Basic Sentence Patterns

• All Sentence Patterns In English
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• Advanced English Sentences Patterns Pdf

The Five Basic Sentence Patterns The earth trembled. Subject Verb (intransitive) The earthquake destroyed the city. Direct Object (whom? Or what?) Subject Verb (transitive) The citizens considered the earthquake a disaster. Subject Verb (transitive) Direct Object (whom? Or what?) Object Complement (noun or adjective).

This study is aimed at the analysis of basic sentence patterns in. Sentence patterns can be understood as the way sentences are usually structured. It is important to learn the most common sentence patterns in English, as most of the sentences you will hear, write, and speak will follow these basic patterns. The English language has seven basic sentence (or clause) patterns. Examples are: John / laughed. (SV). John / kissed / Jane. (SVO) John / is / tall. (SVC) John / gave / Jane / a present.

Subject + verb

The simplest of sentence patterns is composed of a subject and verb without a direct object or subject complement. It uses an intransitive verb, that is, a verb requiring no direct object:

• Control rodsremain inside the fuel assembly of the reactor.
• The development of wind power practically ceased until the early 1970s.
• The cross-member exposed to abnormal stress eventually broke.
• Only two types of charge exist in nature.

Subject + verb + direct object

Another common sentence pattern uses the direct object:

• Siliconconductselectricity in an unusual way.
• The anti-reflective coating on the the silicon cell reducesreflection from 32 to 22 percent.

Subject + verb + indirect object + direct object

The sentence pattern with the indirect object and direct object is similar to the preceding pattern:

• Iam writingher about a number of problems that I have had with my computer.
• Austin, Texas, has recently built its citizens a system of bike lanes.

Practice

Identify the basic sentence pattern of the sentences below. What are the different parts of each sentence?

1. All amplitude-modulation (AM) receivers work in the same way.
2. The supervisor mailed the applicant a description of the job.
3. We have mailed the balance of the payment in this letter.

Show Answer

1. This is a subject + verb sentence:
   • All amplitude-modulation (AM) receiverswork in the same way.
2. This is a subject + verb + indirect object + direct object sentence:
   • The supervisormailed the applicant a description of the job.
3. This is a subject + verb + direct object sentence:
   • Wehave mailed the balance of the payment in this letter.

Sentence Types

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence is one that contains a subject and a verb and no other independent or dependent clause.

• One of the tubes is attached to the manometer part of the instrument indicating the pressure of the air within the cuff.
• There are basically two types of stethoscopes.
  • In this sentence, the subject and verb are inverted; that is, the verb comes before the subject. However, it is still classified as a simple sentence.
• To measure blood pressure, a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscopeare needed.
  • This sentence has a compound subject—that is, there are two subjects—but it is still classified as a simple sentence.

Command sentences are a subtype of simple sentences. These sentences are unique because they don’t actually have a subject:

• Clean the dishes.
• Make sure to take good notes today.
• After completing the reading, answer the following questions.

In each of these sentences, there is an implied subject: you. These sentences are instructing the reader to complete a task. Command sentences are the only sentences in English that are complete without a subject.

Punctuation Patterns

Simple sentences have these punctuation patterns:

• ________________________________.
• ________, ________________________.

Compound Predicates

A predicate is everything in the verb part of the sentence after the subject (unless the sentence uses inverted word order). A compound predicate is two or more predicates joined by a coordinating conjunction. Traditionally, the conjunction in a sentence consisting of just two compound predicates is not punctuated.

• Another library media specialist has been using Accelerated Reader for ten years and has seen great results.
• This cell phone app lets users share pictures instantly with followers and categorize photos with hashtags.

Punctuation Patterns

Compound predicate sentences have this punctuation pattern: ________ ________ and ________.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence is made up of two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, but, yet, for) and a comma, an adverbial conjunction and a semicolon, or just a semicolon.

• In sphygmomanometers, too narrow a cuff can result in erroneously high readings, and too wide a cuff can result in erroneously low readings.
• Some cuff hook together; others wrap or snap into place.

Punctuation Patterns

Compound Sentences have this punctuation pattern:

• ________________, and ________________.
• ________________; ________________.

Command sentences can be compound sentences as well:

• Never give up; never surrender.
• Turn the handle 90 degrees and push the button four times.

When you have a compound command sentence with a coordinating conjunction, you do not need to include a comma, because the two have the same subject.

Practice

Identify the type of each sentence below. How can you tell?

