SENTENCES

What Is a Sentence? – Meaning and Definition

 A sentence is an array of multiple words arranged in a particular order.

 It has to be complete in itself and should convey meaning.
 It can express a general idea, pose a question or argument, provide a
suggestion, make an order or request, and so much more.

Definition:

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines a sentence as “a set of words expressing a

statement, a question or an order, usually containing a subject and a verb”.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a sentence is defined as “a group of words,

usually containing a verb, that expresses a thought in the form of a statement,
question, instruction, or exclamation”.
Formation of Sentences in English

When constructing sentences, you have to follow a particular word order. They
consist of words, phrases and clauses that have to be arranged sequentially in order
to make sense. In most cases, the subject with or without the determiner comes first,
followed by the verb.

Let us look at the parts and components of a sentence and understand further how
sentences are formed.

Parts of a Sentence

The basic division of sentences is in terms of,

 Subjects – A noun, noun phrase or pronoun that does the action mentioned in
the sentence. It mostly occurs at the beginning of the sentence.
 Predicates – The remaining part of the sentence. It begins with the verb.
Here are a few examples.

Example 1: Daisy teaches English.

Subject – Daisy

Predicate – Teaches English

Example 2: Anitha called me yesterday.

Subject – Anitha

Predicate – Called me yesterday

Example 3: The girl wearing the yellow dress is my new neighbour.

Subject – The girl wearing the yellow dress

Predicate – Is my new neighbour

Types of Sentences – Purpose of Sentences

Based on Based on
Purpose Structure
Basic Parts and Components of a Sentence

Before we look into how sentence structure works, we will have to first learn about
the basic structure of a sentence and the components that make up a sentence.

Components of a Sentence

There are five components that can make up a sentence. They are,
  Subject – The doer of the action
 Verb – The action in the sentence
 Object – The receiver of the action
 Complement -A word/phrase that modifies the subject or object in the
sentence
 Adjunct – An adverb or an adverb clause that provides us with more
information about the verb, complement or another adjunct in the sentence

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’..

For example:

 The child kept crying.

 Our school team won the match.

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. Most often, verbs appear immediately
after the subject.

For example:

 Neena is writing a letter.

 It was too dark.
 Tarun’s dog ran away.

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.

 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.
 They gave us coffee with breakfast.

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 Sreya the class leader.
 They named their daughter, Thara.
 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. Adjuncts can be identified by asking questions ‘when’,
‘where’, ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘how often’ and ‘to what extent’. 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 everyday.
 This workout routine is extremely exhausting.
Sentence by Pattern

The English language has seven basic sentence (or clause) patterns. Examples
are:

1. Birds / fly. (SV)*

2. Ben / played / cricket. (SVO)
3. Sandra / is / tall. (SVC)
4. The coach / gave / the team/ a present. (SVIODO)
5. Ricky / made / Jane / angry. (SVOC)
6. John / sat / up. (SVA)
7. She/ put / the bag / down. (SVOA)

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 or look a lot more organised, 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)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Complement (ASVC)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Object (ASVO)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (ASVIODO)
 Subject + Verb + Adjunct + Adjunct (SVAA)
 Adjunct + Subject + Verb + Adjunct + Adjunct (ASVAA)

Examples of Sentence Structure

Looking at examples will help you understand how each sentence structure works.
So, here are a few examples for you.

SV

 The stars / are shining.

Subject / Verb

 The birds / are chirping.

Subject / Verb

 It / is raining.
Subject / Verb

SVO

 Children / love / ice creams.

Subject / Verb / Object

 Noah / does not like / bitter gourd.

Subject / Verb / Object

 I / have / a pencil.
Subject / Verb / Object

SVC

 I / am / an Indian.
Subject + Verb + Complement
  Carol / is / a nurse.
Subject + Verb + Complement

 My name / is / Gina.
Subject + Verb + Complement

SVA

 Madhu / reached / early.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct

 All of us / are leaving / for Tokyo.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct

 He / went / upstairs.
Subject / Verb / Adjunct

SVOC

 We / lost / out cat, / Quinny.

