Types of sentences

1. Sentence structure as a key to meaning

A. THE BASIC SENTENCE
B. COMPOUNDING- PUTTING EQUAL PARTS TOGETHER
C. NOUN GROUPS
D. ADDITIONS TO THE VERB
E. SPECIAL SENTENCE STRUCTURES
A. THE BASIC SENTENCE
When we speak or write, we group the words in a sentence together so that they will have
meaning.
If you understand how we construct sentences in English, you will be a better reader.
The English sentence has the following parts:

THE SUBJECT

This tells us who or what the sentence is about. It usually comes before the verb.

It can be one word or many words.

Examples: Crying is a mystery. Why crying is good for us is still not clear.

Food affects your health. The kind of food that you eat affects your health.

Most parents of young children aren't aware of this problem.

Exercising can help you stay healthy.

THE VERB

This tells us what the subject does. It gives us the action or the situation. It can be one word or a
few words.

Examples: Crying is a mystery.

Food affects your health.

They have a theory.

What do they know about it?

(Whole verb = do…know, core verb = know)

They have not proved it yet.

(Whole verb = have proved, core verb = proved)

Our health is affected by the food we eat.

(Whole verb = is affected, core verb = affected)

This will relax your body.

 (whole verb= will relax, core verb = relax)

He always gets up early in the morning.

(verb = gets up)

You don't have to lie down when you do this.

(whole verb = don't have to lie down, have to = modal verb, core verb = lie down)

THE REST OF THE SENTENCE

The rest of the basic sentence, after the verb, can be:

 Something that answers the question "what?" or "who?" after the verb.

Example:
This will relax you.
Food affects your physical and emotional health.
They eat only food that is grown organically.
Psychologists believe that crying is good for you.
He hates waking up in the morning.

 Something that refers to or describes the subject.

Example: It is only a theory. Watching TV is the most popular activity.

Crying is helpful. He became nervous. You will feel good after you exercise.

 Something that answers questions such as "when?", "where?", "how?", "why?" about
the verb.
Examples:

Exercise helps when you are on a diet. (answers "when?")

Small classes succeed because they give everyone more opportunities.
(answers "why?")
He died at an early age. She has been teaching since the beginning of the year.
(answers "when?")
Most people work in order to make money.
(answers "for what purpose?")
She manages by working very hard.
(answers "how?")

 A combination of any of the above

Examples:

Body language is important when you cannot hear a person

(describes the subject) (answers "when?")
Body language can present problems because it differs from country to country.
(answers "what?") (answers "why?")
He remembers what he has to do by keeping careful notes.
(answers "what?") (answers "how?")
Practice #1: Can you recognize the basic parts of a sentence?
Divide each sentence into three parts: Subject, Verb and Rest of the sentence.
(The first one has been done for you.)
1. Friendships / are / important. This article / explains / the importance of friendship.
2. Children who don't have friends may develop emotional problems.
3. Six out of ten people said that they seldom pay attention to the TV.
4. The second type of morning person is the kind who always says "another minute".

5. They exercise because they believe it is good for them.

6. Stress builds up because there is no need to fight.
7. Stress can cause high blood pressure.
8. Rest can be achieved by a brief period of lying or even sitting down.
9. A number of curious experiences occur at the onset of sleep.
10. They found that there were no differences between the two groups.
11. More than 70 percent of those asked said that they watch TV every day.
12. The percentage of people who exercise has not increased since the 1980s.
13. Children mimic what they see.
14. Their ability to learn improves when they work together.
15. The most important finding to emerge from the study was that most attackers felt
persecuted.
16. The final event occurred after someone told where his father kept a gun.
17. The least controversial purpose for schooling is to prepare students for economic
productivity.