Anual San Marcos semana Inglés

Inglés 01

Words and Sentences

Anual San Marcos - 2023

The 4 Types of Sentence Structure

In What is a Sentence? we saw the minimum requirements for the formation of a sentence. Now we can
look in more detail at the four types of sentence structure.

Simple Sentence Structure

A simple sentence consists of one independent clause. (An independent clause contains a subject and
verb and expresses a complete thought.)

INDEPENDENT
CLAUSE
• I like coffee.
• Mary likes tea.
• The earth goes round the sun.
• Mary did not go to the party.

Compound Sentence Structure

A compound sentence is two (or more) independent clauses joined by a conjunction or semicolon. Each
of these clauses could form a sentence alone.
1
Academia ADUNI Semana 01

INDEPENDENT COORDINATING INDEPENDENT

CLAUSE CONJUNCTION CLAUSE
• I like coffee and Mary likes tea.
• Mary went to work but John went to the party.
• Our car broke down; we came last.

There are seven coordinating conjunctions:

• and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

Complex Sentence Structure

A complex sentence consists of an independent clause plus a dependent clause. (A dependent clause
starts with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun, and contains a subject and verb, but does not
express a complete thought.)

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION DEPENDENT CLAUSE

• We missed our plane because we were late.
• Our dog barks when she hears a noise.
• He left in a hurry after he got a phone call.
• Do you know the man who is talking to Mary?

Here are some common subordinating conjunctions:

• after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until, when, where,
whether, while

Here are the five basic relative pronouns:

• that, which, who, whom, whose

Compound-Complex Sentence Structure

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

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION DEPENDENT CLAUSE

COORDINATING CONJUNCTION INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
• John didn’t come because he was ill so Mary was not happy.
• He left in a hurry after he got a phone call but he came back five minutes later.

A dependent clause is also called a subordinate clause.

The above sentences are basic examples only. In some cases, other arrangements are possible (for exam-
ple, a dependent clause can come before an independent clause).

2
Anual San Marcos Inglés

Direct and Indirect Object

What is an object?

An  object in grammar is a part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It refers to someone or
something involved in the subject’s “performance” of the verb. It is what the verb is being done to. As an
example, the following sentence is given:

Subject Verb Object

Leila wrote the poem

• “Leila” is the subject, the doer or performer,

• “wrote” is a verb that refers to the action,
• “the poem” is the object involved in the action.

Transitive and intransitive verbs

A verb can be classified as transitive or intransitive according to whether it takes or doesn’t take an object:

• If a verb takes objects, then it is a transitive verb.

Example:
They played soccer. → (The verb play takes ONE object ‘soccer’)
They sent him a postcard. → (The verb send takes TWO objects ‘him’ and ‘a postcard’)
• If a verb doesn’t take an object, then it is an intransitive verb.
Example:
She lies. → (The verb ‘lie’ doesn’t take any object)
The building collapsed. → (The verb ‘collapse’ doesn’t take any object)

Types of objects
There are two types of objects: direct and indirect objects:
Direct object
A direct object answers the question “what?” or “who?”
Examples:
• David repaired his car → his car is the direct object of the verb repaired. (What did David repair?)
• He invited Mary to the party → Mary is the direct object of the verb invited. (Who did he invite?)

Indirect Object
An indirect object answers the question “to whom?”, “for whom?”
An indirect object is the recipient of the direct object, or an otherwise affected participant in the event.
There must be a direct object for an indirect object to be placed in a sentence. In other words, an indirect
object cannot exist without a direct object.
Examples:
• They sent him a postcard - him is the indirect object of the verb sent. (To whom did they send a
postcard?)
• He bought his son a bike - his son is the indirect object of the verb bought. (For whom did he buy a
bike?)