9. Summary: Proper sentence construction

A sentence has to have the two parts – subject and predicate – in order to express a complete thought .

  1. The subject can be someone or something .
  2. The predicate gives information about what the someone or something does or the state of being of the someone or something .

Order of sentence

Following the right order of a sentence improves the chances of writing a correct sentence. The common order of a sentence is: subject, verb, and, if there is one, object. Each of these (subject, verb, or object) is not necessarily a single word. They can be two or more words each.

Subject and verb

A simplest sentence consists of two words: a noun or pronoun as the subject and an action verb as the main verb. A sentence can have a compound subject of two or more subjects. A sentence can also have a compound verb when two or more verbs are used. A conjunction such as and is used in both cases.

Examples:

  • Frogs croak. / She screams.

    (A noun or pronoun in bold as the subject is followed by a main verb.) 

  • Ray  and  Roy  argue.

    (Compound subject in bold.)  

  • We walk  and talk .

    (Compound verb in bold)  

Direct and indirect objects

An object follows the verb . There are two types of objects: direct object and indirect object. A direct object is either a noun or pronoun, and it follows the verb. When an indirect object is introduced into a sentence, there must be a direct object present because the indirect object receives the direct object. The indirect object comes at the end of the sentence, or it comes before the direct object.

Examples:

  • They caught a crocodile . / A bee stung him .

    (Noun and pronoun in bold as direct objects.)

  • I gave some marbles to his kids.

    (Direct object is marbles , and kids  is indirect object coming at the end of the sentence.).

  • I gave his kids some marbles.

    (Indirect object comes before direct object.)

Usual construction of a sentence

The following show five ways in which all sentences are constructed .

Examples:

  1. 1.    Subject + intransitive verb

    The roof leaked.

  2. 2.    Subject + transitive verb + direct object

    Bonnie fed the pigeons.

  3. 3.    Subject + transitive verb + direct object + object complement Â

    The boys elected her their leader. (Object complement: their leader)

  4. 4.    Subject + linking verb + subject complement

    Her boyfriend is a morgue assistant.
    (Subject complement is noun phrase: a morgue assistant)

  5. Its tail was short and bushy. (Subject complement is adjective phrase: short and bushy)
  6. 5.    Subject + transitive verb + indirect object +direct object (+prepositional phrase)
  7. He gave us a warning (about the strong currents in the river).

Adding adjective 

An adjective may be added to a sentence to describe the subject noun. The descriptive adjective, like most adjectives, comes before the noun .

Examples:

  • The stray dog barks.

    (The adjective  stray  describes the subject noun dog ; no direct object.)

  • Those factory chimneys belch black smoke.

    (There are two adjectives here: factory , a noun, acts as an adjective to modify the subject noun chimneys , and the adjective black  modifies the object smoke .)

Adding adverb or adverbial phrase 

An adverb describes or modifies a verb in a sentence . An adverbial phrase usually consists of more than one word and acts as an adverb.

Examples:

  • She smiles happily..

    (The adverb happily  describes and follows the verb smiles.)

  • The nurse gently washed his wound.  

    (An adverb may come before a verb that it modifies: gently  washed.)

  • He snored softly during the lecture.

    (The adverb softly  modifies the verb snored . The adverb phrase during the lecture  also modifies the same verb.)

An adverb (in bold) is usually placed between the subject and the verb.

Examples:

  • He often  looks at the night sky for UFOs.
  • She always  grumbles about the weather and the rain.
  • Tom seldom  talks to anyone except his dogs.

Some adverbs can be used at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Examples:

  • Normally , she would say 'no', but this time she said 'maybe.'
  • Laughing whenever he likes is not behaving normally .

More about sentence 

A sentence must have a subject and a verb. They are essential components in a sentence, unless the subject is implied , in which case the subject is not mentioned on the sentence.  

Examples:

  • No : Saw him running in the rain the other day. (No subject)
  • Yes : I/We/He/She/They/Johnny saw him running in the rain the other day.
  • No : You on a rollercoaster yesterday? (No main verb)
  • Yes : You rode on a rollercoaster yesterday?
  • No : I feeling tired the whole day. (No auxiliary verb)
  • Yes : I am feeling tired the whole day.

A sentence must not have the wrong form of verb used in it.

Examples:

  • No : That big woman fallen  heavily to the ground.
  • Yes : That big woman fell  heavily to the ground.
  • No : He has showed  her how to catch big butterflies.
  • Yes : He showed  her how to catch big butterflies.
  • Yes : He has shown  her how to catch big butterflies.

Words and phrases should be put in their rightful places.  

Examples:

  • No : The policeman is a very brave man who caught the thief .

  • Yes : The policeman who caught the thief  is a very brave man.
    (The adjective clause in bold is rightfully placed in the middle of a sentence.)

Time and place in a sentence

Time is usually placed at the end of a sentence .

Examples:

  • I remember the Prime Minister shook me warmly by the hand in 1999.

Time may also be placed at the start of a sentence.

  • In 1999, I wanted to propose to her, but I was afraid of being rejected.

Place comes before time in all cases.

Examples:

  • No : I was imprisoned in 1999 in that country.
  • Yes : I was imprisoned in that country in 1999.