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Basic Sentence Patterns
Identifying Subjects and Verbs
Key Concept:
A complete sentence requires a subject and a verb; it also must express a complete thought.
SubjectsA sentence must have a subject.
A subject is a noun
A person, place or thing
Ms. Jones
Los Angeles Mission College
Hat
Subjects
A sentence must have a subject.
Or a pronoun
A word that takes the place of a noun
She/he/they
It
Verbs
A sentence must also have a verb.
There are 2 types of verbs:
Action
Show movement
Examples: to sing, to joke, to run, to walk
Verbs
A sentence must also have a verb.
There are 2 types of verbs:
Linking
Linking verbs do not show action. Instead, they convey existence, being, becoming, and sometimes, one of the 5 senses. Linking verbs connect the subject and the word after the linking verb.
Examples: to be, to seem, to become
Identifying Subjects and Verbs
To identify the subject and verb in a sentence, ask these questions:
What is the action? What word links two or more other words?
the verb
Who or what is performing the action?
the subject
Practice
1. Barbara sang.
What is the action? Sang (verb – action)
Who sang? Barbara (subject)
2. The children were happy.
What word joins the description to the subject? Were (verb – linking)
Who were happy? Children (subject)
More Practice Identify the subjects and verbs in the following sentences:
1. Terry laughs. Subject = TerryVerb = laughs (action)
2. Britney Spear is famous.Subject = Britney SpearVerb = is (links description to subject)
3. The dog barked. Subject = the dogVerb = barked (action)
4. Seth MacFarlane creates funny characters. Subject = Seth MacFarlaneVerb = creates (action)
Simple and Compound Subjects and Verbs
A single subject is referred to as a simple subject.
A single verb is referred to as a simple verb.
Example:
The artist quickly drew the tourist’s caricature.
What is the action? Drew (one action = simple verb)
Who drew? Artist (one actor = simple subject)
Compound Subjects
A sentence may also contain a compound subject: two or more stated nouns or pronouns perform the same action.
Example:
Charles and the boys have gone to the movies.
What is the action? Have gone (one action = simple verb)
Who has gone? Charles + boys
(two stated actors = compound subject)
Compound Verbs
A sentence may also contain a compound verb: the subject performs two or more actions.
Example:
Jane frequently drinks, dances, and parties through the night.
What is (are) the action(s)? Drink, dance, + party (3 actions = compound verb)
Who drinks, dances and parties? Jane (one stated actor = simple subject)
3 Possible Combinations
1. Compound Subject/Simple Verb:
In this case, two or more subjects perform one action.
Example:
George and Frank went to Mexico.
Verb:
went
Subject:
George + Frank
3 Possible Combinations
2. Simple Subject/Compound Verb:
The simple subject of the sentence performs two or more actions.
Example:
The audience booed and hissed at the performer.
Verb:
booed + hissed
Subject:
The audience
3 Possible Combinations
3. Compound Subject/Compound Verb
This means that two or more subjects perform two or more actions.
Example:
Greg, Peter, and Bobby danced and ate all night.
Verb:
danced + ate
Subject:
Greg, Peter, + Bobby
Practice Directions: Find the verbs and subjects. Indicate whether they are simple or
compound by writing S (for simple) or C (for compound) beside the verbs and subjects.
1. Fords and Chevrolets are two makes of American cars.
2. He and Martha took a vacation last spring.
3. The clown juggled and sang.
4. Whales and seals returned to the bay.
5. Fred and Jack visited the Ricardos every day.
SC
SC
CS
C S
SC
Sentence Formats
Here is an example of a Format 1 sentence:
Birds sing.
The abbreviation for Sentence Format 1 is NS-V.
NS =
V =
Birds
sing
Format 1 - PracticeDirections: Fill in the blanks with words that follow Sentence Format 1.
1. _______________ yell.
2. _______________ meow.
3. _______________ dance.
4. _______________ swim.
5. Athletes _____________.
6. Dogs ________________.
7. Joggers ______________.
8. Flowers ______________.
Children
Cats
Dancers
Swimmers
practice
bark
jog
blossom
Format 1 - PracticeDirections: Put a box around the subject and circle the verb.
1. The lamb cried loudly.
2. Every summer, Selina goes to day camp.
3. The class practiced for an hour every week.
4. The price of gas just increased by 20 cents.
5. At night, hundreds of bats fly out of that cave.
Format 2: The Direct Object Example:
Harry hit the baseball.
Noun Subject = Harry
Verb = hit
What relationship does baseball have to hit?
Baseball is the noun direct object (NDO) of the verb.
Abbreviation for Sentence Format 2: NS-V-NDO
Format 2: Practice Directions: Label each sentence format. Identify the subjects, verbs, and direct objects.
1. Children like ice-cream.
2. The arrow struck a tree.
3. Mary cried.
4. The dog crossed the road.
5. The speaker declined the invitation.
6. The fullback caught the football.
7. The children jumped the fence.
NS-V-NDO
NS-V-NDO
NS-V
NS-V-NDO
NS-V-NDO
NS-V-NDO
NS-V-NDO
Format 3: The Indirect ObjectExample:
Hector threw me the ball.
Noun Subject: Hector
Verb: threw
Noun Direct Object: ball
ME?
The noun indirect object tells to whom the object was thrown.
The abbreviation for Format 3 is: NS-V-NIO-NDO
Format 3: The Indirect Object
To test for indirect objects in a sentence, follow these 2 steps:
1. Rewrite the sentence in format 2 (NS-V-NDO)
2. Add to or for plus the word in question to the end of the sentence.
Format 3: The Indirect Object
Example: May gave me the book.
Let’s decide whether me is the NIO:
1. Rewrite the sentence to follow Format 2:
May gave the book. (NS-V-NDO)
2. Add to or for plus the word in question to the end of the sentence:
May gave me the book. (May gave the book
to me?)
NS-V-NIO-NDO
Format 3: PracticeDirections: Label all subjects, verbs, indirect objects, and direct objects.
1. Pablo awarded Henry the prize.
2. The boy bought the girl a flower.
3. I gave my friend an umbrella.
4. Sharon bought her father a sweater.
5. My English teacher gave me an A on my test.
6. Hector fed the dog his dinner.
