Sentence Elements

I WAYAN BUDIARTA
A. Classical Classification
1. Subject & Predicate
2. Operator & Predication

B. Alternative Classification
1. Subject
2. Objects (direct/indirect objects ;simple/complex/compound)
3. Complements (subject/object complements)
4. Categories of verbs (intensive / extensive; stative / dynamic;
transitive / intransitive)
5. Categories of adverbials (adjuncts, disjuncts, conjuncts)

C. Sentences within Sentences

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In order to state general rules about the construction of a

sentence, it is necessary to refer to smaller units.

Traditionally, there is a primary distinction between

subject and predicate.

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 Subject Predicate

[1] John carefully searched the room

[2] The girl is now a student at a large

university
[3] His brother grew happier gradually

[4] It rained steadily all day

[5] He had given the girl an apple

[6] They elect him the chair every year

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Contrary to the subject, the predicate tends to be a more
complex and heterogeneous unit.

We need to subdivide it into its elements and constituents

One division has been suggested; this distinguishes

AUXILIARY as OPERATOR (as in [5q]) from what we may
call the PREDICATION.
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 Sentence

Subject Predicate

Auxiliary Predication

as
Operator

He had given the girl an apple [5]

Had he given the girl an apple [5q]

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This particular division of the sentence helps us to understand, for
example, how interrogative and negative sentences are formed, how
certain adjuncts are positioned, and how certain types of emphasis are
achieved.

The verb phrase may have several auxiliaries; e.g.

He should have been questioned by the police

In such cases, it is the first auxiliary that acts as operator:

Should he have been questioned by the police?

No, he shouldn’t have been questioned by the police.

Yes, he should.

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When the verb phrase has no auxiliary in the positive declarative
sentence, do is introduced when an operator is required:

It rained steadily all day.

Did it rain steadily all day?
No, it didn’t.

The verb be can act as an operator whether it is an auxiliary as in

John is searching the room / Is John searching the. . .?

or an ordinary verb as in:

The girl is now a student / Is the girl now. . .?

The same is true to some extent (esp. in BrE) for have:

He has a degree. / Has he a degree?

Does he have a degree? (AmrE)

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A sentence may alternatively been seen as comprising five units

called ELEMENTS of sentence (or clause) structure:

SUBJECT S

VERB V

OBJECT O

COMPLEMENT C

ADVERBIAL A

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The subject of the sentence has a close general relation to “what is being
discussed”, the “theme” of the sentence, with the normal implication that
something new (the predicate) is being said about a „subject‟ that has already
been introduced in an earlier sentence.

This is a general characteristics and not a defining feature; it is patently absurd

in relation to sentence [4].

The subject determines concord / agreement: the form of the verb

(singular/plural) depends on whether the subject is singular as in [2], the girl
is, or plural as in [6], they elect.

The subject is the part of the sentence that changes its position as we go from
statement to question:
Had he given the girl an apple? [5q]
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A direct object is a noun phrase that receives the action of a transitive
verb in an active sentence or a verbal.

object of a verb:
 I met her this morning.
 "Her" is the simple object that receives the action of being met.

object of a verbal:
 Meeting her was nice.
 "Her" is the object of the gerund "meeting."

I always wanted to meet her.

 Here, "her" is the object of an infinitive.
It can also be the

object of a preposition:
He is fond of her.
 "Her" is the object of the preposition “of."
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A direct object answers the questions what? or whom? about
the transitive verb.

Examples:

 The secretary wrote the report.

 What did the secretary write? - She wrote the report.

 The jury interviewed the candidate.

 Whom did the jury interview? - They
interviewed the candidate.

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 A direct object can also be compound, that is, composed of two
or more noun phrases joined with a coordinating conjunction.
e.g.
 The secretary wrote the report and the invitations.

Compound Object: the report and the invitations

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 How else can I identify a direct object?
Another useful method for determining whether a noun phrase acts as the
direct object is to attempt to rephrase the sentence in the passive voice.
If you can turn the sentence into the passive form, then the direct object
of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. If the
noun or noun phrase is not a direct object, then the sentence will not
convert into a passive form.
Examples:
1- Sarah wrote an e-mail.

Passive – An e-mail was written by Sarah. The direct object, "an e-mail," of the
active sentence becomes the subject of the passive one.

2- Mr. Jones has become the chief executive officer of the company.
“the chief executive of the company" is not a direct object and thus cannot
become the subject in a passive sentence.
Incorrect: * The chief executive officer of the company has been become
by Mr. Jones.
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Some action verbs can take an indirect object as well as a direct object.
Most commonly, these are verbs that involve giving something to
someone or making something for someone. Indirect objects are usually
placed directly before the direct object. They usually answer the questions
"to what/whom?" or "for what/whom?".

Example:
 She gave her boss a rose.
 She gave a rose to whom? Her boss.
 The predicate of the above sentence consists of the transitive verb "gave,"
the indirect object “her boss," and the direct object “a rose." predicate = gave
her boss a rose

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the Indirect object almost always precedes the direct object;
it is characteristically (though by no means always) a noun
referring to a person, and the semantic relationship is often
such that it is appropriate to use the term ‘recipient’.

