Sentence Patterns
A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought. Every sentence follows a pattern,
which is the structure or order of words in the sentence.
Basic Parts of a Sentence
1. Subject (S) – The person, place, or thing doing the action.
o Example: She, The dog, My father
2. Verb (V) – The action or state of being in the sentence.
o Example: runs, is, writes
3. Object (O) – The person or thing affected by the action.
o Example: a book, an apple, the ball
4. Complement (C) – A word or phrase that completes the meaning of a subject or object.
o Example: happy, a doctor
5. Adverbial (A) – A word or phrase that gives more information about time, place, manner,
etc.
o Example: in the park, quickly, yesterday
Common Sentence Patterns
1. Subject + Verb (SV)
A simple sentence with just a subject and a verb.
Example:
o Birds fly.
o She sings.
2. Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)
The subject performs an action on an object.
Example:
o She reads a book.
o They play football.
3. Subject + Verb + Complement (SVC)
The complement describes or gives more information about the subject.
Example:
o The sky is blue.
o He became a doctor.
4. Subject + Verb + Adverbial (SVA)
The adverbial tells us more about the action.
Example:
o She lives in Mumbai.
o They arrived early.
5. Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (SVOO)
The subject gives something to someone.
Example:
o She gave me a gift.
o He told us a story.
6. Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (SVOC)
The complement describes the object.
Example:
o They made him captain.
o We consider her intelligent.
CHAPTER I
BASIC SENTENCE PATTERNS
A sentence is a group of words that tells a complete thought. A
sentence needs a noun or pronoun that names the person or thing the
sentence is about. A sentence needs a verb to tell what happens. The
noun or pronoun functions as subject, in the active sentence, and the
verb functions as predicate. All the words that tell whom and what a
sentence is talking about are called the subject.
To find the subject, ask whom or what the sentence is talking
about. All the words that tell what the subject does are called the
predicate. To find the predicate, firstly find the subject then ask what
the subject does. To avoid misunderstanding between predicate,
predication, and predicating verb, In this book, it is used 'verb' instead
of predicate.
To master the sentence patterns easier, the elements of sentence are
classified into four: Subject (S), Verb (V), Complement (C), and
Modifier (M). There are four patterns of sentence in this book.
1. S + P
2. S + P+ C
3. S + P + M
4. S + P + C + M
Note: Every sentence must have subject and verb.
1. Subject + Predicate
This pattern is the simplest sentence pattern in English. The subject
can be a single noun, pronoun, noun phrase. The verb used in this
pattern usually takes an intransitive verb (a verb that does not require
an object) and a verb of predicating verb (verb of action), instead of
linking verb ( to be: am, is, are, was, were, been,; or stative verb).
a. A single noun as subject
Morning breaks.
Birds sing.
Children play.
Ria gets lost.
Fian goes out.
b. Pronoun as subject
Pronoun is a word that takes the place of noun. The word can be : I,
you, he, she, we, and they.
It (Morning) breaks.
They (children) play.
She (Ria) gets lost.
He (Fian) goes out.
c. A noun phrase as subject
A noun phrase is a group of words that generally ends with a noun
as a headword. It can contain a determiner (the, a, an, this, etc.),
adjective, adverb, and noun.
The beautiful morning breaks
The colorful birds sing
The department store collapses
These parrots talk
The participants sit down
Too many chairs break
The five children play
2. Subject + Predicate + Complement
The verb in this pattern can be transitive verb (the verb that need a
complement as object) and also predicating verb or linking verb. The
complement can be verb complement, predicative complement,
subjective complement, and objective complement.
a. S + P + C (verb complement)
The complement completes the verb of action (predicating). The
complement may be noun or pronoun, noun phrase either as direct
object or indirect object.
Ari buys flower for Shintia.
Rosa paints landscapes for her friend.
Jane, Jose, and Uncle visited the meeting.
They call Mary
b. S + P+ C (predicative complement)
The verb here is usually linking verb (to be or stative verb) and
need the adjective as the complement.
The girl is beautiful.
The kids are sick.
The boys were scared.
The fried fish looks delicious.
I feel better.
She becomes old.
The music sounds so good.
c. S + P + C (subjective complement)
The complement completes more about the subject. This
complement is used after a linking verb to refer back to the subject.
The subjective complement has the same identity as the subject.
Soeharto is the second president of Indonesia.
Habibie is the third president of Indonesia
The best lover I have is Ani.
Andi is the most frightening uncle.
d. S + P + C (objective complement)
Objective complement is an object that follows the direct object. It
has the same identity as the direct object. The objective complement
may be preceded by as. Among the small number of verbs taking
objective complement are: appoint, consider, elect, name, select,
think, etc.
The man names his son Joko Bodo
I think you a robber.
We elect him as the leader.
She appoints him as her husband.
3. S + P + M (modifier)
A modifier tells the time, place, or manner of the action or the
subject. Very often, it is a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase
is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a
noun.
Note: A modifier of time usually comes last if more than one modifier
is present.
David and Alfi proudly watch the newborn chicks.
The baby chicks are already walking.
Soon the eggs will hatch
The eggs slowly began to crack.
