SET II : THE SIMPLE SENTENCE.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SIMPLE SENTENCES. THE FOR SYNTACTIC

STRUCTURES: STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION, STRUCTUR FO
PREDICATION, STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION, STRUCTURE OF
COORDINATION. CHARACTERISTICS. HEADS AND MODIFIERS. CLAUSE
ELEMENTS SYNTACTICALLY DEFINED.

THE SIMPLE SENTENCE.

A sentence is a significant grammatical unit that contains a single independent
clause, having a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE.
In writtten English a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop
(period), a question mark (query), or an exclamation mark.
We analyse sentences in order to establish the relationship between
constituents.
In English Grammar we identify FOUR syntactic structures:
1) STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION.
2) STRUCTURE OF PREDICATION.
3) STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION.
4) STRUCTURE OF COORDINATION.

Structure of modification.
 The two immediate constituents are the HEAD and the MODIFIER.

 The indicator of modification is an arrow →.

 The arrow goes from the modifier towards the head.

E.g.: *The intelligent boy…… * …..a very nice girl. * ….. run fast.

 Any part of speech may be HEAD in structures of modification.

Structure of predication.
 The two immediate constituents are the SUBJECT and the PREDICATE.
 We show predication by drawing two parallel lines and a capital P in between.
E.g.: * She /P/ makes dresses. * The children /P/ screamed out for attention.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 1
 Structure of complementation.
 The two immediate constituents are the VERB and its COMPLEMENT.
 We show complementation by drawing two parallel lines and a capital C in
between.
E.g.: * She became /C/ a famous writer. * Have you seen /C/ the car keys?
 Transitive verbs and linking verbs take complements.
E.g.: * He bought /C/ a new CD. * We always eat /C/ big meals.

* She is /C/ an engineer. * They are /C/ my friends.

Structure of coordination.
 It has two immediate constituents that may be TWO NOUNS, VERBS,
CLAUSES, etc., coordinated by a CONJUNCTION.
 We show coordination by drawing two horizontal parallel lines.
E.g.: * John and Liza are here. * Frank eats and drinks a lot!
* I do the shopping and my brother does the cleaning.

STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION.

Any part of speech may be HEAD in structures of modification.

E.g.: A) * …beautiful flower. B) * … pretty good.

C) *… very quickly. D) *… runs quickly.

A) NOUN AS HEAD.
 The most common modifier of the noun is the adjective. Adjectives are usually
placed before the noun it modifies.

E.g.: * …cheerful smile. (attributive position) * … clever assistant. (attributive

position)

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 2
We can find adjectives modifying nouns in post position, often as a sort of
reduced relative clause.

E.g.: * ….details available. (predicative position) * …people involved.

(predicative position)

* … something cold and refreshing... (predicative position)

* A figure, vague and shadowy... (predicative position)

 The article is also considered a modifier of the noun.

E.g. : * The train…. * an egg… * a magazine….

 Other nouns can modify nouns.

a) Possessive Case: * a dog’s life…. * a day’s work…. * children’s labour...

b) The Apossitive: It is a device used to add information about the noun. It

generally appears between commas, after the noun head.

E.g.: * Shakespeare, the English writer, wrote famous plays.

* Vice-President, Samuel Smith, made no comments.

 Adverbs may modify nouns.

E.g.: * The people here are impatient.

* The temperature outside is high.

 Prepositional phrases can modify nouns.

E.g.: * The people with disgust walked along the street. SINGLE
PREPOSITION

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 3
 * Mr Van Miert is taking these questions along with Mr Bangemann.
COMPOUND PREPOSITION

*….a fish out of water. COMPOUND PREPOSITION

* She was the only British competitor apart from Ray Finn.COMPOUND
PREPOSITION

* On top of all this, the European economy is looking brighter. PHRASAL

PREPOSITION

* This bag is fastened to the back by means of straps. PHRASAL

PREPOSITION

 Verbs or verbal forms can be noun modifiers.

a) –ing: * running water… * worrying increase… * walking dead…

* Reading is a pleasure.

b) Past participle used as an adjective:

* annoyed people… * baked potatoes… * unexpected ending.

B) VERB AS HEAD.
 The most common modifiers of verbs are adverbs.
 Adverbs may appear in:
* Front position, modifying the whole sentence.

E.g.: Usually, he tells me his secrets.

*Mid position, modifying the verb and its auxiliary.

E.g.: He usually tells me his secrets.

