Basic Sentence Structure
There are five basic patterns around which most English sentences are built.* They are as follows:
|
S-V |
|
Subject-Verb |
|
John sleeps. |
|
|
|
|
Jill is eating. |
|
|
|
|
Jack will arrive next week. |
|
S-V-O |
|
Subject-Verb-Object |
|
I like rice. |
|
|
|
|
She loves her job. |
|
|
|
|
He's eating an orange. |
|
S-V-Adj |
|
Subject-Verb-Adjective |
|
He is funny. |
|
|
|
|
The workers are lazy. |
|
|
|
|
Karen seems angry. |
|
S-V-Adv |
|
Subject-Verb-Adverb |
|
Jim is here. |
|
|
|
|
Flowers are everywhere. |
|
|
|
|
No one was there. |
|
S-V-N |
|
Subject-Verb-Noun |
|
She is my mom. |
|
|
|
|
The men are doctors. |
|
|
Mr. Jones is the teacher. |
At the heart of every English sentence is the Subject-Verb relationship. Other elements can be added to make a sentence more interesting, but they are not essential to its formation.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V pattern.
|
She sleeps. |
|
Core sentence |
|
She sleeps soundly. |
|
An adverb is added to describe how she sleeps. |
|
She sleeps on the sofa. |
|
A prepositional phrase is added to tell where she sleeps. |
|
She sleeps every afternoon. |
|
A time expression is added to tell when she sleeps. |
|
She is sleeping right now. |
|
Verb tense is changed, but S-V relationship remains the same. |
|
Mary will sleep later. |
|
Subject is named and another tense is used. |
|
The dogs are sleeping in the garage. |
|
New subject may require a different form of the verb. |
Note: Any action verb can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-O pattern.
|
They like rice. |
|
Core sentence |
|
The people like rice. |
|
Specific subject |
|
The friendly people like rice. |
|
Subject modified with an adjective |
|
The people in the restaurant like rice. |
|
Subject modified with an adjective |
|
The people like boiled rice. |
|
Object modified with an adjective |
|
The people like hot, white rice. |
|
Object modified with more than one adjective |
Note: Only transitive action verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adj pattern.
|
He is fine. |
|
Basic sentence with "be" verb |
|
He seems happy. |
|
Basic sentence with another linking verb |
|
Jordan is tall, dark and handsome. |
|
Series of adjectives |
|
He appears very comfortable. |
|
Adverb or intensifier added |
|
George became sick last night. |
|
Different tense and linking verb |
Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adv pattern.
|
The teacher is here. |
|
Basic sentence |
|
The teacher is over there. |
|
Using an adverb phrase |
|
Teachers are everywhere. |
|
Plural noun and verb used |
|
The teachers are in the lobby. |
|
Prepositional phrase functioning as adverb |
Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-N pattern.
|
The man is a doctor. |
|
Basic sentence |
|
The women are doctors. |
|
Using plural noun and verb |
|
My father is a nice guy. |
|
Modified subject and complement |
|
My grandparents are senior citizens. |
|
Modified plural subject and complement |
| 