Discussant: Escoto, Whilda A.

Professor Ferrer

BSE-English 1A

Topic: Sentence Structure

A sentence is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a
statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more
subordinate clauses.

Basic Sentence Elements

Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink, regular font = prepositional phrase

Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a subject and a verb and is a complete
idea.

1. I like spaghetti.
2. He reads many books.

Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be attached to an independent clause to become
complete. This is also known as a subordinate clause.

1. Although I like spaghetti,…

2. Because he reads many books,…

Subject: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that does an action. Determine the subject in a sentence by asking the
question “Who or what?”

1. I like spaghetti.
2. He reads many books.

Verb: Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or concept does. Determine the verb in a sentence by asking the
question “What was the action or what happened?”

1. I like spaghetti.
2. He reads many books.
3. The movie is good. (The be verb is also sometimes referred to as a copula or a linking verb. It links the subject, in this
case the movie, to the complement or the predicate of the sentence, in this case, good.)

Object: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that receives the action. Determine the object in a sentence by asking the
question “The subject did what?” or “To whom?/For whom?”

1. I like spaghetti.
2. He reads many books.

Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that begins with a preposition (i.e., in, at for, behind, until, after, of, during) and modifies a word in
the sentence. A prepositional phrase answers one of many questions. Here are a few examples: “Where? When? In what way?”

1. I like spaghetti for dinner.

2. He reads many books in the library.
English Sentence Structure
The following statements are true about sentences in English:

1. A new sentence begins with a capital letter.

1. He obtained his degree.

1. A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point).

1. He obtained his degree.

1. A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.

1. Smith he obtained his degree.

1. A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.

1. He obtained his degree.

1. A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.

1. He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).

1. A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an independent clause.
1. He obtained his degree.

THE BASIC SENTENCE PATTERNS

PATTERN 1: SUBJECT-INTRANSITIVE VERB (S-IV)

Example: Mark drives.

PATTERN 2: SUBJECT-TRANSITIVE VERB-DIRECT OBJECT (S-TV-DO)
Example: Mark drives the car.
PATTERN 3: : SUBJECT-TRANSITIVE VERB-INDIRECT OBJECT-DIRECT OBJECT (S-TV-IO-DO)
Example: She gave her friend some advice.
PATTERN 4: SUBJECT-TRANSITIVE VERB- DIRECT OBJECT-OBJECT COMPLEMENT (S-TV-DO-OC)
Example: Mark drives the car carefully.
PATTERN 5: SUBJECT-LINKING VERB- COMPLEMENT NOUN (S-LV-CN)
Example: Catriona is a beauty queen.
PATTERN 6: SUBJECT- LINKING VERB-COMPLEMENT ADJECTIVE (S-LV-CA) Example: She is
beautiful.

The Four Sentence Structure

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence has one independent clause. That means it has one subject and one verb—although either or both
can be compound. In addition, a simple sentence can have adjectives and adverbs. Simple sentence can't have
another independent clause or any subordinate clauses.

 Americans eat more bananas than they eat any other fruit.

one subject, one verb

 David Letterman and Jay Leno host talk moshows.

compound subject, one verb

  My son toasts and butters his bagel.

one subject, compound verb

Compound Sentences
A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses. These two independent clauses can be combined with
a comma and a coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or semicolon = pink, regular font; coordinating conjunction = green, underlined

Here are a few examples:

1. She completed her literature review, and she created her reference list.
2. He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.
3. They studied APA rules for many hours, but they realized there was still much to learn.

Using some compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Complex Sentences
A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Dependent clauses can refer
to the subject (who, which) the sequence/time (since, while), or the causal elements (because, if) tof the independent clause.

If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this clause. If, on the other hand, the sentence begins with
an independent clause, there is not a comma separating the two clauses.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma = pink, regular font; dependent clause = blue, italics

Here are a few examples:

1. Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to work on her methods section.
1. Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

1. Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to follow.
1. Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

1. They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.
1. Note that there is no comma in this sentence because it begins with an independent clause.

1. Using some complex sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Compound-Complex Sentences
Sentence types can also be combined. A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at
least one dependent clause.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or semicolon = pink, regular font; coordinating conjunction = green, underlined;
dependent clause = blue, italics

1. She completed her literature review, but she still needs to work on her methods section even though she finished her
methods course last semester.
2. Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them chronologically, and he carefully followed the
MEAL plan for organization.
3. With pizza and soda at hand, they studied APA rules for many hours, and they decided that writing in APA made
sense because it was clear, concise, and objective.

1. Using some complex-compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.
2. Pay close attention to comma usage in complex-compound sentences so that the reader is easily able to follow the
intended meaning.

Why Should I Care about Sentences?

There are four great reasons to understand sentence structures and the types of the sentence.

(Reason 1) Avoid the run-on sentence.

By far the most common mistake made by people with otherwise sound writing skills is the run-on sentence. Typically, this error
is caused by writing a sentence, putting a comma, and then writing another sentence.

 I love the mountains, they remind me of home.