He has never come to classes.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 4
 Before any verb: He unsuccessfully tried….
Mid position After ‘be’: He is always arrogant.
Between the auxiliary and the main verb: He has
sometimes seen…

*End position, modifying the verb and its complement.

E.g.: He works successfully. He comes home late.

He is moving ahead.

 Nouns having adverbial functions can be verb modifiers.

E.g.: He lived a year abroad. He walked that way.

 Prepositional phrases can also modify verbs.

E.g.: He spoke about his work.

The guests entered into the game after dinner.

The child came rapidly down the street on a bike.

C) ADJECTIVE AS HEAD.
 The most common modifiers of adjectives are adverbs.

E.g.: It is dark ahead.

 An adjective may modify another adjective.

E.g.: …icy cold. …crazy drunk. …dark blue.

 Prepositional phrases may also modify adjectives.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 5
 E.g.: ….easy on the eye. …hopeful of success.

… green as grass. …stronger than ever.

 Adjective complementation: It adds more information about the adjective

we are using at the moment.

E.g.: …fond of reading. …excited about it. …keen on Maths.

…worried about him.

D) ADVERB AS HEAD.

 Adverbs are the most common modifiers of other adverbs. Generally, they
precede the adverb they modify.
E.g.: Quantifiers / intensifiers … very easily. …rather slowly.

 Adverbs as adverb modifiers.

E.g.: …far away. …sometimes below…

 Prepositional phrases as adverb modifiers.

E.g.: …away for a week. … outside in the cold.

 Nouns as adverb modifiers.

E.g.: …a meter away. … some way up. … that fluently.

STRUCTURE OF PREDICATION.

Predication is the relationship between a subject (with its modifiers) and a verb
(with its complements / objects and modifiers).
The predicate is one of two main parts of a sentence, the other part being the
subject. The purpose of the predicate is to complete an idea about the subject,
such as what it does or what it is like. The predicate must contain a verb, and
the verb requires or permits other elements to complete the predicate. These
elements may be objects, complements or adjuncts.
 Predicates may contain one word.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 6
 E.g.: We walked. They cooked.

 Predicates may contain more than one word.

E.g.: We walked slowly. (Structure of modification as predicate)

I bought her sunflowers. (Structure of complementation as

predicate)

They cooked and had fun. (Structure of coordination as predicate)

Subjects.
The subject is the person, thing or topic about whom the statement is made.
It is the word or phrase which controls the verb in the sentence.

 The most important word element in the subject is the noun.

E.g.: Money talks. Noun as subject.

 The subject is a constituent that can contain other forms or structures.

E.g.: A cold day depresses me. Structure of modification as
subject.

Now is the time. Adverb as subject.

Helpful is a good way to be. Adjective as subject.

To read is easier than to write. ‘To infinitive’ as subject.

Working here is pleasant. Present participle / Gerund as subject.

To South Africa is a long way. Prepositional phrase as subject.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 7
 Sailing boats is my hobby. Structure of complementation as
subject.

Food and drinks are served here. Structure of coordination as

subject.

That he hid it has not been proved. Structure of predication as

subject.

Take out the garbage! Implied subject.

STRUCTURE OF COMPLEMENTATION.

A complement is a word, phrase or clause that is necessary to complete the

meaning of a given expression / verb.
The subject complement and object / object complement are employed to denote
predicative expressions that serve to assign a property to a subject or object.

E.g.: He gives History lessons. Ryan is upset.

Subject Complement:
 It comes after LINKING VERBS.
E.g.:
The woman is a nurse. A noun as SC.

That is all. A noun substitute as SC.

The time is now. An adverb as SC.

His wish is to win. ‘To infinitive’ as SC.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 8
 His trade is importing goods. Gerund as SC.

This meat is canned. Past participle as SC.

The train is on time. Prepositional phrase as SC.

He is a promising young member of the club. Structure of

Modification as SC.

His hobby is collecting hats. Structure of Complementation as SC.

The day was dark and cold. Structure of Coordination as SC.

The problem is that he doesn’t love her. Structure of Predication

as SC.
Direct and Indirect Objects:
 They come after a TRANSITIVE VERB.
E.g.: I love gossip magazines.
 In the passive voice they become the subject of the sentence.

E.g.: They painted the house green. ACTIVE VOICE

The house was painted green. PASSIVE VOICE

Direct Object:
 The Direct Object usually answers the question ‘What?’.
Many words can perform the function of Direct Object:
E.g.:
He found a friend. Noun as DO.

I saw him. Pronoun as DO.