1. The sphygmomanometer is usually covered with cloth and has two rubber tubes attached to it.
2. There are several types of sentences; using different types can keep your writing lively.
3. Words, sentences, and paragraphs are all combined to create a book.
4. Before giving up, take a deep breath and look at things from a different perspective.

Show AnswerPut Answer Here

1. This sentence has a compound predicate—that is, there are two predicates, joined with the conjunction and:
   • is usually covered with cloth
   • has two rubber tubes attached to it
2. This is a compound sentence. There are two independent clauses joined together by a semicolon.
3. This is a simple sentence with a compound subject.
   • Subject: Words, sentences, and paragraphs
   • Predicate: are all combined to create a book
4. This is a command sentence with a compound predicate—that is, there are two predicates, joined with the conjunction and:
   • take a deep breath
   • look at things from a different perspective.

Related Topics:
More Lessons on English Grammar
IELTS, TOEFL and English as a Second Language


In these lessons, we will learn the different ways of introducing the subject in a declarative sentence, basic sentence patterns and the types of sentence patterns.

The following diagram gives some examples of sentence patterns. Scroll down the page for more examples of sentence patterns.

Declarative Sentence Pattern

A sentence must express a complete thought. It must also have both a subject and a predicate. It is possible to express a complete thought in a variety of ways.

Normal Order

There are a number of ways of introducing the subject in a declarative sentence. The normal order is subject first followed by the predicate. If we always followed this pattern, our sentences would soon become monotonous and uninteresting. This is illustrated by the following paragraph.

Example:

My friend gave me a book. It is a book about dogs. I enjoyed reading the book.

In the above paragraph, all the sentences follow the same pattern – subject first, followed by the predicate. We can give more variety to our sentence pattern by placing the words in different positions.

Inverted Order

All Sentence Patterns In English

We can put the subject after the verb or place it at the end of the sentence. This would be called inverted order.

Example:

In my bag, I found an interesting book about dogs. (The subject I is placed after the group of words: In my bag)

Down the street marched the band. (The subject band appears at the end of the sentence)

Interrogative Sentence Pattern

The interrogative sentence is generally in inverted order. Sometimes the interrogative sentence starts with a verb. Often it begins with an adverb, which is used to answer the question.

Example:

Did you bring your books? (Starts with the verb did)

Where did you buy this shirt? (Starts with the adverb where)

Imperative and Exclamatory Sentence Patterns

In the imperative or exclamatory sentence, the subject is seldom expressed. If the subject is not expressed, the word you is implied.

Example:

Open the door now! (The subject you is implied)

Please read the announcements. (The subject you is implied)

Sentences that begins with 'There'

When the word there is used to introduce the sentence, it is possible to place the subject after the verb.

Example:

There was a heavy rainfall last night.

When the word there is used to introduce a sentence, it is called an expletive. The word expletive comes from Latin and it means ‘added merely to fill up’. The word there merely fills up the space normally occupied by the subject.
Basic English Grammar: Order In Sentences
Have you ever wondered what makes some writing more interesting than other writing? Good writers vary the order in sentences.

Basic Sentence Patterns

Subject + Verb
Example:
Melissa reads.
She is eating.
Subject + Verb + Object
Example:
I like eggs.
She sees her sister.

Subject + Verb + Adjective
Example:
Laura is busy.
He is smart.

Subject + Verb + Adverb
Example:
Sarah is here.
Jack ran slowly.
Subject + Verb + Noun
Example:
She is my friend.
They are teachers.

• Show Step-by-step Explanations

Types of Sentence Patterns

We will now look at 5 patterns in the English language.
Pattern 1 - Subject + Verb
Example:

Basic Sentence Patterns In English Pdf Download

Pauly waltzed onto the dancefloor.

Basic Sentence Patterns In English Pdf Free

She read.
The tired old woman cleaned often.

Pattern 2 - Subject + Verb + Direct Object
Example:
Pauly bought a new dress.
She read the book.
The old woman cleaned the drapes.
Pattern 3 - Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Indirect Object
Example:
Pauly bought her sister a new dress.

Advanced English Sentences Patterns Pdf

The old woman gave the pharmacy her prescription.
Pattern 4 - Subject + Linking Verb + Noun Complement
Example:
Melissa was the class president.
The boys were boy scouts.
Pattern 5 - Subject + Linking Verb + Adjective Complement
Example:
The house is very old.
I am very hungry.

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