WEEK 3

Syntax: Sentence Patterns

Sentence Structure
Rules of Syntax

Intro to English Language System

English Class
Professor: John Michael Cultura
 Syntax

Syntax is the part of linguistics that studies the structure and formation of sentences. It explains how words
and phrases are arranged to form correct sentences. 
 A sentence could make no sense and still be correct from the syntax point of view as long as words are in
their appropriate spots and agree with each other. 
Linguistics takes a different approach to these categories and separates words into morphological and
syntactic groups. Linguistics analyzes words according to their affixes and the words that follow or
precede them.

Sentence Patterns
It is an astonishing fact that any speaker of any human language can produce and understand an infinite
number of sentences. We can show this quite easily through examples such as the following:
We can show this quite easily through examples such as the following:
The kindhearted boy had many girlfriends.
The kindhearted, intelligent boy had many girlfriends.
The kindhearted, intelligent, handsome boy had many girlfriends.

John found a book in the library.

John found a book in the library in the stacks.
John found a book in the library in the stacks on the fourth floor.
In each case the speaker could continue creating sentences by adding another adjective, prepositional
phrase, or relative clause. In principle, this could go on forever. All languages have mechanisms of this sort
that make the number of sentences limitless. Given this fact, the sentences of a language cannot be stored
in a dictionary format in our heads. Rather, sentences are composed of discrete units that are combined by
rules. This system of rules explains how speakers can store infinite knowledge in a finite space—our
brains.

Subjects, Verbs, and Clauses

In its simplest form, an English sentence has two parts: a subject and a verb that express a complete
thought when they are together.
The subject shows who or what is doing the action. It is always some form of noun or pronoun.

The verb shows the action or the state of being. It can be an action verb, like “run,” or a state verb, like
“seem.”

Examples of simple two-word sentences include:

Marvin slept.
Dogs bark.
Isotopes react.

Real sentences are rarely so short. We usually want to convey much more information, so we modify the
main subject and verb with other words and phrases, as in the sentences below:

Unfortunately, Marvin slept fitfully.

Dogs bark louder after midnight.
Heavy isotopes react more slowly than light isotopes of the same element.

Despite the extra information, each of these sentences has one subject and one verb, so it’s still just one
clause. What’s a clause?

Clause
A clause is the combination of a subject and a verb. When you have a subject and verb, you have a clause.
Pretty easy, isn’t it? We’re going to concentrate on clauses in this handout, with emphasis on these two in
particular:

1. Independent clause: a subject and verb that make a complete thought. Independent clauses are
called independent because they can stand on their own and make sense.
2. Dependent clause: a subject and verb that don’t make a complete thought. Dependent clauses
always need to be attached to an independent clause (they’re too weak to stand alone).
Four Basic Patterns
Every sentence pattern below describes a different way to combine clauses. When you are drafting your
own papers or when you’re revising them for sentence variety, try to determine how many of these patterns
you use.

If you favor one particular pattern, your writing might be kind of boring if every sentence has exactly the
same pattern. If you find this is true, try to revise a few sentences using a different pattern.

NOTE: Because nouns can fill so many positions in a sentence, it’s easier to analyze sentence patterns if
you find the verbs and find the connectors. 

Pattern 1: Simple Sentence

In English, our sentences usually operate using a similar pattern: subject, verb, then object. The nice part
about this type of structure is that it lets your reader easily know who is doing the action and what the
outcome of the action is.

A subject performs the action in a sentence.

For instance, in the sentence, “Matt eats pizza,” Matt is the subject because he is the one eating the pizza.

A verb is a word that usually indicates some type of action. There are two basic types of verbs in
English: action verbs and linking verbs. An action verb represents something the subject of a sentence
does, whereas a linking verb connects the subject to a specific state of being. In other words, a linking verb
describes a subject instead of expressing an action. Linking verbs are also known at state of being verbs,
and the most common one in English is the verb to be.

 If we consider the above sentence, “Matt eats pizza,” the verb is eats, which is an action verb
because it tells us what Matt does – he eats.
 In this sentence, “Matt is hungry,” our verb is, which is a form of to be, a linking verb. Notice how
Matt does not do anything in this sentence. Instead, the verb is describing how Matt feels –
hungry. Is links Matt with hunger.
An object usually appears after the verb. There are two types of objects in the English
language: direct and indirect.