We sent several. Noun equivalent / substitute as DO.

They want to go. ‘To infinitive’ as DO.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 9
 She likes swimming. Gerund as DO.

We saw an excellent film about Thailand. Structure of Modification

as DO.

The party needs a new platform and a new leader. Structure of

Coord. as DO.

He intends to make money. Structure of Complementation as DO.

The teacher made the students read the book. Structure of Predic.
as DO.

Indirect Object:
 They usually answer the question ‘Who?’ ‘Whom?’.
 Many words can perform the function of Indirect Object.
 When there are two objects, one is the IO.

E.g: He gave his friends two books.

NOTE! He gave two books to his friends.

He told the policeman his name. Noun as IO.

We gave each a present. Noun substitute as IO.

We sold them our house. Pronoun as IO.

She gave the hungry boy a sandwich. Structure of Modification as

IO.

He gave his mother and father a package. Struct. Of Coordination

as IO.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 10
 I paid the man in the pub three pounds. Prepositional phrase as
IO.

Object Complement:
 It completes the meaning of the OBJECT.
E.g.:
They elected him Prime Minister. Noun as OC.

He painted his room blue. Adjective as OC.

They found him alone. Adverb as OC.

They considered the work finished. Past Participle as OC.

They considered him a prospective candidate for the post. Str. of

Mod. as OC.

We find the job boring, hard and exhausting. Struct. of Coordination

as OC.

They left her in tears. Prepositional phrase as OC.

STRUCTURE OF COORDINATION.
 It joins two words, phrases or clauses having the same rank or level of
structure.
 The most common coordinators are:
AND Addition
BUT Contrast They appear between the two coordinated
structures.
OR Alternative

E.g.: Sarah and Megan went to town. Noun + Noun

This chicken and that rice go well together. NP + NP

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 11
 The President will understand and agree. V+V

After the announcement but before the game, there was a celebration.
PP + PP

Susan works and her husband takes care of their children. Clause +
Clause

We appreciated that the President understood the criticism and that he took
action. Clause + Clause

CLAUSE ELEMENTS SYNTACTICALLY DEFINED.

The Subject:
 It is generally a noun, a noun substitute or a noun clause.
 It is normally followed by the verb phrase in declarative clauses and
immediately after the operator (auxiliary) in questions.
E.g.: I don’t like fish. Do you like fish?
 It has person and number concordance with the verb phrase.
E.g.: She is / was / has….

Objects:
 Like the subject, it is a noun phrase or a clause with nominal function.
E.g.: They make nice dresses.
 Normally, it follows the subject and the verb phrase (transitive).
 In the passive transformation or passive voice sentences, the DO assumes
the status of SUBJECT.
E.g.: My mother makes delicious.

Delicious cakes are made by my mother.

 When both objects are present, the IO precedes the DO.

E.g.: We could find him a job.

She bought the children two ice creams.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 12
 When the IO comes after the DO it is semantically equivalent to a
prepositional phrase.
E.g.: We could find a job for him.

She bought two ice creams for the children.

Complements:
 The complement is typically a noun phrase, an adjective phrase or clause
with nominal function having a relationship with the subject or object.
 The complement has the role of attribute. It attributes an identification or
characterization to the SUBJECT or the DO.
 When it is placed after the subject and a linking verb, the complement will
be SUBJECT COMPLEMENT.
 The complement does NOT become subject of the passive transformation.
 The OBJECT COMPLEMENT occurs after the subject, verb and DO of the
transitive verb.
 In the case of the object complement, it may be performed by noun phrases,
adjectives or adverbs.

Adverbials:
 An adverbial is generally performed by an adverb, adverbial phrase, an
adverbial clause, a noun phrase or prepositional phrase.
 It is generally movable, capable of occurring in more than one position in the
clause.
 It may be optional or obligatory (pattern 1 and pattern 7).

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 13
STEPS IN ANALYSING SENTENCES

1. MARK THE VERB/ VERBS

- TV- IV - LV
-
IVCP – IVIP

2. MARK THE SUBJECT 〔…….〕

3. MARK PREDICATION / P / AND COMPLEMENTATION / C /

/P TV / C / ……………..DO/ IO/ OC

/P LV / C / ……………..SC / ADVERBIAL

/P IV … ………………… ADVERBIAL

4. MARK COORDINATION

5. MODIFICATION IN THE SENTENCE

6. MARK PHRASES (…..)

7. MARK SUBORDINATE CLAUSES〈………〉

STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION. PLEASE AFTER READING THIS STRUCTURE ,

MARK ALL THE POSSIBLE MODIFICATION IN THE PHASES BELOW.

