (They
elected him governor). Object complements can cause some confusion.

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 Adjective Complement - "He was happy to help." The adjective
complement is a special case in which a group of words modifies an
adjective. If removed, the adjective complement leaves a grammatically
complete sentence, but the meaning of the sentence changes.

Verb Complement - Some grammarians use the term "verb complement"

to refer to direct and indirect objects, while others use it to refer to a
complement occurring after a linking verb (a subject complement).

- Adverbials

An adverbial is an adverb, adverbial phrase, or adverbial clause: any

word or group of words that acts as an adverb within a sentence. They
usually modify verbs, but they can also modify the whole sentence. Unlike
an adverbial complement (He is in the house), an adverbial isn’t needed to
complete a sentence (He had lunch in the house or He had lunch).
(Eastwood, 1994: 8-12)

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 Chapter Two: Patterns of sentence

2.1 Syntactic classification of sentence

Sentences have been classified into different types with different

points of view. Stageberg has given his view in regard to the syntactic
classifications of the sentences. However, Quirk and Greenbaum too have
demonstrated their attitude concerning that type of classification. The
following study will take into account these viewpoints more widely.

2.1.1 Stageberg's classification

As Stageberg (1981: 197) explained that English language is not a

matter of merely stringing words together in some random fashion. Instead,
it is carefully arranged, for the most part unconsciously, into patterns. in
English there are nine basic sentence patterns.

Pattern 1: N be Aj
Food is good
In this pattern the subject is (N) and the grammatical meaning of it is “that
which is described”. The verb (be) give the meaning of “maybe described
as”.
The third term of this pattern must be an adjective or adjectival as in (The
food is poisonous).

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Pattern 1 can be tested in a simple way. It is capable of this expansion:
That food is good < That good food is very good.
That food is poisonous < That poisonous food is very poisonous.

If a sentence will not undergo this expansion, it belongs to some pattern

other than pattern 1. For example:
My mother is outside.
Cannot be expanded to:
*My outside mother is very outside.

So this sentence does not belong to the Pattern 1 type. The adjective in
Pattern 1 is, in grammatical meaning, a modifier of the subject. Sometimes
a prepositional phrase will, as a modifier of the N, occupy the Adj position,
as in

The teacher was in a bad mood. (= irritable)

His explanation was over my head. (= incomprehensible)

The foregoing test for Pattern 1 does not work in all cases. Nor, for that
matter, does any grammatical rule or test, unless it is accompanied by
exceptions and qualifications. There is a limited number of adjectives that
can occur in either the first or the second slot, but not in both.

- Pattern 2: N be Av
The girl is here.

Pattern 2 differs from Pattern 1 in these respects:

1. The verb be in this pattern usually has the meaning of "be located" or
"occur."

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2. Pattern 2 is not capable of taking the Pattern 1 expansion.
3. The third position is occupied by a type of uninflected word called an
"adverbial." Words of this type include here, there, up, down, in, out, inside,
outside, upstairs, downstairs, on, off, now, then, tomorrow, yesterday, over,
though, above, below, before, after. Up, in, and out are partially and/or
irregularly inflected with the forms upper, uppermost, inner, inmost,
innermost, outer, outermost, utmost, outmost. For most words in the third
position one can substitute there or then. (Ibid: 200)

Examples: The Ping-Pong table is downstairs.

The game was yesterday.

The balls are outdoors.

Often a prepositional phrase with a there or then meaning will occupy the
third position.

Examples: The wolf is at the door.

The game will be at three o'clock.

The grammatical meaning of the subject (N position) in pattern 2 is “that

about which as assertion is made,” and that of the Av is “modifier of the
verb.”

- Pattern 3: N1 be N1
My brother is a doctor.
Stageberg (1981: 201) said that The superscript after the second N
(noun) means that this noun has the same referent as N1, both brother and
doctor refer to the same person, the meaning of be in patterns 3 is “be
15
identified or classified as.” The first N1 (subject) has the grammatically
meaning of “that which is identified.” The second N1 means grammatically
“that which identifies the subject” and called the subject complement.
Personal pronouns also occupy this position, such pronoun in the subject
complement position take primary stress.
This is shé
It’s mé
It was théy

The following sentence are examples of pattern 3:

Those coeds must be roommates.

They are my friends.
Harry is my favorite uncle.

