PROFESSOR WAQAS SOHAIL
• Department: English
• Work Place: Aspire College (Gulberg Campus)
Faisalabad.
• ENGLISH LECTURER
• Education: M.Phil. English Linguistics
Basic Sentence
Structures
Third topic
What is Sentence?
• A sentence means a group of words that makes complete
sense.
• It begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.
• It always contains a finite verb. A sentence may be a
statement, question, exclamation or command.
• It consists of a main clause and one or more subordinate
clauses.
Sentence Structure
• A completely meaningful combination of different words is
called a sentence.
• A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete
thought.
• It typically contains a subject and a verb and is punctuated
with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
• An example of a sentence is: "The cat sat on the mat."
Basic Sentence Structure
• The most basic sentence structure in English
follows the pattern of Subject-Verb-Object
(SVO).
• This means a sentence typically starts with the
subject (who or what is performing the action),
followed by the verb (the action being
performed), and then the object (who or what is
receiving the action).
Breakdown of Sentence
• Subject: The subject is the noun or pronoun that performs the
action of the verb.
• Verb: The verb is the action word or state of being in the
sentence.
• Object: The object is the noun or pronoun that receives the
action of the verb.
• Example:
• "The cat chased the mouse.": In this sentence, "the cat" is the
subject, "chased" is the verb, and "the mouse" is the object.
Other Sentence Structures
• While SVO is the most common, other sentence
structures exist. For example:
•
• Subject-Verb (SV): "The dog barked.“
• Subject-Verb-Complement (SVC): "She is happy.“
• Subject-Verb-Object-Object (SVOO): "He gave her the
book."
Important Points about Basic Sentence
Structure:
• Completeness: A complete sentence must contain a subject
and a verb.
•
• Clarity: Following SVO order generally makes sentences
easier to understand.
•
• Flexibility: While SVO is common, other structures can be
used to create different effects or emphasize different parts of
the sentence.
Sentence Patterns
What Do You Mean by Sentence Structure?
• Sentence structure is a grammatical component
that tells you exactly where and how each
component of a sentence should be placed in
order to blend and make sense.
• The Collins Dictionary defines sentence structure
as “the grammatical arrangement of words in
sentences.”
Sentences for Discussion
• Ali gave a cake to Rizwan.
• My mom bought me a new dress.
• I gave him a chocolate.
• They gave us coffee with breakfast.
• He lent his friend a pen.
• Harry bought a new car.
• My mom made a cake.
• I met my friend.
• She knows all the songs.
• We watched a movie.
• My father reads the newspaper everyday.
The Different Types of Sentence Structures in
English Grammar
• In English grammar, there are a number of sentence
structures that you can use to make your speech or writing
sound, interesting and professional. Some of the commonly
used sentence structures are as follows.
• Subject + Verb (SV)
• Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)
• Subject + Verb + Complement (SVC)
• Subject + Verb + Adjunct (SVA)
• Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (SVOC)
• Subject + Verb + Object + Adjunct (SVOA)
• Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (SVIODO)
What is Conjunction?
• Conjunctions are words that join together other words or
groups of words. A coordinating conjunction connects
words, phrases, and clauses of equal importance.
Examples
• The sun was shining, but it was cold outside.
• The movie was long, yet I enjoyed it.
• She wanted to stay, but she had to leave.
• The flower is yellow and white.
• Robin did not try hard so he did not succeed.
Coordinating Conjunctions
• In grammar, FANBOYS is a reminder
used to remember the seven coordinating
conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or,
yet, and so.
• These words connect words, phrases, or
independent clauses that are grammatically
equal.
Subordinating Conjunctions
Types of Sentences
• There are four types of sentences based on
their structure:
• Simple Sentence, Compound Sentence and
Complex Sentence.
• These categories are determined by the number
and type of clauses (independent and
dependent) they contain.
Here's a breakdown of each type:
1. Simple Sentence:
• Consists of a single independent clause.
• Contains a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete
thought.
• Example: "The cat sat on the mat."
2. Compound Sentence:
• Contains two or more independent clauses.
• The clauses are typically joined by a coordinating conjunction
(e.g., and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) or a semicolon.
• Example: "The sun is shining, and the birds are singing."
Cont.….
3. Complex Sentence:
• Contains one independent clause and one or more dependent
(or subordinate) clauses.
• Dependent clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions (e.g.,
because, although, if, when) or relative pronouns (e.g., who,
which, that).
• Example: Because it was raining, we stayed inside.
When evening came, they rested.
Thank you