She lives in Solo.
The water was icy in the lake.
She puts the glass on the table.
She is here.
It is five o'clock.
4. S + P + C + M
This pattern is the most complex one among the others, because it
is made up of all the elements of the sentence.
The parents gave their children food and clothes yesterday.
There is a man in the room.
There are many students in the class.
He becomes the head of the family soon.
I always enjoy going to the show.
My dad buys the tickets in the counter.
Exercise
A. Name the element of the sentence and then decide what the
sentence pattern of each numbered sentence in the following
text.
Example: … I called him yesterday
I called him yesterday
SPCM
(1) Thousands of years ago, people observed that stars made patterns
in the sky. (2) They gave names to these star patterns and made up
stories about them. (3) The Cassiopeia, for example, is a mythical
Greek queen sitting on a chair. (4) Last year I had to read a book of
Greek myths for a book report (5) According to the myth, Cassiopeia
was the foolish mother of a maiden. (6) Her name was AndroMeda.
(7) Perseus save Andromeda from a sea monster. (8) Andromeda and
Perseus are constellations in the northern sky. (9) Cassiopeia had
husband, Cepheus. (10) Cepheus is also a nearby constellation.
B. For each of the following sentences, tell whether the verb is a
linking verb or an action verb.
Example: The music sounds very nice
The verb: linking verb
1. He seemed very surprised.
2. I lost my French notebook.
3. The chicken tasted so spicy.
4. Ria and he become good friends.
5. The twins want a puppy for their birthday.
6. Leo is a police officer.
7. The class elects officers twice a year.
8. We were curious about the locked door.
9. We asked the teller for a calendar.
10. We waited patiently.
11. Mark types all day.
12. Thomas is the best artist in the class
C. Add a verb where the blank space indicates. Tell whether the
verb you have written is an action verb or a linking verb.
The example: The bird … to you
The bird flies to you (action verb)
1. The lion ... from the rock.
2. My feet ... two sizes larger than yours.
3. Today's crossword puzzle ... fairly easy.
4. Sheila ... the egg throwing contests.
5. Vergina Lee ... a kilometer every day.
6. In the middle of the night, the guard....
7. Mrs. Larson ... a bulldozer.
8. He ... an expert on birds of North America.
9. Last summer my family and I ... for two months.
10. Laura and Jimmy... a birdhouse.
11. Egypt ... a very interesting country.
12. The Sahara ... very cold at night.
D. Complete the following sentences by adding one or more direct
object as complement and identify the pattern of the sentence.
The example: I buy ….
I buy some books (SPVC)
1. The thief stole the....
2. Someone in my class won the....
3. Agung bought a....
4. We hid the....
5. Jarot and her brother plant some....
6. He wanted....
7. The raccoons climbed....
8. Sheep and goats climbed....
E. Complete the following sentences by filling in the necessary
subject or verb.
The example: … tastes very nice
The meat tastes very nice.
1. ... closed.
2. ... were dancing in the streets.
3. Frisky dogs....
4. The band....
5. The members of our choir....
6. ... were crying.
7. My relatives....
8. ... played until dusk.
F. Label each direct and each indirect object as complement. Not
every sentence will have an indirect object as complement.
The example: They send a letter to me
A letter is direct object
Me is indirect object
1. Siti's father gave me a lamp.
2. Roy passed the potatoes to his brother.
3. The club sent Anton a letter.
4. Any showed us his report on fresh water fish.
5. I bought present for anyone in the family.
6. We cooked him his favorite dinner.
7. I told him the secret.
8. Mira gave Henry an antique watch.
G. Label each complement as predicative complement, Subjective
complement, verb complement, and objective complement.
Example: I am a student
The complement is a student (subjective complement)
1. Little Larry will be an eight-grader son.
2. George was the senior member of the dance committee.
3. Most of the dishes are delicious but fattening.
4. Harriet will remain studious.
5. The candidate will be you.
6. That house seems vacant.
7. What song sounds old-fashioned?
8. The leader of the class should be she.
H. Underline the modifier after each sentence tell whether the
modifier answer the question: where, when, how, how much,
or why.
Example: I am here
I am here (where)
1. The petunia seeds sprouted early in June.
2. You will find your history book under the TV set.
3. Santoso plays the zither well.
4. She baby-sat for three hours.
5. Yuni lives across the street.
6. We will not begin our diets until tomorrow.
7. The boat circled around the buoy.
8. During the winter, we play fox and geese.
9. The dog buried his bone under the apple tree.
10. Our school closes late in the spring.
I. Fill the blank space by a necessary adverbial modifier.
Example: I studied ….
I studied at 7 o’clock up to 9 o’clock
1. I slept until....
2. They went to....
3. Everyone in ... will graduate in....
4. The dog stays ... when he is sick.
5. They grew....
6. The soap was cooked....
7. He runs so....
8. The baby drank the milk....
9. Leo plays his stereo too....
10. Please open the package....
11. Jarot does not speak....
12. He closed the door....
13. The children in ... talk....
14. The horse in the field jumped over the fence....
15. Tono walks very....
