Simple Sentences

In Chapter 2 we saw that there are several ways of categorizing the various kinds of sentences that occur frequently in English.  In spite of such variations, the essential features of all sentences are a subject and predicate.  The simplest sentence that can be created consists of just one subject-predicate pairing, or we can say it consists of one clause.  One way that sentences are categorized is by studying the structure of the predicate and looking at how the predicate is completed after the verb.  To talk about the structural features of the predicate, special terms such as direct object, indirect object, and subject complement are used.  These structural features commonly map with certain meanings, or semantic roles, but these mappings aren’t absolute.  Likewise, even the ordering of the subject and predicate isn’t absolute.

In this chapter we look at the simple sentence and its default patterns again as well as take up certain variations from these default types.  The most important variations, as mentioned briefly at the end of the last chapter, are sentences with nonreferential subjects, questions, and sentences with imperative verbs.

Simple Declarative Sentences

To review, a simple sentence has one subject paired with one predicate.  In a declarative sentence, the subject is typically located to the left of the predicate.  The verb is always part of the predicate.  What comes after the verb varies depending upon the type of verb used in the sentence.  The two major divisions of the verbs are linking verbs and action verbs.  The reference table below lays out some of the most common patterns connected to these verb subtypes.

Linking verb options:

Su – LV – Subject Complements

1. Su – LV – Predicate nominative
2. Su –LV – Predicate adjective
3. Su-LV – Prepositional phrase
4.  Su – LV – adverb

Action verb options:

1. Su – Intransitive Verb
2. Su- Transitive Verb
1. Su – Vt – DO
2. Su – Vt – DO – PP
3. Su – Vt – IO - DO

Activity 4.1: Sentence Patterns

Match the appropriate sentence pattern number with each sentence below.

Fill in the text box with the corresponding number. Click on the Check button to determine if your answer is correct.

There are little tests, or strategies, a person can use to assist in identifying the sentence patterns.  To differentiate a linking verb from an action verb, look to see if the verb is already a form of BE.  If so, it is a linking verb.  If not, see if you can substitute BE for the verb.  If it is grammatical and essentially means the same thing, then it is a linking verb.  If the substitution results in an ungrammatical sentence or results in a sentence with a very different meaning, then the original verb was an action verb, not a linking verb.

Activity 4.2: Testing For Linking verbs

Use the test for linking verbs on these sentences to see if the verb in each is a linking verb or an action verb.  That is, see if you can substitute a conjugated form of BE in place of the existing verb and still have a grammatical sentence with essentially the same meaning.

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