BASICS OF ENGLISH

GRAMMAR

DR. LAKSHMI MUTHUKUMAR, HEAD, DEPT OF ENGLISH, SIES ASC AUTONOMOUS

10/21/21
 2
The sentence and the clause

What is a sentence? How is it different from a clause?

 A sentence, in the English language, begins  Every clause necessarily needs a verbal
with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. element to qualify as a clause.
It is the largest unit of language in grammar
and is composed of smaller units such as
clauses, phrases and words.
 3
What is a clause?

 Clauses are the major units of which sentences are composed.

 A sentence may consist of one or more clauses. These may be dependent in nature and
therefore a sentence may be classified as:
 Simple
 Complex
 Compound
 Complex-compound
 4
What is a simple sentence?

A simple sentence has a single verbal element and it expresses only one major idea.
For example:
The cat caught the mouse easily.
More examples:
The mouse was caught by the cat easily. (simple)
The cat ran and caught the mouse. (compound)
The cat ran behind the mouse in order to catch it easily.(complex)
The cat caught the mouse. The mouse was caught easily. (Two simple sentences)
It was easy for the cat to catch the mouse. (complex)
Most people have bread, butter and jam for breakfast every day. (Compound)
 5
What is a Complex sentence?

 A complex sentence has a main clause (expressing the main idea)

and a subordinate clause (expressing a dependent idea).
 Example: When the dog chased the cat, the child started
screaming.
 Transform into a compound sentence:
 The dog chased the cat and the child started screaming.
 6
What is a compound sentence?

 A compound sentence has more than one main idea, linked together
by a conjunction or a suitable punctuation. The different ideas in a
compound sentence are all of equal importance and are not
subordinate to each other.
 For example:
You are not a man, you are a mouse.
She is not only pretty but also blessed with common sense.
We will go to the hotel and then order our lunch.
 7
Possible Question Types

In the online class test you may be asked to identify:

 A. whether the given sentence is a clause
 B. is it simple/complex/compound/complex-compound
 C. transformations will be suggested in brackets and options will be given. The correct
transformation has to be identified from amongst the distractors
 8
Exercise 1

Identify whether the following are simple, complex, compound or complex-compound

sentences:
1. She loves bread and butter for breakfast.
2. His favourite colours are red, orange and green.
3. Wow! Fabulous!
4. Where will you place the table in the room?
5. Can you fix it immediately?
6. It was raining.
7. The class would have been taken yesterday itself to the picnic.
 9

8. The cat killed the rat.

9. The cat killed the rat last night.
10. The students will be leaving the class at 9.
11. The cat killed the rat, the beaver and the squirrel last night.
12. The cat killed the rat when everyone was asleep.
13. The cat pounced on the rat and killed it in a jiffy.
14. The manager could have been lying.
15. The eagle hovered over the cuckoo’s nest.
 10
Exercise 2:

1. I am glad that you have come.

2. I will call the restaurant and order some food.
3. She did not agree although it was a tempting offer.
4. Since you say so, I must believe you.
5. Tara could not attend the birthday party yesterday.
6. Mahesh failed because he idled away his time during the year.
7. Let us watch a film in the evening.
 11
Exercise 3:

1. Sally is getting married next month.

2. Silvia is doing an English course at the moment.
3. There is a football match tomorrow, but I cannot go.
4. Richard likes cakes, cookies and doughnuts very much.
5. They are planning a birthday party for Shaina next week.
6. There is a critical meeting on Thursday and I have to attend it.
ALL THE VERY BEST!
PRACTISE WELL AND IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS, I WILL BE HAPPY TO
ANSWER THEM IN CLASS