 Love is so short, forgetting is so long. (Chilean politician Pablo Neruda)
You cannot end a sentence with a comma. These should both be two sentences (or rewritten to punctuate them correctly).
Remember that a sentence contains a subject and a verb and gives a complete thought. The criteria for what constitutes a
sentence are satisfied twice in each example.

The run-on sentence usually occurs because writers feel a period (full stop) is too much of speed bump between their closely
related sentences. The jolt of a period can be smoothed with other punctuation (but not a comma). Here are some options:

 Don't play hide and seek; no one would look for you.
(You can smooth the jolt of a period by merging your two sentences into one with a semicolon.)

 I like a woman with a head on her shoulders – I hate necks. (Actor Steve Martin)
(You can smooth the jolt of a period by merging your two sentences into one with a dash. A dash looks quite stark,
and it looks a little informal.)

 My friend is a procrastinator…he's afraid of Saturday the 14th.

(You can smooth the jolt of a period by merging your two sentences into one with three dots (or ellipses). Using three
dots creates a pause for effect, and it looks informal.)

(Reason 2) Punctuate your sentences correctly.

Understanding the four sentence structures assists with deciding how to punctuate sentences. More specifically, it assists with
the following two common decisions:

(1) Deciding whether to use a comma with the subordinate clause in a complex sentence.
A complex sentence comprises an independent clause (shaded) and at least one subordinate clause. When the subordinate
clause is at the front and acts like an adverb – typically stating a time (e.g., When I was six), a place (e.g., Where I live), or a
condition (e.g., If I were you) – then it is a common practice to offset it with a comma. When such a clause appears at the back, it
is usually not offset with a comma. Here are some examples:

 When I was six, I had a wind-up Evil Knievel motorbike.

 I had a wind-up Evil Knievel motorbike when I was six.
 When you're on the internet,nobody knows you're a dog. (Cartoonist Peter Steiner)
Read more about adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses.

(2) Deciding whether to put a comma before a conjunction.

A compound sentence has at least two independent clauses (highlighted), which are usually joined with
a conjunction (e.g., and, or, but). A conjunction (bolded) that joins two things is not normally preceded with a comma, but a
conjunction that joins two independent clauses in a compound sentence is.

 Lee likes pies and cakes.

(There is no comma before and. This is a simple sentence.)

 Lee likes pies, and he likes cakes.

(This time, there is a comma before and. This is a compound sentence.)
  Go, and never darken my towels again. (Comedian Groucho Marx)
(Remember that Go is the shortest sentence in English.)

Let's examine this point a little more. Look at these two examples:

 I would say, "I'm alone, but I'm not lonely." (Actor Bruce Willis)
(Here, but is preceded with a comma because it's joining two independent clauses.)

 I would say, "I'm alone but not lonely."

(Here, but is not preceded with a comma because it's joining two adjectives (alone and not lonely) not two
independent clauses.)

Here's a tip: Look carefully for the subject and verb in the text after your conjunction to confirm the text is an independent clause.
If it is, whack a comma in. If it isn't, don't use a comma.

 Non-rabid wolves have attacked and killed people (mainly children), but this is rare. They live away from
people and have developed a fear of humans from hunters and shepherds.
 They live away from people, and they have developed a fear of humans from hunters and shepherds.
(Compare this compound sentence with the simple sentence (the last one) in the example above. When you add the
word they after the and, the second half becomes an independent clause, and a comma is then required.)

Be aware that a compound sentence can have more than two independent clauses.

 Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
(Playwright Joseph Heller)
(This is a compound sentence with three independent clauses. The first independent clause ends with just a comma.
This is an occasion when that's allowable.)

 "Veni, vidi, vici" [I came, I saw,I conquered.] (Roman emperor Julius Caesar)
(This is another occasion when you have to say it's acceptable to use just a comma to separate independent clauses
(an error known as a run-on sentence or comma splice). Grammarians hate the comma splice so much, you will
often see "Veni, vidi, vici" translated "As I came; I saw; I conquered" and even "I came, I saw, and I conquered.")

Read more about commas with conjunctions.

(Reason 3) As the subject of an imperative sentence is "you," you can't use "myself."
 If you have any questions, email myself or your line manager.
 Please write to myself with any suggestions.
The subject of an imperative sentence is "you," which is usually implied (i.e., not said or written). This means you cannot use
"myself," which requires the subject to be "I." Writers often use "myself," believing it sounds more highbrow. It's wrong. It should
be "me."

This is also covered in the entry on reflexive pronouns.

(Reason 4) Don't use a question mark with a declarative sentence that includes an indirect question.
 She asked whether I loved her?
 I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult? (Comedian Rita Rudner)

The bolded texts are indirect questions. These are declarative sentences (i.e., statements) not questions. They should
end in periods (full stops).

Reference

https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/sentencestructure#s-lg-box-9131420

https://www.infoplease.com/language-arts/grammar-and-spelling/sentences-sentence-structure-fab-four

https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/sentences.htm