Subject / Verb / Object / Complement

 My friends / make / me / happy.

Subject / Verb / Object / Complement

 Everyone / found / the book / controversial.

Subject / Verb / Object / Complement

SVOA

 It / is / my birthday / next month.

Subject / Verb / Object / Adjunct

 Lakshmi / reached / school / after 9 a.m.

Subject / Verb / Object / Adjunct

 My brother / plays / football / everyday.

Subject / Verb / Object / Adjunct
SVIODO

 The Board / offered / me / the job.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

 Rohit / gave / Reshmi / his favourite book.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

 Neetu / bought / herself / a hat.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

ASVC

 Suddenly, / it / grew / dark.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Complement

 Normally, / the weather / is / good.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Complement

 Occassionally, / my dog / gets / restless.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Complement

ASVO

 Last week, / we / celebrated / Holi.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object

 Usually, / we / get / a token.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object

 Every year, / we / visit / the orphanage.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object

ASVIODO

 Today, / the teacher / gave / us / our papers.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

 Yesterday, / my mom / bought / me / a bicycle.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object
  Every time he comes home, / my brother / gets / my mom / her favourite
chocolates.
Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object

SVAA

 They / go / to work / by bus.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 We / meet / every evening / on the way back home.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 Jancy / went / to the grocery store / last Saturday.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

ASVAA

 Normally, / my parents / come / by bus / to Pondicherry.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 Last year, / my friends and I / went / to Meghalaya / for a month.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

 Usually, / Finn’s parents / would come / to the airport / as soon as his flight
lands.
Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct

KINDS OF SENTENCES

Phrases and Clauses

Sentence patterns are made up of phrases and clauses.

In order to understand Simple, Compound and Complex sentences, it is important to

learn Clauses.

A clause is a part of a sentence with a subject and verb. It can also be a group of
words. In the sentence 'After we finished school, we went home', there are two
clauses. The first one being 'After we finished School' and the second one was 'We
went home'. In both, there is a subject we and verbs finished and went.
There are two types of clauses:

 Independent clause/Main clause - This clause can stand on its own and still
make meaning. 'We went home' is an independent clause as it gives meaning
on its own.
 Dependent clause/subordinate clause - This is a clause that cannot exist on its
own and give meaning. It can only add meaning to the independent clause
next to it. 'After we finished school' is a dependent clause
 A phrase is a group of connected words, but it is not a complete sentence
because it is missing a subject and/or a verb. Phrases are just one component
that makes up a complete sentence.

Kinds of Sentences
 Simple Sentence: (Single Clause)

A sentence that consists of only one subject and one finite verb is called a Simple
Sentence.

 It consists of one Subject and one Verb.

 It expresses a complete thought.
 It is also called an Independent Clause.

Examples:

 She is a teacher.
 We are learning English Grammar.
 The children are playing cricket.
 Arjun and Aravind are attending the meeting.
 Compound Sentence: (Two Main Clauses)

A sentence that consists of two main or Independent Clauses is called a Compound

Sentence.

 It consists of two Main or Independent Clauses.

 A comma (sometimes semicolon) is used before the conjunction.
 Coordinating Conjunctions are used to join these clauses.

Coordinating Conjunctions: They join together words, phrases, or clauses of equal

rank.

They are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so(known as FANBOYS), however, otherwise, still,
therefore, nevertheless, either…or, neither….nor, both… and, not only …. but also, as
well as, etc.,

Examples:

 He worked hard, but could not succeed.

 She helped him several times, yet he was not happy.
 He bought a pen, and it was very nice.
 He must work hard, or he will not win the match.

Independent clause, coordinating conjunction independent clause.

Independent clause; conjunctive adverb, independent clause.
Independent clause; independent clause.
 Complex Sentence: (With Subordinate Clause)

A sentence that has one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses is called a
complex sentence.

 It consists of one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

 Subordinating Conjunctions (sometimes relative pronouns) are used to join these
clauses.
 If the sentence begins with a Subordinate Clause, a comma is used after this clause.