Loosely, one might say in most cases that something (the direct
object) tends to be done for (or received by) the indirect object.

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 A subject complement can either be a predicate noun, which
renames the subject, or a predicate adjective, which describes the
subject.

Linking verbs (be, appear, become, seem, feel, grow, act, look, taste,
smell, sound, get, etc.) connect a subject complement to the subject.
These complements complete the meaning of the subject.

 The office was a busy bee.

"Was" is a linking verb which links the subject complement (predicate noun)
“busy bee" to the subject “office."

 The office was busy.

“busy" is a predicate adjective linked through the verb “was.”

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With some transitive verbs, the direct object can be followed by another
noun or modifying phrase called an object complement. The object
complement renames or defines the direct object.

Some of the verbs which can take an object complement are:

make, name, elect, call, find, consider, paint, appoint, believe, judge,
declare, turn.
Examples of object complements:

 He dyed his hair blonde.

The predicate of the above sentence consists of the transitive verb "dyed," the
direct object "his hair," and the object complement "blonde." predicate = dyed
his hair blonde

 The students elected him president.

The predicate of the above sentence consists of the transitive verb "elected," the
direct object "him," and the object complement "president." predicate = elected
him president
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There are different types of verb corresponding closely to the different
types of object and complement.

Sentences which have subject complements, have intensive verbs and all
other sentences have extensive verbs.
The girl is now a student at a large university. (intensive)
Intransitive verbs do not permit any of the four object and complement types so
far distinguished.
It rained all day yesterday. (extensive/intransitive)
.
Extensive verbs are otherwise transitive.

All transitive verbs take a direct object; some permit an indirect object, and
these will be distinguished as di-transitive

A few verbs take an object complement or an adverbial complement and these

are referred to as complex transitive. The rest are mono-transitive.
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But distinction between verbs need to be drawn in relation to object-and
complement-types but also in relation to whether they themselves admit
the aspectual contrast of ‘progressive’ and ‘non-progressive’. Thus it is
possible to say
 John carefully searched the room or
 John was carefully searching the room

But it is not possible to use the progressive in

 The girl is now a student at a large university
 John knew the answer

When verbs (either habitually or in certain uses) will not admit the
progressive , they are called Stative. When they will admit it , they are
called dynamic*.
*For further discussion of the difference between stative and dynamic verbs follow this
link: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/stat.htm
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 Verbs

Intensive Extensive
What comes after the verb What comes after the verb (if any)
complements the subject complements the verb

Stative Dynamic Stative Dynamic

• Verbs of thinking
• Verbs of feelings •All other kinds of
• Verbs of ivoluntary verbs
perception
•. Verbs of relation
be get
seem Become
appear turn
Transitive Intransitive
look go
sound …
feel
… Mono- Di- Complex-
Transitive Transitive Transitive
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An adverbial is a syntactic function at clause level.

Adverbials fall into three categories adjuncts, conjuncts, and disjuncts.

Strictly speaking, it is only the first category-the adjunct-that can be right labeled
an adverbial, which is generally treated as one of the five elements of a clause.

Unlike subjects, verbs, and objects, most adverbials are optional and may be
omitted without making a sentence ungrammatical:
The girl is now a student at a large university
This might have had fewer elements:
 The girl is a student at a large university.
 The girl is a student.
 The girl is now a student.
 The girl is now at a large university.
But the sentence could not have been formed initially as:
*The girl is now. (incorrect)
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The adverbials „now‟ and „at large university‟ belong to different classes and it
seems natural to label them „time‟ and „place‟ respectively.

John searched the room carefully.

The adverbial carefully could be replaced by many others, making acceptable

sentences in each case :
 John searched the room carefully/slowly/noisily/without delay

But if these same adverbials were inserted in sentences which had stative
verbs, the sentences become unacceptable:
*The girl is now a student at university carefully/slowly/noisily/without delay

It is clear that we again have a subclass of adverbials. Because the verbs with
which they can occur allow the progressive aspect, it is appropriate to refer to
these adverbials as ‘process’.

Adverbials can be realized by adverb phrases (slowly, well, very fast), noun
phrases (next week, last time), prepositional phrases (on the table), or
subordinate clauses (Although she is so competent, ....).
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Adjunct is a type of adverbial indicating the circumstances of the
action. It modifies, hence, the verb in a clause or sentence.

They express such relations as time, place, manner, reason, condition, i.e.
they are answers to the questions where, when, how and why.

 She is in her office now.

(adjunct of place) + (adjunct of time)

 She was writing slowly since she was in no hurry .

(adjunct of manner) + (adjunct of reason)

Most of adjuncts are optional. Only adjuncts of location when occuring after a
stative intensive verb or a complex transitive verb, i.e.in SVA / SVOA
patterns, are obligatory.
 She is in her office now. SVA
(stative intensive) + (adjunct of place) + (adjunct of time)
obligatory optional
 Customers must not put their children on the counter. SVOA
(complex transitive) (adjunct of place)
obligatory
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Adjuncts are relatively mobile, being able to take the initial, medial or end
position.

