Sentence Patterns

Subjects, verbs, and clauses

Four Basic Patterns

Basic Pattern: Subject +

Verb
Simplest Form:
One subject + one verb
Subject shows who or what (noun or pronoun) is doing
the action
Verb shows the action or the state of being (e.g.
action verb run, or state verb seem)

Examples (two word sentences):

Marvin slept.
Dogs bark.
Isotopes react.

Basic Pattern: Subject +

Verb

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

There are five basic structures of

simple sentences:
Subject +Verb
Subject + Verb + Direct Object
Subject + Verb + Complement
Subject + Verb + Indirect Object +
Direct Object
Subject + Verb + Direct Object +
Object Complement

Examples of Basic Structures of Simple

Sentences
Sentence Structure

Examples

Subject + Verb
(SV)

Edward laughed.
The baby crawls and coos.
Spring rain and flowers abound.

Subject + Verb + Direct Object

(SV+DO)

Margaret recalled a memory.

Susan shovels snow.
President Obama gave a speech.

Subject + Verb + Complement

(SV+C)

The consultant seemed pleasant.

All applicants were UM graduates.
Our house is sturdy.

Subject + Verb + Indirect Object

+ Direct Object
(SV + IO + DO)

The new candidate gives me hope.

I offered the candidate my support.
He gave the child a stern look.

Subject + Verb + Direct Object +

Object Complement
(SV + DO + OC)

The girl thinks herself intelligent.

The children made David it.
Squirrels drove the dogs mad.

Notes
Complement = a word or group of words
that describe or rename the subject.
follow a linking verb.
2 kinds of subject complements:
(i) Predicate nominative = noun or pronoun

that renames or classifies the subject of the

sentence
(ii) Predicate adjective = an adjective that

describes the subject of the sentence

Notes
Indirect Object = tells for whom or to whom
*If the IO comes after the DO (in a prepositional phrase to or
for), the sentence pattern is shown as S-V-DO-IO.
*Pronouns are usually used as indirect objects, but not always.

e.g. Granny gave every last asset to Gary.

S

DO

IO in prepositional phrase

Object Complement = a word or group of words

that renames, describes, or classifies the direct
object.
are nouns or adjectives
follow the object

Basic Pattern: Subject +

Verb

Can modify the main subject and verb with

other words and phrases to convey much
more information:
Unfortunately, Marvin slept fitfully.
Dogs bark louder after midnight.
Heavy isotopes react more slowly than light
isotopes of the same element.

*Each sentence still has one subject and verb = still

one clause.

Subject + Verb modified

with other words and
phrases

You can add adjectives, adverbs,

and prepositional phrases without
changing the basic pattern:

(i) Adding adjectives

The sad little girl tried.
The hazy, yellow sun set.
The old grandfather clock ticked.

Subject + Verb modified

with other words and
phrases
(ii) Adding adverbs
The girl tried very hard.
The sun set slowly.
The clock ticked loudly.

Subject + Verb modified with

other words and phrases
(iii) Adding prepositional phrase:
The girl in the blue jeans tried.
The sun set in the west.
The clock in the hallway stopped after
fathers death.
A herd of elk gathered beside the stream.

Subject + Verb modified with

other words and phrases

Subject-verb expanded with a

dependent relative clause and a
prepositional phrase:
The house, which was originally built in
the 1920s, stood next to an old mill.
Her computer, which was donated by a
colleague, crashed during a data
analysis.

Subject + Verb modified with

other words and phrases

Subject-verb-object expanded with a

participial phrase:
Hearing a loud clap of thunder, the
campers gathered their gear.
Intending to garner support for his
campaign, the politician delivered his
speech.

Subject + Verb modified with

other words and phrases

Subject-verb-object expanded with a

dependent adverbial clause:
The campers packed their gear while
rain soaked the ground.
Although the forecast calls for freezing
temperatures, she planted her garden.

Subject + Verb modified with

other words and phrases

Subject-verb-object expanded with a

dependent relative clause:
The athlete, who knew her own
prowess, scored a goal.
Her father, who could hardly contain
his excitement, let loose a cheer.

Subject + Verb modified with

other words and phrases

Subject-verb-object expanded with all

of the above:
Using all her strength, the athlete, who
knew her own prowess, scored a goal
while her father cheered from the
stands.

Subjects, Verbs, and

Clauses
Clause = combination of ONE subject and
ONE verb
(i) Independent clause (IC)
a subject and verb that make a complete
thought; can stand on its own and make
sense.

(ii) Dependent clause (DC)

- a subject and verb that dont make a
complete thought; always needs to be
attached to an independent clause.

Subjects, Verbs, and

Clauses

Subjects and verbs can double up in the same clause.

These are called compound subjects or verbs because
there are two or more of them in the same clause.

(i) Compound subject (two subjects related to the same

verb):
Javier and his colleagues collaborated on the research
article.
(ii) Compound verb (two verbs related to the same subject)
Javier conducted the experiment and documented the
results.

Subjects, Verbs, and

Clauses
(iii) Compound subject with compound
verb
Javier, his colleagues, and their
advisor drafted and revised the
article several times.
*Notice that they dont overlap. All of
the subjects in one clause come before
all of the verbs in the same clause.

Four Basic Patterns

Sentence
Pattern

Clause

Structure

Connector Examples
s

Simple

1 IC

SV

None

John eats monkeys.

Compoun
d

2 ICs

SV, and SV

FANBOYS
(for, and,
nor, but,
or, yet, so)

John eats them for

breakfast every day,
but I dont see the
attraction.

However,
moreover,
therefore

Eating them makes

him happy; however,
he cant persuade me.

SV;
however,
SV

Four Basic Pattern

Sentenc
e
Pattern

Clause

Structure

Connector
s

Examples

Complex

1 IC +
1 DCs

SV because
SV

Always at
the
beginning
of the DC

He recommends them
highly because they
taste like chicken
when they are hot.

Show how
the DC is
related to
the IC.

Although chicken
always appeals to me,
I still feel sceptical
about monkey.

Although
SV, SV
S, because
SV, V

Jane, because she

loves us so much, has
offered to make her
special monkey
souffl for us.

Four Basic Pattern

Sentence
Pattern

Clause

Structure

Connector Examples
s

Compoun
d-complex

2 ICs +
1 DC

SV, and SV
because SV

Same as
John said that he
Pattern 2 & would share the
3.
secret recipe;
however, if he
does, Jane will feed
him to the
piranhas, so we are
both safer and
happier if I dont
eat monkeys or
steal recipes.

As a result of
SV, SV, but
SV.

References
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 2015, Basic Sentence
Patterns Module#1, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, viewed
1 September 2015,
<http://www.siue.edu/lss/writing/modules/sentence_patterns.shtml
>.
The Writing Center n.d., Five Basic Structures of Simple Sentences,
The Writing Center of UMT, viewed 31 August 2015,
<http://www.umt.edu/writingcenter/docs/resourcesforwriters/fivestru
ctures.pdf>.
The Writing Center 2012, Sentence Pattern, The Writing Center at
UNC Chapel Hill, viewed 31 August 2015,
<http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sentence-patterns/>.