Parts of a Sentence

How does it all fit together?

 Each Sentence
Will Have
Several Parts to It
Subject
Verb
Sentence Complements
 SUBJECT
 The subject is Who or
What is completing
the action of the
sentence
 The subject can be
either a noun or a
pronoun
 Often the subject
appears at the
beginning of the
sentence
VERB
 The verb can
show action --
either mental or
physical action
 The verb can
also show state
of being
 Action Verbs
 Types of Mental  Types of Physical
Action Action
1. To Think 1. To Sing
2. To Feel 2. To Dance
3. To Dream 3. To Play
4. To Believe 4. To Work
5. To Remember 5. To Juggle
6. To Understand 6. To Laugh
 Linking Verbs
 Certain verbs are  Certain verbs can be
always used as used as either action
linking verbs or linking verbs

1. Forms of To Be: is, 1. Sensory verbs: to

am, are, was, were, feel, to taste, to smell,
be, being, been to sound, to look
2. To Seem 2. To Grow
3. To Become 3. To Appear
 Action or Linking
Verbs?
Since some verbs can be used as
either type of verb,
how can you decide
how the verb is being used --
as an action verb or
as a linking verb?
GOOD QUESTION!!!!
 If the subject is actually performing
the action described, the verb is being
used as an action verb.

 If the verb is being used to describe

the subject in some way, the verb is
being used as a linking verb.
 Example: Action Verb
Jennifer tasted
the freshly
baked bread.
(Notice that Jennifer,
the subject, is doing
the tasting of that
wonderful bread!)
Example: Linking Verb
The freshly
baked bread
tasted terrific.
(Notice that now
the verb is describing
how wonderful that
bread tasted; the bread
is NOT doing the tasting
this time.)
 Sentence Complements
 Sentence Complements complete the
meaning begun by the subject and the
verb
 Sentence Complements can be any one of
the following: Direct Objects, Indirect
Objects, Predicate Nouns (also called
Predicate Nominatives), or Predicate
Adjectives
 How can you figure out
which sentence complement
is being used?

 Sentence Complements are determined by

the verb
 Action verbs take certain types of sentence
complements
 Linking verbs take other types of sentence
complements
Complements for Action Verbs
 Action Verbs will
have:
Direct objects
AND
Indirect objects

Example:
Mrs. Witmyer gave
the class the test.
Direct object: the test
Indirect object: the class
 DIRECT OBJECTS
 Direct Objects follow an action verb, and
they receive the action of the verb

1. Direct Objects answer who or what after an

action verb
2. In the example, Mrs. Witmyer gave the class
the test, who or what did Mrs. Witmyer
give?? The test. So, the test is the direct
object in that sentence.
 INDIRECT OBJECTS
 Indirect Objects follow an action verb, and tell to
whom or for whom the action was done.

1. Indirect Objects come before the direct object in the

sentence.
2. In order to have an Indirect Object, there must be a
direct object.
3. In the example, Mrs. Witmyer gave the class the test,
to whom or for whom did Mrs. Witmyer give the
test?? The class. So, the class is the indirect object in
that sentence.
HINT: There is a test that can
be used for indirect objects!
Since Indirect Objects answer to whom
or for whom an action was done,
they can be changed into prepositional phrases
and moved to the end of the sentence.

Mrs. Witmyer gave the class the

test.

OR

Mrs. Witmyer gave the

test to the class.
 JUST REMEMBER!!!!
1. Action Verbs Can Use Both Direct and
Indirect Objects
2. Direct Objects Can Be Used Without
Indirect Objects
3. Indirect Objects Cannot Be Used Without
a Direct Object
4. Indirect Objects Always Appear Before
the Direct Object
 Complements for Linking
Verbs
 Linking Verbs will
have:
Predicate Nouns
OR
Predicate Adjectives

 Notice that you can

only have one or the
other. You can not
have both in the
same sentence.
 PREDICATE NOUN
 Predicate Nouns
rename the subject
 They will most often
follow a form of the
verb “to be” or “to
become”
 Example:
Mr. Price is
our principal.
 HINT: There is a test that can
be used for predicate nouns!
Since Predicate nouns rename the subject,
they can be interchanged with the subject and the
sentence will still say the same thing.
Mr. Price is
our principal.

OR

Our principal is
Mr. Price.
 PREDICATE ADJECTIVE
 Predicate Adjectives
describe the subject
 They will follow any
linking verb
 Be careful of sensory
linking verbs
 Example:
Mr. Bushong grew angry
while driving.
 Don’t Forget!!!!
1. Predicate Nouns can also be called
Predicate Nominatives.
2. Predicate Nouns and Predicate
Adjectives follow Linking Verbs only.
3. Predicate Nouns and Predicate
Adjectives cannot be used together in the
same sentence.
 IMPORTANT:
One Final
Reminder!!!!
No Verb MUST HAVE
a Sentence Complement!
Some Verbs Express Complete Ideas
on Their Own!
 To Conclude:
Sentences have subjects, verbs,
and complements

 Action verbs will  Linking verbs will

have: have:
Direct objects Predicate Nouns
Indirect objects Predicate Adjectives
Put all of these parts together,
and you will have …..
A COMPLETE
SENTENCE!!!!

Congratulations!