- Pattern 4: N LV Aj
The acrobat seems young.
In Pattern 4 the verb is called a linking verb (LV), as it links the adjective
with the subject. Any verb except be that may be substituted for seems in
this frame is a linking verb.( Hornby, 1961)
Examples: The cyclist appears weary.
The physicist grew sleepy.
Some of the common linking verbs are seem, appear, become, grow, remain,
taste, look, feel, smell, sound, get, continue, go. If verbs like these, however,
are followed by an adverb or adverbial, then the pattern is not number 4.

Examples: The cyclist appeared quickly on the scene.

The physicist grew rapidly in knowledge.

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Here, as in Pattern 1, the adjective is in grammatical meaning a modifier of
the subject.

Linking verbs may of course be preceded by auxiliaries.

Examples: The party may become lively.

Your sister must have seemed friendly.

In addition to the limited number of common linking verbs, other verbs not
usually thought of as linking may on occasion be followed by an adjective
and therefore conform to Pattern 4.

Examples: The screw worked loose.

The defendant stood firm.

His face went pale. The well ran dry.

He proved true to his cause.

For verbs like these one can substitute be, become or remain with no
substantial change of meaning.

- Pattern 5: N1 LV N1

My sister remained an outstanding student.

The two superscripts show that both nouns have the same referent. The verb,
which links student and sister, is a linking verb. The number of linking verbs
that may occupy the verbal position in this pattern is very small. Among
them are remain, become, appear, seem, continue, stay, make. sentences that

17
follow Pattern 5 should not be confused with those in which the noun after
the verb does not have the same referent as the first noun.

Examples: Donald continued my friend, despite our differences.

My brother became a doctor.

In Pattern 5, as in Pattern 3, the second noun means "that which

identifies the subject," and is called the subjective complement. (Kolln, &
Funk, 2002: 92)

- Pattern 6: N InV (=intransitive verb)

Girls smile
The verb in Pattern 6 is of the kind called intransitive. An intransitive verb
is self-sufficient; it can stand alone with its subject.

1. The sportsman fished.

2. The sportsmen were fishing.

It can be modified by words and word groups known as adverbs and

adverbials.

Examples: The sportsmen fished early.

The sportsmen were fishing in the stream.

The sportsmen were fishing when we drove up.

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But an intransitive verb is usually not completed by a noun or pronoun. For
example, in

They finished late

finished is intransitive, but in

They finished the game

and

They finished it

finished is not intransitive because it is completed by a noun or pronoun. If

there is a doubt whether a word following the verb is a modifier that goes
with an intransitive verb or a completer of a transitive verb, a substitution
can settle the matter. If can substitute him, her, it, or them can be substitute,
the word is a completer and the verb is not intransitive. ( Lado, 1958)

Examples: 1. He hammered fast.

2. He hammered the nail.

In the first sentence it cannot be substitute without spoiling the structural

meaning. But in the second He hammered it is a suitable equivalent for He
hammered the nail. Therefore, the first hammered is intransitive and the
second one transitive.

The subject of the verb in Pattern 6, and also in Patterns 7, 8, and 9 to

follow, has the grammatical meaning of "performer of the action."

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 Some intransitive verbs characteristically do not occur alone but take
an adverbial modifier. Examples: lurk, sneak, lurch, sally, sidle, tamper, lie,
live. The last one, live, takes an adverbial modifier in three meanings:
"reside" as in "He lives in Mexico"; "stay alive" as in "He lives on soy bean
products"; "be alive" as in "He lived in the first half of the twentieth
century." Also, intransitive verbs with a passive sense based on transitive
verbs take an adverbial modifier, as in "Your car rides comfortably," and
"Her book is selling well." (Greenbaum,2002)

- Pattern 7: N1 TrV (=transitive verb) N2

The girl bought a dress.
In Pattern 7 the verb is completed by a noun (or pronoun), for which
one can substitute him, her, it or them. This noun does not have the same
referent as the subject. It is called the direct object of the verb and has the
grammatical meaning of " undergoer of the action" or "that affected by the
verb." (Stageberg,1981: 206)
With two kinds of pronouns, however, the direct object does have the
same referent as the subject. One is the set of -self/-selves pronouns,
generally known as the reflexive pronouns. These occur as direct object in
sentences like
She saw herself.
The lifeguards splashed themselves.
The other set consists of the reciprocal pronouns each other and one another,
which function as direct objects in such sentences as
They found each other.
They fought one another.