Generally speaking, time adjuncts may occur at all the three positions, eg:

 Yesterday, they had an accident.

 They yesterday had an accident.
 They had an accident yesterday.
By contrast, manner adjuncts appear more often at the end position:
They live frugally.
 He always drives carefully.

Sometimes for rhetorical reasons. a manner adjunct may occur at the head of
the sentence:
 Quietly, she walked on and on.
 Noiselessly, the girl crept across the floor and stole out of the house.

Place adjuncts normally appear at the end of the sentence, eg:

 The porter will take your luggage upstairs.
 I couldn't find it though I had looked everywhere. 25
Disjunct a type of adverbial that is always optional in the clause. It is
different from an adjunct in that it does not integrate itself into the structure of
a clause. It is somewhat detached from the clause structure and has a more
or less peripheral nature. It is often set off with commas at the beginning, in
the middle or at the end of a clause.
Semantically, a disjunct does not modify the action or process denoted by the verb
but characteristically modifies an entire sentence or comments on its probability,
desirability or style. That is why, it is called also sentence adverbial , sentential
adverbial, or sentence modifier.

 Surprisingly, they boycotted the product instead of endorsing it.

 Unfortunately, they refused the proposal..
 To tell you the truth, I‟m tired of it.
 Officially, he‟s on holiday; he is, actually, in hospital.
 Hopefully, you will learn to admire the beauty of a grammar.
 Generally speaking, large companies tend to monopoly the market.

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 The disjunct generally expresses:
1. the speaker's judgement of the truth of the utterance (modal disjuncts, e.g.
probably, certainly, maybe)
2. the speaker's evaluation of a fact (fact-evaluating disjuncts, e.g. fortunately, actually,
to my surprise),
3. the speaker's comment on his/her own wording of the sentence (e.g. briefly, in
other words, to tell you the truth), or
4. the speaker’s comment on the subject referent (subject-evaluating disjuncts, e.g.
Wisely, she spent the money = 'she was wise to spend the money')
Disjuncts are mostly realized by adverb phrase. The adverbs that are commonly used
as disjuncts include:

admittedly personally frankly indeed wisely

surprisingly unexpectedly probably surely naturally
certainly fortunately officially luckily hopefully
possibly practically scientifically superficially perhaps
technically undeniably unfortunately educationally
financially really honestly definitely

Disjuncts can also be realized by prepositional phrase (“to my surprise”), non-finite clause
(“to tell you the truth”), and occasionally by finite clauses such as “what‟s more important”,
etc.
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Conjuncts differ from adjuncts and disjuncts in that they do not modify anything nor
comment on the accompanying clause, but function as connectives between clauses and
express relations between them:
 Relation of “addition” and “reinforcement”: also, besides, furthermore, moreover, then, in
addition,
above all, what is more, etc.
 Relation of “apposition”: namely, for example, for instance, that is (i.e.), that is to say, etc.
 Relation of “result”: consequently, hence, so, therefore, thus, as a result, etc.
 Relation of “equation”: equally, likewise, similarly, in the same way, etc.
 Relation of “inference”: (or) else, otherwise, therefore, then, in that case, etc.
 Relation of “replacement”; alternatively, rather, in other words, etc.
 Relation of “antithesis”: instead, on the contrary, in / by contrast, by comparison, on the other
hand, etc.
 Relation of “concession”: anyhow, anyway, however, nevertheless, still, though, yet, in any case, at
any rate, in spite of that, after all, all the same, etc.
 Relation of “temporal transition”: meanwhile, on the meantime, etc.
 Relation of “topical transition”: by the way, incidentally, etc.
 Relation of “conclusion” or “summation”: (all) in all, in short, in conclusion, to sum up, in a word,
etc.
 Relation of “sequence” and “enumeration”: first(ly), second (ly), … , to begin with, to
start with; in the first place, … ; next, then ; finally, last (ly); to conclude, etc.

Conjuncts can also be described as text organizers, in that they guide the hearer/reader
through the text, showing how the different pieces hang together, and where they belong in
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the text.
 C. Sentences Within Sentences
Considerable variety is possible in realizing each element of structure.
Indeed , , and can themselves readily have the internal constituents
of sentences:
[7] She saw that it rained all day

She (S) saw (V) that [ it (S) rained (V) all day (A)] (O)

[8] His brother grew happier when his friend arrived

His brother (S) grew (V) happier (Cs) when [his friend (S) arrived (V)] (A)

[9] That she answered the question correctly pleased him enormously

That [she (S) answered (V) the question (O) correctly (A)] (S)
pleased (V) him (O) enormously (A)

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 Bibliography

Quirk, R. & Greenbaum, S. (1973) . A Concise Grammar of Contemporary English.

Philadelphia: HBJ.
Quirk, R. & Greenbaum, S. (1974). A University Grammar of English. London:
Longman.
Webography

The Basic Elements of English Grammar Guide.

http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/

HyperGrammar
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/grammar.html

University of Victoria / the Language Center

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/stat.htm
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