ENGLISH SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Aragorn Yeh
aragornyeh@gmail.com

Todays Overview
1

Part of Speech

Phrase & Clause

Sentence

Part of Speech

Part of Speech

Nouns
mean every thing
to us!.

Noun
a name of any people,
places, or things
apple, milk, justice,
fairness, temperature,
Bali,
Make a Sentence!

Verbs
We cant do
without them!

Verb
a word used to describe
an action, state, or
occurrence
go, run, buy, walk, be,
think, feel, taste,
choose...
Make a sentence!

Adjectives
Color your world!

Adjective
a word added to a noun
to modify or describe it
smart, quick, helpful,
precise, believable, good,
minor, magnificent
Make a Sentence!

Participle
a verb form used as an adjective to modify
nouns
Present participle: V + ing

the laughing lady, the falling temperature, the stinging

remark

Past participle: V + ed

the tired dancer, the injured player, the cracked vase

Adverbs
The way its done!

Adverb
a word modifies an
adjective, verb, or
adverb, expressing a
relation of circumstance,
time, place, degree, etc.

How?

When?

Where?

What degree?

well, badly, abroad,

precisely, thoughtfully,
often, rarely...

Make a Sentence!

Pronouns
So we dont
repeat ourselves!

Pronoun
a word that can refers to
someone or something
mentioned before
i, we, you, he, she, it,
they, me, us, them,
which, who, that
Make a Sentence!

Prepositions
Whats the
position?

Preposition
a word usually
preceding, a noun or
pronoun and expressing
a relation to another
word
about, after, among,
around, by, in, on, under,
off...

Make a Sentence!

Articles
Any old one?

Article
A: nonspecific
The: has already been
mentioned

Make a Sentence!

Identify Part of Speech

Bosco showed up for work two hours late.
He will have to work until midnight.
His work permit expires next month.

Phrases &
Clauses

All About Combination

Phrase Vs. Clause Vs. Sentence

A group of related words
Subject & Verb
Complete Statement

Phrase
a small group of words as a unit, forming a
component of a clause
Noun phrase, Verb phrase, Adjective phrase,
Adverb phrase, Preposition phrase,...

Phrase(2)
Adjective Phrase
You are an exceptionally good liar.
Adverb Phrase
Movements very quickly take on the
characteristics of the thing they oppose.

Noun Phrase
Buy a big bright green pleasure machine

Phrases(3)
Prepositional Phrase
I could dance with you until the cows come home.

Participial Phrase
"He moved ahead more quickly now, dragging his
heels a little in the fine dust."

Absolute Phrase
Their reputation as winners secured by victory, the
New York Liberty changed into the semifinals.

Prepositional Phrase
Like adjectives and adverbs, prepositional
phrases add meaning to the nouns and verbs
in sentences.
A young woman with long hair and a short
white halter dress walks through the casino
at the Riviera in Las Vegas at one in the
morning.

Participial Phrase
Participial phrases add information to our
sentences.
Mary waved the torch over her head,
making a great ring of white light.
Discouraged by the long hours and low pay,
my sister finally quit her job.

Absolute Phrase
An absolute phrase adds details to an entire
sentence.
The hunters rested for a moment in front of
the shack, their breaths white in the frosty
air.

Clause
A group of words that contains a subject and
a verb.
A clause may be either a sentence or a
sentence-like construction within another
sentence.

Independent Clause
The cause of the problem is not completely
clear.
The answer lies in the details.

The essay has several strength.

Dependent Clause
...which I will discuss in the next section
Although the argument is poorly
developed...

If we examine the authors argument

carefully...

Sentence

Simple Sentence
Subject + Verb + Words complete the thought
Elise won the race
S
V object
The cake looks delicious
S
V complement

The core of the sentence is

the connection between the
subject and verb.

If you can recognize subjects

and verbs, you can express
your ideas correctly.

Function of Verb
Action: run, write, take, give, think, calculate
State of being: be(am, is, are), seem, look
State of owning: have, possess, own
Sensation: feel, smell, tast

Tense of Verb
Verb changes according to time.
Present, Past, Future
Simple, Continues, Perfect

Example: Identify Verb

Students are generally happy about taking new
courses and making a new beginning.
They feel unusual about being able to learn
enough material in the course to pass.
However, by setting realistic goals and working
hard to achieve them, students will succeed in
their studies.

Recognizing Subject
Find the Verb!

Identify Subject & Verb

Skiing in the mountain is dangerous in the
spring.
Jack doe not have the right attitude to
succeed at university.
Successful students regard assignments and
tests as opportunities to learn.

Special Case
Request or Command
Stop. Help! Run!
Turn to page 23 in the textbook.

Begin with Here or There

Here are the new office supplies.
There is Jackson at the front door.

Questions
What is your name? Where do you live?

Simple Sentence Patterns

Simple Sentence Patterns(2)

1. S + LV + SC Aslan is the King of Narnia.
2. S + Vi I run everyday.
3. S + Vt + DO Joe kicked the ball.

4. S + Vt + IO + DO My friend bought me a gift.

5. S + Vt + DO +OC He left the door open.

Different Verbs
Intransitive Verb: with or without an object
I can walk. Jeff walked the dog.

Transitive Verb: must be with an object

Jane threw the ball.

Linking Verb:
am, is, are, be, been, seems, feels, looks, becomes...

Pattern 4
S + Vt + IO + DO
My friend bought me a gift.
IO DO
My friend bought a gift to me.
DO OC

Pattern 5
S + Vt + DO +OC
consider, call, think. find, make, elect...
His sister called him a genius.
Mother made us some cake.
The class elected Amy president.

Sentence with more than one clause

Simple

Compound

Complex

Connecting two clauses to form a complete sentence

Types of Sentence
Simple Sentence
Compound Sentence
Complex Sentence

Compound Sentence
Contains two independent clauses, combined in
two ways:
Conjunction
The authors claim is very interesting, but it is ultimately not
convincing.

Transition
She includes various argument to support her views;
however, some contain flows.

Complex Sentence
Consist of an independent clause and a
dependent clause, linked by dependent words

Although the authors claim is very interesting, it is

ultimately not convincing.

After I had read all of her arguments, I thought up

some better ones.

Short-term Objective

Assignment
Reading

Reading Comprehension Exercise

Writing

Write a Paragraph every week

Listening

Listen to T.E.D Presentation

Speaking

Speak your opinion about the presentation

James Cameron a Curious Boy

Quotes
Dont put limitations on yourself.
Because others will
Take risks!
Failure has to be an option.
But fear is not

Jane McGonigal:
Gaming can make a better world

Internet Learning Resources

Smart.FM:
<http://smart.fm/>
The Voice of America:
<http://www1.voanews.com/learningenglish/>
Australia Network:
<http://australianetwork.com/learningenglish/>

Learning only happens by yourself!

QUESTIONS?