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 - Pattern 8: N1 TrV N2 N3
The mother bought the girl a dress.
In Pattern 8 there are seven matters to be observed:

1. The superscripts 1, 2, and 3 indicate that each noun has a different

referent; mother, girl, and dress are three separate entities.

2. it can be seen that there are two grammatical objects after the verb bought.
These two objects are called, in order, the indirect and the direct object. If
the first one was omitted, the pattern becomes number 7 and dress is seen to
be the direct object.

3. The indirect object may often be replaced by a prepositional phrase

beginning with to or for, or occasionally with a different preposition.
Examples: He sold the student a ticket. He sold a ticket to the student. He
built them a playpen. He built a playpen for them. He played me a game of
chess. He played a game of chess with me. He asked her a question. He
asked a question of her.

4. The verbs that can be used in Pattern 8 are in a restricted group. Some of
the common ones are give, make, find, tell, buy, write, send, ask, play, build,
teach, assign, feed, offer, throw, hand, pass, sell, pay. (Greenbaum,2002)

5. A Pattern 8 sentence may be transformed into the passive by making either

the direct or the indirect object the subject of the passive verb:

A dress was bought the girl by her mother.

The girl was bought a dress by her mother.

In some cases, however, the passive transform does not sound fully natural
and seems to demand a preposition, as in

21
 The sergeant found the recruit a rifle.

A rifle was found (for) the recruit.

6. The grammatical meaning of the indirect object is "beneficiary of the

action of the verb-plus-direct-object”

7. If a pronoun is used in the position of the direct object (N3), it must be

the first of the two objects:

The mother bought it for the girl

Not *The mother bought the girl it.

Similarly, if N2 and N3 are both pronouns, again the direct object occur first:

The mother bought it for her.

Not *The mother bought her it.

- Pattern 9: N1 TrV N2 plus one:

a. N2
b. Aj
c. Pronoun
d. Av (of place), uninflected
e. Verb, present participle
f. Verb, past participle
g. Prep phrase
h. Inf phrase with to be

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 Pattern 9 contains a choice of eight different forms in the final
position. These are illustrated as follows:
a. The basketball team chose Charlotte captain.
b. He considered her brilliant.
c. I thought the caller you.
d. We supposed him upstairs.
e. I imagined her eating.
f. I believed him seated.
g. We considered her in the way. (= bothersome)
h. We thought Chico to be a fine player.

In this pattern the words in the last two positions imply an underlying
sentence with be as its verb or auxiliary. This is suggested by the way the
illustrative sentences above can be changed in form while preserving the
same meaning:
a. The basketball team chose Charlotte to be captain.
b. He considered her to be brilliant.
He considered that she was brilliant.
c. I thought the caller to be you.
I thought that the caller was you.
d. We supposed him to be upstairs.
We supposed that he was upstairs.
e. I imagined her to be eating.
I imagined that she was eating.
f. I believed him to be seated.
I believed that he was seated.
g. We considered her to be in the way.

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 We considered that she was in the way.
h. We thought Chico to be a fine player.
We thought that Chico was a fine player.

As Pattern 9 is most commonly exemplified by N2 in the final

position, the attention will be restricted to this form of the pattern. Pattern 9,
like its predecessor Pattern 8, has two objects following the verb. But it
differs from Pattern 8 in three respects: (Seely, 2013)
1. In the order of objects, the direct object comes first. In some sentences,
if the second object was eliminated, then the left is Pattern 7, which
contains only the direct object after the verb:
- The basketball team chose Charlotte.
The second object is called the objective complement, because it completes
the direct object.
2. In Pattern 9 both objects have the same referent; that is, both Charlotte
and captain refer to the same person.
3. In Pattern 9, only the first object, the direct object, can be made the subject
of a passive verb. pattern sentence can be transformed into:
- Charlotte was chosen captain
But the objective complement cannot be a subject, for:
*Captain was chosen Charlotte (make no sense)
In the passive of Pattern 9 the subject comes from the direct object of the
active.

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 DO OC

Example: Active: He appointed Ruth secretary.

Subj. SC

Passive: Ruth was appointed secretary.