 A direct object takes or receives the action of the verb. In other words, the subject of the sentence
acts on the direct object.
o The direct object in our sample sentence “Matt eats pizza” is pizza. Matt eats what? Pizza.

An indirect object tells us to whom or for whom an action is done. To understand this concept, we need to
come up with a longer sentence.

 Our new sample sentence will be, “Matt cuts the pizza for Nate.” In this sentence, our subject is
Matt, our verb is cuts, the direct object is the pizza, and our indirect object is Nate. The pizza is cut
for whom? Nate because Matt cuts the pizza for him.

So, remember, this is the basic pattern of an English sentence: SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT.

Pattern 2: Compound Sentence

Two or more independent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV.) or (SV; however,
SV.)
Connectors with a comma, the FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (See our handout on commas for
more info.)
Connectors with a semicolon and comma: however, moreover, nevertheless, nonetheless, therefore

Example compound sentences:

Mr. Potato Head eats them for breakfast every day, but I don’t see the attraction.
Eating them makes him happy; however, he can’t persuade me.

Pattern 3: Complex Sentence

One independent clause PLUS one or more dependent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV
because SV.) or (Because SV, SV.) or (S, because SV, V.)
Connectors are always at the beginning of the dependent clause. They show how the dependent clause is
related to the independent clause. This list shows different types of relationships along with the connectors
that indicate those relationships:

 Cause/Effect: because, since, so that

 Comparison/Contrast: although, even though, though, whereas, while
 Place/Manner: where, wherever, how, however
 Possibility/Conditions: if, whether, unless
 Relation: that, which, who, whom
 Time: after, as, before, since, when, whenever, while, until

Examples of complex sentences:

IC DC - Both currents are important since surface water can become deep water.

DC IC - When surface water cools, its density increases.

Pattern 4: Compound-Complex Sentence

The compound-complex sentence combines elements of compound and complex sentences. It is the most
sophisticated type of sentence you can use. Understanding how to construct the compound-complex
sentence will help you take your writing to a new level of complexity.

A compound-complex sentence is comprised of at least two independent clauses and one or more
dependent clauses.

Example : IC (FANBOYS) IC DC - Sometimes surface water evaporates, and salinity increases while its density
increases.

English Sentence Structure

Every word in a sentence plays a specific role within the sentence. Every sentence consists of a subject
and a verb at the very least. Simple sentences follow a basic Subject-Verb-Object format. For example:

 The girl bought a book.

The subject may be combined with adjectives or descriptive phrases that add detail. For example:

 The man who stole the car.

A sentence can contain a direct and an indirect object. In that case, the word order will be Subject-Verb-
Direct Object-Indirect Object. For example:

 The mother gave an apple to the child.

To add where, how, and when details, follow the order: Subject-Verb-Object-Manner-Place-Time. For
example:

 She handed the book to him quietly in class yesterday.

Structurally, sentences can be organized into four groups: simple, compound, complex, and compound-
complex sentences. What classifies each sentence is the number of main ideas or complete thoughts they
contain. A complete thought is also called an independent clause. 

It's a sentence with at least one subject and one verb that can exist on its own and conveys a clear
message. If a sentence sounds unfinished and unclear, then it's a dependent clause: it has a subject and a
verb but does not express a complete thought. In this case, it needs to be combined with an independent
clause to create a clear sentence.

The following statements are true about sentences in English:

 A new sentence begins with a capital letter.

o He obtained his degree.

 A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point).

o He obtained his degree.

 A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.

o Smith he obtained his degree.
  A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.
o He obtained his degree.

 A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.

o He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).

 A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an independent
clause.
o He obtained his degree.

Syntactic Rules
It is virtually impossible to sum up all of the syntactic rules of the English language in a paragraph. There
are so many rules, and those rules are so detailed and difficult to pin down, that entire books ar e dedicated
to articulating them. However, for the purposes of the kinds of sentences that are typically found in English,
there are four major syntax rules to keep in mind. These are:

 English usually has a Subject-Verb-Object word order, unlike some other languages.
 A sentence must have a subject and a verb, and it must express a complete thought.
 Generally, it is best to express separate ideas in different sentences.
 Dependent clauses have a subject and a verb and might look like sentences, but they do not
express complete thoughts and are therefore insufficient on their own.