English (/english/) > English Grammar (/english/english-grammar/) > Sentence (/english/sentence/) > Sentence

Structure (/english/sentence-structure/)

Sentence Structure - Components, Types and

Examples

Having learnt the parts of speech (https://byjus.com/english/parts-of-speech/) in the English

language (https://byjus.com/english), not knowing how to use them and where to place each
part of speech to form a sentence (https://byjus.com/english/sentence/) would not be ideal.
Right? In fact, sentence structure is one among the most important grammatical components
that acts as the foundation of a language. So here is what you need to know. In this article, you
will learn what a sentence structure is and the different sentence structures. You will also find
examples for every sentence structure that you can refer to. Also, try out the practice questions
given.

Table of Contents
What Do You Mean by Sentence Structure?

Basic Parts and Components of a Sentence

Parts of a Sentence
Subject

Predicate

Components of a Sentence
Subject

Verb

Object

Complement

Adjunct

The Different Types of Sentence Structures in English Grammar

Examples of Sentence Structure

SV

SVO

SVC

SVA

SVOC

SVOA

SVIODO
 ASVC

ASVO

ASVIODO

SVAA

ASVAA

Check Your Understanding of Sentence Structure

Frequently Asked Questions on Sentence Structure in English

What Do You Mean by Sentence Structure?

Sentence structure is a grammatical component that tells you exactly where and how each
component of a sentence should be placed in order to blend and make sense. The Collins
Dictionary defines sentence structure as “the grammatical arrangement of words in
sentences.” In other words, the sentence structure is what defines the way a sentence will look
and sound.

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.

Parts of a Sentence
A sentence, in the English language, consists of at least a subject
(https://byjus.com/english/subject/) and a predicate (https://byjus.com/english/predicate/).
In other words, a sentence should have a subject and a verb
(https://byjus.com/english/verbs/).

Subject

The subject can be a noun (https://byjus.com/english/nouns/) or a pronoun

(https://byjus.com/english/pronouns/) that does the action.

For example:

The sun is shining.

The sky is clear.

Today is Wednesday.

Predicate

The verb is the action performed by the particular subject in the sentence.

For example:

I love macaroni and cheese.

Merin has a pet.

 Anusha can draw.

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

Now, let us look at each of these components in detail.

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:

Neena is writing a letter.

It was too dark.

I feel tired.

My phone is not working.

Tarun’s dog ran away.

Object
An object (https://byjus.com/english/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
(https://byjus.com/english/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 (https://byjus.com/english/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 (https://byjus.com/english/complement/) of the sentence. A complement can be
an adjective (https://byjus.com/english/adjectives/), 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 (https://byjus.com/english/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 (https://byjus.com/english/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 (https://byjus.com/english/adjunct/) is a word or a phrase

(https://byjus.com/english/phrases/) 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
(https://byjus.com/english/adverbs/) and adverb clauses (https://byjus.com/english/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 everyday.

This workout routine is extremely exhausting.

The Different Types of Sentence Structures in English Grammar

In English grammar (https://byjus.com/english/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

Check Your Understanding of Sentence Structure

Now that you have gone through a number of examples, apply your knowledge to identify the
sentence structure of the following sentences. Make sure you split the sentences according to
the sentence structure.

1. My dog is acting weird lately.

2. It is getting too cold here.

3. The sky is blue.

4. Every year, the company updates its registry.

5. Brittany bought me a pair of shoes.

6. Nobody knows the answer.

7. The movie was great.

8. I will come home as soon as I finish work.

9. In September, she will be travelling to New York.

10. My brother’s phone is not working.

Check if you got it right from the answers given below.

1. My dog / is acting / weird / lately.

Subject / Verb / Complement / Adjunct (SVCA)

2. It / is getting / too /cold / here.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Complement / Adjunct (SVACA)

3. The sky / is / blue.

Subject / Verb / Complement (SVC)

4. Every year, / the company / updates / its registry.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Object (ASVO)

5. Brittany / bought / me / a pair of shoes.

Subject / Verb / Indirect Object / Direct Object (SVIODO)

6. Nobody / knows / the answer.

Subject / Verb / Object (SVO)

7. The movie / was / great.

Subject / Verb / Complement (SVC)

8. I / will come / home / as soon as I finish work.

Subject / Verb / Adjunct / Adjunct (SVAA)

9. In September, / she / will be travelling / to New York.

Adjunct / Subject / Verb / Adjunct (ASVA)

10. My brother’s phone / is not working.

Subject / Verb (SV)

Frequently Asked Questions on Sentence Structure
Q1 What is sentence structure?

Sentence structure is a grammatical component that tells you exactly where and how each
component of a sentence should be placed in order to blend and make sense. The Collins
Dictionary defines sentence structure as “the grammatical arrangement of words in
sentences.”

Q2 What are the parts of a sentence?

A sentence has two parts namely, a subject and a predicate. For example: In the sentence, I
watched a movie, ‘I’ is the subject and ‘watched a movie’ is the predicate.

Q3 What are the components of a sentence?

There are five main components that make up the structure of a sentence, and they are,
Subject

Verb

Object

Complement

Adjunct

Q4 Give some examples of sentence structure.

SVO – The students completed their assignments.

SVC – My mom is a teacher.
ASVO – Last week, we watched a movie.
ASVA – Normally, I don’t go to the hospital.
SVOAA – The boys were playing football on the turf all day.

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