DO OC
Since the sentence underling “Ruth secretary” is “Ruth is secretary” it
should retain the same relationship in the passive by calling secretary the
subjective complement.
Only a very small group of verbs can be used for Pattern 9. Among them
are name, choose, elect, appoint, designate, select, vote, make, declare,
nominate, call, fancy, consider, imagine, think, believe, feel, keep, suppose,
find, prove, label, judge. A different but overlapping set of these verbs is
used for each of the eight forms in the final position.
The grammatical meaning of the objective complement is "completer
of the direct object." (Stageberg, 1981: 214)

25
2.2 Quirk and Greenbaum’s classification

According to Quirk, et al. (1985), the English language has seven

basic sentence (or clause) patterns.

There are five sentence class terms:

S = subject
To get the subject ‘S’ ask the question ‘Who?’ before the verb.

V = verb
In every sentence the most important word is the verb. A verb shows action
or activity or work done.

O = object
To get the object ‘O’ ask the question ‘What’ or ‘Whom’. ‘What’ is for
things and ‘Whom’ is for persons. Persons may be nouns or pronouns.

C = complement
The words required to complete the meaning of a sentence are
called Complement of the sentence.
Types of Complement

- Subject Complement
The complement which expresses the quality or identity or condition of the
subject is called Subject Complement.

26
- Object Complement
The complement which expresses the quality or identity or condition of an
object is called Object Complement.

A = adverbial.
To get ‘A’ ask the question why, when, where or how.

- Pattern 1: S V
The simplest of sentence patterns is composed of a subject and verb without
a direct object or subject complement. It uses an intransitive verb, that is, a
verb requiring no direct object:
The sun is shining.
The curtains disappeared.
The wind is blowing. (Ibid: 721)

- Pattern 2: S V O
The object in this pattern a direct object and the verb is a transitive verb.
The lecture bored me.
He threw the ball.
She has a car. (Kirszner & Mandell, 2004: 489)

- Pattern 3: S V C
Your dinner seems ready.
She is happy.
It is windy. (Verspoor & Sauter, 2000: 24)

27
 - Pattern 4: S V A
My office is in the next building.
He was at school.
The meeting is at eight. (Quirk, et al. ,1985: 721)

- Pattern 5: S V O O
The first object is an indirect object and the second object is a direct object.
I bought her a gift.
I must send my parents an anniversary card.
She gave the door a kick. (Ibid: 721)

- Pattern 6: S V O C
The object is a direct object.
My students have found her reasonably helpful.
He declared her the winner.
I found it strange. (Eastwood, 1994: 7)

- Pattern 7: S V O A
The object is a direct object.
You can put the dish on the table.
He placed it on the shelf.
A car knocked it down. (Leech, 2006: 120)

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 Conclusion

The first chapter talks about the origin of the word ‘sentence’ and from
which source was derived, and how the sentence is used to express feelings and
emotions of different degrees. However, the chapter sheds lights on the idea of
expression itself and how language; sentences in particular are used to do such
things. Sentences are of different kinds with different functions, they are employed
to expresses an assertion, a question, a command, a wish, or an exclamation.

The study also deals with the various definitions which have been given to
the sentence which were generally either psychological or logical-analytic in
nature. Otto Jespersen, for example, suggests testing the completeness and
independence of a sentence, by assessing its potential for standing alone, as a
complete utterance. Additionally, the present study also explains the idea of the
linguistic definitions of sentences and how they are varied. Also the idea of the
types of sentences is heighted in which sentences are divided into four types;
simple, complex, compound and compound-complex sentences. These types of
sentences are dealt with according to the clauses whether dependent or
independent and the manner by which they effect the definition of the sentence.

Finally, the chapter also demonstrates the components of the sentence;

subject, verbs, objects, and compliments of various types. Chapter two, however
represents the syntactic classification of sentences and how it demonstrated from
varied viewpoints. Stageberg on one hand, has explained that English language is
not a matter of merely stringing words together in some random fashion. Instead, it
is carefully arranged, for the most part unconsciously, into patterns. in English there

29
are nine basic sentence patterns. Quirk and Greenbaum on the other hand have
demonstrated the idea that the English language has seven basic sentence (or
clause) patterns, and that there are five sentence class terms; subject, verb, object,
compliment, subject compliment, and object compliment. The chapter however,
defines these classes and they function in relation to the total meaning of the
sentence said.

30
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