EG,

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 14
NOUNS AS HEAD

• Cheerful smile - that woman doctor

• Clever assistant - a five-hour delay

• Details available - an up-today report

• People involved

• Something cold and refreshing

• A figure vage and shadowy

• The rain an egg a magazine

• A dog´s life a day´s work

• Shakespeare, the English writer, wrote…

• Vice- President, Samuel Smith, made no comments.

apposition

• The people here are impatient.

• The temperature outside is high.

• The people (with disgust) walked along the street.

• PPh. op

• Mr. Van Miert is taking these questions (along with Mr. Bangermann.)

PPh. op

• A fish ( out of water)

• She was the only competitor (apart from Ray Finn.)

• PPh. op

• (On top of all this), the European economy is….

• PPH. op

• This bag is fastened to the back (by means of straps)

• Running water

• Worrying increase

• Walking dead

• He usually tells me his secret.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 15
 • He has never come to classes.

• He lived a year abroad.

• He walked that way

• He spoke (about his work) .

• The child came rapidly (down the street) (on a bike).

• The next day – yesterday afternoon- last night

• Tomorrow evening

ADJECTIVES AS HEAD

• It is dark ahead. Quite good- slightly annoyed

• Icy cold Crazy drunk dark blue

• Easy (on the eye) hopeful (of success)

• pph opp ph op

• Green (as grass) stronger than ever

• ph op

• Somewhat surprised – careful enough- deadly pale

• Fond (of reading) excited (about it)

• Pph op Pph op

• Keen (on Maths) worried (about him)

ADVERBS AS HEAD

• Very easily rather slowly much easily

• Far away sometimes below- usually eagerly

• Away (for a week) outside (in the cold)

• pph op pph op

• A meter away somewhere up that fluently

NOW YOUR TURN

• ON HER WAY HOME, JANE FOUND A GOLD MAN´S WATCH

• ON HER WAY HOME, JANE FOUND A MAN´S GOLD WATCH

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 16
SOME OTHER WORDS TO SHOW MODIFICATION

- SOMETIMES A PRONOUN CAN BE THE HEAD OF A NOUN PHRASE

THAT´S A BIG ONE. I ´D LIKE THOSE RED ONES.

ARE ALL THESE FOR ME?

HAVE YOU ANYTHING NEW TO TELL ME?

THEY BOTH KNEW THE TRUTH.

-PREDETERMINERS (WORDS WHICH PRECEDE DETERMINERS) SUCH AS- ALL- BOTH-HALF

• ALL THE BEST SEATS WERE TAKEN

• I NEED BOTH THESE BOOKS

• HALF (THE FRUIT) WAS BAD

• QUANTIFIERS: MUCH MANY- SEVERAL- FEW- LITTLE- ENOUGH

• MANY PEOPLE CONSIDER HIM A HERO

• WE DON`T HAVE MUCH FOOD LEFT

• WE DON´T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY ANY MORE

• NUMERALS: TWO , THREE, FIRST, SECOND

• THESE FOUR BOOKS ARE ALL I NEED

• THE FIRST THREE CORRECT ENTRIES WILL WIN A PRIZE

BOTH

• ADJECTIVE: BOTH SISTERS

• PRONOUN= ONE AS WELL AS THE OTHER

• BOTH WERE ILL

• BOTH (OF US) WERE ILL

PPH OP

• CONJUNCTION: (EQUALLY)

• I´M BOTH READY AND WILLING

HALF

• NOUN: NEARLY EQUAL PARTS

• THE TWO HALVES OF THE TORN DOLLAR BILL FITTED TOGETHER PERFECTLY

• PRONOUN
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 17
• THE CAKE WAS DELICIOUS. HALF WAS VANILLA AND HALF WAS CHOCOLATE

• ADJECTIVE= NEARLY EQUAL PARTS OF A WHOLE

• HALF (A LOAF)- HALF (A DOZEN PEOPLE)-

• A HALF QUART- HALF MEASURES

• ADVERB= IN PART, INCOMPLETE

• HALF UNDERSTOOD

ENOUGH

• ADJECTIVE= ADEQUATE OR SUFFICIENT

• WE HAVE ENOGH MONEY TO BUY THAT CAR.

• THERE ARE ENOUGH SEATS FOR EVERYONE.

