This will be a long series of posts dealing exclusively with the formation of sentences with various structures. I highly recommend you understand these concepts, even if you find it a bit tedious because of the grammatical terms. I personally tend to avoid grammatical jargon while teaching my students, but this is the bare minimum and if you understand this, you will definitely improve your English. I assure you that the next phase of your learning will be easier. Let’s go…
In this first post of the series, we’ll look at three main categories of sentences, as mentioned below.
A. Simple sentences
B. Compound sentences
C. Complex sentences
I think we should first get a quick overview of Simple Sentences and a variety of their structures. And why? Well, you’ll see later.
Category A: Simple sentences
Simple sentences have the following five variations.
1. Subject + Verb
[ Siddhi ] + [ is teaching ]
2. Subject + Verb + Complement
[ Siddhi ] + [ is ] + [ a teacher ]
[ Siddhi ] + [ is ] + [ knowledgeable ]
Note:
You can see that a complement gives information about the subject and helps complete the meaning. It can be either a noun or an adjective. In these examples, the words “teacher” (noun) and “knowable” (adjective) act as complements and give information about Siddhi and help to form complete sentences. Consequently, “teacher” and “knowledgeable” are complements.
3. Subject + Verb + Direct Object
[Siddhi] + [is teaching] + [English]
Note:
An object is the part of a sentence that follows the verb and helps complete the meaning. In this example:
Subject = Siddhi
Verb = teach (-> is teaching)
Object = English
A direct object answers the questions of WH with WHO (M) or WHAT. A direct object receives the action of the verb. This example, answers the question “WHAT is Siddhi teaching? And the answer is “English”.
4. Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
[ Siddhi ] + [ is teaching ] + [ them ] + [ English ]
Note:
An indirect object answers the question such as “TO WHOM”, “FOR WHOM”, or “FOR WHAT”. In this example, the word “them” here is an Indirect object and answers the question “TO WHOM is Riddhi teaching English?” (She is teaching English to them ). An Indirect Object is the receiver of the effect of an action.
5. Subject + Verb + Object + Complement
[ Riddhi ] + [ makes ] + [ English ] + [ easy ]
[ Riddhi ] + [ makes ] + [ them ] + [ confident ]
Note:
As mentioned before, a complement gives information about the subject and helps to complete the meaning. In this pattern, however, describes the objects. The complements “easy” and “confident” describe the objects “English” and “them” (= students).
Category B: Compound Sentences
A compound sentence is a combination of simple sentences. Compound sentences are formed by combining two or more simple sentences by linking them in one of the following ways.
(1) with a coordinating conjunction like and, but, because.
Nitesh makes good money but he cannot meet his expenses.
(2) with a semi-colon or colon.
I talked to Nitesh; I bumped into him in the market.
I talked to Nitesh: I bumped into him in the market.
(3) with a semi-colon or colon followed by words such as however, meanwhile, etc.
Nitesh helps everyone; however, he never expects anything in return.
Nitesh helps everyone: however, he never expects anything in return.
And finally, the last category and the subject of prime focus – Complex Sentences. I know you wish to learn a lot about complex sentences, but the lessons are scheduled to be started from my next post. So stay tuned!
Sources: Focus Educraft
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