English Grammar

Sentence Formation & Sentence Structure

What is a sentence?
A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought. In English, a simple
sentence is made up of a subject + a verb + possibly an object. This sentence structure is
sometimes represented as SVO.
Components of a Sentence
Like a sentence has two parts, it has five main components that make up the structure of a
sentence, and they are,
 Subject
 Verb
 Object
 Complement
 Adjunct
Subject
A noun that performs the action in a sentence is considered as the subject. It answers the
question ‘who’ or in other words, a subject can be identified by asking the question ‘who’. A
subject takes the first place in most cases, especially in declarative or assertive sentences.
For example:
 The child kept crying.
 Our school team won the match.
 My son is in the eighth grade.
 Hard work pays.
 No one came to the wedding.
Verb
In every sentence the most important word can be said to be the verb. A verb shows action or
activity or work done by the subject. Remember that all verbs including main verbs, helping
verbs, stative verbs and action verbs come under this category. Most often, verbs appear
immediately after the subject.
For example:
 Ayesha is writing a letter.
 It was too dark.
 I feel tired.
 My phone is not working.
 Tarun’s dog ran away.
o I like spaghetti.
o He reads many books.
o The movie is good.

Object
An object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action done by the subject. Objects are of
two types and they are,
 Direct Object
 Indirect Object
Direct Object
A noun or pronoun that receives the action directly is the direct object in the sentence. It
answers the question ‘what’. Direct objects mostly appear immediately after the verb and are
the primary objects in the sentence.
For example:
 Harry bought a new car.
 My mom made a cake.
 I met my friend.
 She knows all the songs.
 We watched a movie.
Indirect Object
An indirect object is a noun or pronoun that is a secondary object. It can be identified by
asking the question ‘whom’. When there is an indirect object in a sentence, it is mostly
placed after the verb and before the direct object.
For example:
 Vandhana gave Keerthana a cake.
 My mom bought me a new dress.
 I gave him a chocolate.
 They gave us coffee with breakfast.
 He lent his friend a pen.
Complement
The words required to complete the meaning of a sentence can be referred to as
the complement of the sentence. A complement can be an adjective, a name, a position or a
profession.
For example:
 It grew dark.
 He is a dentist.
 That’s her dog, Bruno.
Complements are further divided into two types based on which component it speaks about.
The two types of complement are,
 Subject Complement
 Object Complement
Subject Complement
The complement which expresses the quality or identity or condition of the subject is
called Subject Complement.
For example:
 She is a doctor.
 I am Sindhu.
 Nandhu is clever.
 The students are very excited.
 My brother is a teacher.
Object Complement
The complement which expresses the quality or identity or condition of an object is
called Object Complement.
For example:
 They made her angry.
  The students elected Freya the class leader.
 They named their daughter, Tara.
 Marley met her friend, Ryan.
 Nobody found the movie interesting.
Adjunct
An adjunct is a word or a phrase that gives more information about an action, an event, a
quality and so on. In short, it can be said that these words can include adverbs and adverb
clauses. Adjuncts can be identified by asking questions ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘how
often’ and ‘to what extent’. When using adjuncts, keep in mind that adjuncts can be used in
the beginning, middle or end of the sentence and that there can be more than one adjunct in a
sentence.
Take a look at the following examples to understand how adjuncts can be used.
 Yesterday, we met at the park.
 He is very tired.
 Due to his ill-health, he could not come home for Christmas.
 My father reads the newspaper every day.
 This workout routine is extremely exhausting.
Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a
subject and a verb and is a complete idea.
o I like spaghetti.
o 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.
o Although I like spaghetti…
o Because he reads many books…
o I like spaghetti.
o He reads many books.
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?”
o I like spaghetti.
o 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?”
o I like spaghetti for dinner.
o He reads many books in the library.
English Sentence Structure
The following statements are true about sentences in English:
 A new sentence begins with a capital letter.
o He obtained his degree.
 A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point).
o He obtained his degree.
  A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.
o Smith he obtained his degree.
 A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.
o He obtained his degree.
 A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.
o He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).
 A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an
independent clause.
o He obtained his degree.

Simple Sentences
A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may also have an object and
modifiers. However, it contains only one independent clause. (An independent clause
contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.)

Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink, regular
font =prepositional phrase
Here are a few examples:
 She wrote.
 She completed her literature review.
 He organized his sources by theme.
 They studied APA rules for many hours.
 I like coffee.
 Mary likes tea.
 The earth goes round the sun.
 Mary did not go to the party.
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.
Each of these clauses could form a sentence alone.
Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or semicolon = pink, regular font;
coordinating conjunction = green, underlined
Here are a few examples:
 She completed her literature review, and she created her reference list.
 He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.
 They studied APA rules for many hours, but they realized there was still much to
learn.
 I like coffee and Mary likes tea.
 Mary went to work but John went to the party.
 Our car broke down; we came last.
Note: - There are seven coordinating conjunctions: And, But, Or, Nor, For, Yet, So
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) of 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:
 Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to work on her
methods section.
o Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

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

 They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.
o Note that there is no comma in this sentence because it begins with an
independent clause.
 We missed our plane because we were late.

 Our dog barks when she hears a noise.

 He left in a hurry after he got a phone call.

 Do you know the man who is talking to Mary?

Here are some common subordinating conjunctions: After, Although, As, Because,
Before, How, If, Once, Since, Than, That, Though, Till, Until, When, Where,
Whether, While
Here are the five basic relative pronouns:
 That, Which, Who, Whom, Whose
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
 She completed her literature review, but she still needs to work on her methods
section even though she finished her methods course last semester.
 Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them
chronologically, and he carefully followed the MEAL plan for organization.
 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.
 John didn't come because he was ill so Mary was not happy.
 He left in a hurry after he got a phone call but he came back five minutes later.