• PRONOUN=

• WE STILL HAVE ENOUGH (OF THE WINE) TO LAST FOR A WEEK

• ADVERB= IN A QUANTITYTHAT IS SUFFICIENT

• YOU´VE WORKED ENOUGH, REST FOR A BIT

• SHE STUDIED (HARD ENOUGH )FOR HER TEST

• WE ARE READY ENOUGH

• HE SINGS (WELL ENOUGH)

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 18
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 19
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 20
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 21
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 22
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 23
COMPLEMENTS AFTER LINKING VERBS

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 24
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 25
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 26
Keys

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 27
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 28
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 29
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 30
1. FISHING IS MY HUSBAND´S HOBBY.
2. SWIMMING IS EXCELLENT EXERCISE
3. READING IMPROVES YOUR VOCABULARY.
4. SPEEDING IS DANGEROUS
5. JOUSTING WAS A MEDIEVAL SPORT
6. KNITTING HELPS HER RELAX.

1. TO PERFORM CAN BE EXCITING

2. TO SUCCEED IS SATISFYING
3. TO INGNORE SOMEONE IS NOT POLITE
4. TO FLY HAS BEEN MY SON´TS DESIRE
5. TOCARVE REQUIRES TALENT
6. TO WISH DOES DON’T MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 31
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 32
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 33
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 34
ACTIVITY

https://es.liveworksheets.com/sr316848hi

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 35
I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 36
REMEMBER THAT PRONOUNS CAN BE USED AS DIRECT OBJECTS.

REWRITE THE DIRECT OBJECTS THAT YOU FIND IN EACH SENTENCE.

1. MY DOG BURIED THE BONE.

2. MY SON PLAYS FOOTBALL.
3. MR TRENT IS DATING MISS MCCORMICK.
4. OUT TEAM WON THE TOURNAMENT.
5. THE POLICE DIDN´T PERMIT HITCHHIKING ON THE HIGHWAY.
6. THE PUPPY FOLLOWED US.
7. MR ALLEN ASKED ME.
8. THE ELECTRICIAN FIXED IT.
9. THE CAB DRIVER WILL TAKE YOU.
10. THE REFRIDGERATOR NEEDS CLEANING.
11. IT STARTED TO SNOW EARLY THIS MORNING
12. THE CHILDREN LIKE TO PLAY IN THE ATTIC
13. MY DAUGHTER WANTS TO AUDITION FOR THE PLAY.
14. I NEED TO STOP AT THE BANK.
15. MR BEAN HIRED ME.
16. WE FOUND HIM AT THE PET STORE.
17. MARGARET PUT THE CAKE IN THE OVEN .
18. MS JACOBS TOOK ME HOME.
19. MY CAT LOVES TO CHASE BIRDS.
20. MR COOK COACHES WRESTLING.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 37
REWRITE THE INDIRECT OBJECTS NEXT TO EACH SENTENCE.

1. THE CHILDREN GAME GRANDMOTHER A PRESENT.

2. MY SISTER TOLD ME A SECRET.
3. THE CARPENTER BUILT THE JANUSKIS A TABLE.
4. THE MANAGER ASKED THEM TO LEAVE.
5. MRS ANDERSON TAUGHT ME TYPING.
6. MR THEODORE READ HIM THE NEWS.
7. MY SUPERVISOR ASKED ME TO WORK LATE.
8. MY JAMES MADE MRS ELIAS AN APPOINTMENT.
9. BUILD A SANDCASTLE FOR TIMMY PLEASE.
10. SHE SUGGESTED A BRIGHT SOLUTION TO US.

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 38
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH USING THESE WORDS, REMEMBER THE SUBJECT+VERB+DO
PATTERN.

CHILDREN- NAP- SHE(X2)- THEM- WE – I – PLAYING- BALLS- FUN - HER- WALKING

………… LOVE MY DOG. HER NAME IS PENNY. I TAKE ……………………… EVERYWHERE. WE GO ……………… IN
THE PARK. …………………. LIKES TO PLAY IN THE PARK. SHE WATCHES THE …………………….. SOMETIMES,
THEY THROW……………………. BALLS TO HER. SHE CATCHES ………………….. . THE CHILDREN LIKE
…………………… WITH PENNY.

WHEN …………………….GETS TIRED, SHE TAKES A …………………………….. THEN, …………………..GO HOME. WE

ALWAYS HAVE …………………. IN THE PARK.

ACTIVITY

https://es.liveworksheets.com/no329787uq

I.S.F.D.Nº1 . GRAMMAR II 39