Subordinating Conjunctions: They join a clause to another on which it depends for

its full meaning.

TIME CAUSE & EFFECT OPPOSITION CONDITION

after because although if

before since though unless

when now that even though only if

while as whereas whether or not

since in order that while even if

until so in case (that)

RELATIVE PRONOUNS:
who whoever that

whom whomever

which whichever
 Examples:

 Though he worked hard, he failed in the exam.

 When I went in, I found her watching TV.
 He bought a pen which was very nice.
 Unless you work hard, you will not win the match.
 As I performed well in the interview, they selected me for the job.

Note: Very important to observe the punctuation patterns:

 When we reached the ground, they had already started playing.

 They had already started playing when we reached the ground.
 Sravani, who spoke to me yesterday, has come to see you now.
 The student who got the first rank in the I Unit Test failed in all the subjects in the
II Unit Test.

Dependent clause, independent clause

Independent clause(Main Clause) dependent clause
Independent, non-defining relative (dependent) clause, clause.

Independent defining relative (dependent) clause clause.

Simple Compoun Complex Example

d
In spite of / But Though/ Although In spite of being rich, he was humble
Despite (Simple)
He was rich, but he was humble
(Compound)
Although he was rich, he was
humble (Complex)

Verb + ing And When/As/Since Entering the room, I saw my brother

sleeping (Simple)
I entered the room, and I found my
brother sleeping (Compound)
When I entered the room, I found
my brother sleeping( Complex)

Due to/ On And/ So Because I took off due to sickness (Simple)

account of I was sick and went off (Compound)
I took off because I was
sick (Complex)

By +Verb And If By studying well, I will pass the exam

+ing (Simple)
I will study well and pass the exam
(Compound)
If I study well, I will pass the
exam (Complex)

Having + And When+ Subject Having completed her degree, she

Verb +Had+ Verb took a job (Simple)
She completed the degree, and she
took the job (Compound)
She took a job when she completed
the degree (Complex)
Sentence Ordering

1. Spotting the opening sentence:

Firstly, to arrange the jumbled sentences the need is to identify the opening
sentence.

2. Identify the closing sentence:

Secondly, you need to figure out the closing sentence of the passage.

3. Spotting the transition words or the linking words:

These words are basically the ones that make the movement or shift from one
sentence to another smoother and without a break.
 4. Identifying the pronoun antecedents:

The last step is to spot the pronouns used in the sentence. To understand the
concept of pronouns, read the given bifurcation that is done in three parts:

a. Relative pronoun: Which consists of words like who, whom, whose, which.

b. Demonstrative pronoun: It mainly consists of words like this, that, these, those.

c. Personal pronoun: Personal pronoun consists of words like he, she, him, her,
you, they, it.
Once you identify the opening, closing sentences, the pronouns and transitory
words, it becomes easy for you to ideally connect the sentences and create a
passage.

Question 1.

Arrange the below-mentioned sentences coherently:

A. Hence the morning time is best for a workout.

B. The morning workout, is more beneficial, as our body has already taken full rest for
the whole night.
C. Throughout the day the body is involved in some or the other physical activity.
D. People often ask why morning workout sessions are the best.
E. That’s why the entire body gets tired on all accounts due to everyday tasks.

Options:
A. DABCE
B. DBCEA*
C. ADBCE
D. DEACB

Question: 2

Arrange the below-mentioned sentences coherently:

A) The hiker reaches the mountain peak, taking in the breathtaking panoramic view.

B) A gentle breeze rustles through the leaves, creating a soothing melody.

C) Sunlight filters through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor.
D) Wildflowers bloom in vibrant colors, adding beauty to the natural surroundings.

E) The trail weaves through dense foliage, offering glimpses of wildlife along the way.

Options:

1. CEDBA*
2. ACBED
3. EDCBA
4. CEBDA

Question: 3

A- ethnic background, education level, and income level.

B-The good news is that it can often be treated.

C- It affects young and old, male and female, and individuals of every race,

D- Mental illness is an equal opportunity issue.

1. BACD
2. DCAB*
3. ACDB
4. BCDA

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