Lesson 1:Definition of a Sentence and

Basic Sentence PartsHR-TOD: English Business Writing Class

Definition

• A sentence:– is a grammatical unit consisting of a set or sets of

subject and predicate

– expresses a complete thought

– begins with a capital letter

Definition

• A sentence:– ends either with a period, a question mark or an

exclamation point

– may be composed of a word or a group of words arranged in a coherent and unified pattern

Example of Sentences• A word:– Go! (The subject is an implied “You”.)

• A group of words:– Loreta bakes delicious chocolate cakes.– Are your parents attending the meeting?– How gracefully you dance!– Hey, you’re stepping on my toes!– Dinah married a Belgian, didn’t she?

Basic Sentence Parts•Subject

—a grammatical structure that refers to the person or thing that performs the action or being in the state expressed by the predicate.

—The subject may be a noun, a pronoun or a noun substitute (gerund and gerund phrase, infinitive and infinitive phrase and sometimes, adjective or adverb).

Basic Sentence Parts•Predicate

—a grammatical structure that is made up of a verb, the receiver of its action, if any, and the words that modify the verb and the receiver.

Basic Sentence Parts• The set or sets of subject and predicate in

sentences may be simple or compound – Example of simple subject/simple predicate

The founder of the organization invites young people to join his crusade.

Simple subject

Simplepredicate

Basic Sentence Parts

– Example of compound subject and compound predicate

Compound subject

Compoundpredicate

Lanny and her sister , Olivia create and write short stories for children.

Subject of the Sentence1. Noun:

— The rains soaked the parched earth.— Ten people have applied for this job.— The children watch the death- defying feats of

acrobats.

2. Pronoun: ― Harold likes to drive fast cars. He drives a Porsche

550Note: Avoid using a pronoun as a subject without an

antecedent ( Harold in this sentence is the antecedent of “he”).

Subject of the Sentence– Many are called but few are chosen.– Some of the dancers change their costumes several

times.

Note: In the above sentence, “dancers” can not be a subject because it is an object of the preposition “of”.

But: in the sentence – Some dancers change their costumes several times, “Some” becomes modifier of “dancers” which is the subject of the sentence.

Subject of the Sentence3. Gerund – verb form that ends in –ing and

functions as a noun.– Swimming tones the muscles.– Cooking is Mother’s hobby.

4. Gerund phrase - verb form that ends in –ing together with its object and modifiers, if any, and functions as a noun.– Praying the rosary every night should be

practiced by every Catholic family.

Subject of the Sentence5. Infinitive – is a verb form usually

introduced by the article “to”.– To act in Broadway is Romina’s main

ambition in life.

Note: The above example is an infinitive with an adverb modifier. It is not a phrase because there is no object.– To study well is necessary to get good

grades.

Subject of the Sentence6.Infinitive phrase is a verb form usually introduced by the article “to”, followed by the base form of the verb, its object and modifiers, if any. One of its functions is as a noun substitute.

— To generate electricity requires a power source.— To expand its office manpower is needed to cope

with the rapid growth of the company.

Subject of the Sentence7. Adjective – usually functions as a modifier of

nouns and pronouns. The adjective commonly used as a subject is the descriptive adjective. As a subject it is prefaced by the article “the”. The adjective as a subject always takes on a plural verb.

– The beautiful always claim attention of admirers.– The rich enjoy many privileges not available to

the less financially endowed.

Subject of the Sentence8. Adverb - usually functions as a modifier of

a verb, an adjectives or another adverb. The adverbs usually taken as a subject are adverbs of place and adverbs of time.

– Tomorrow is yet to come.– Here rests the unsung heroes of our

country.

Sentence Inversion• The normal order of sentence parts is that

the subject comes first followed by the verb or predicate. In some cases, this order is reversed. This reversed order is called sentence inversion.

• Sentence inversion is a sentence format in which the verb, usually the auxiliary or helping verb, comes before the subject.

Sentence InversionExamples of Sentence Inversion1. Sentences introduced by “Here” or

“There”.

Ex. a. There goes the winner of the Voice of the Youth Competition.

b. Here come the bride and her entourage.

Sentence Inversion

• Note 1: “Here” and “There” are expletives. They disappear when the sentence is converted to normal order.

• Note 2: Underlined words in the examples are verbs, Words in bold are subjects.

Sentence Inversion2. Sentences introduced by Interrogative

Pronouns: How, What, When, Where, Which, Whom, Whose, Why

Ex. a. Why does the moon shine only at night? b. How are the boys progressing with their

experimental car?

Sentence Inversion• Note 3: Auxiliary verb “does” disappears in

the normal order of the sentence. The property of number, singular noun, is shown in the verb “shine” It becomes “shines”

The moon shines only at night.

Sentence Inversion3. Sentences introduced by the auxiliary verb or helping verb “to be”

Ex. a. Are your parents attending the meeting this afternoon?

b. Will Brad Pitt star in this movie?

Sentence Inversion• Note 4: “to be” is auxiliary verb if it is paired

with a main verb. It is a linking verb if it is is followed by a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, an adverb or other modifiers such as present and past participle,

Sentence Inversion4. Sentences introduced by linking verb “to

be”

Ex. a. Is Anne happy* in her new job? b. Are the boys interested** in joining

the club?

Sentence Inversion• Note 5: “happy” is a descriptive adjective

“interested” is a past participle that functions as an adjective.

Sentence Inversion5. Sentences introduced by auxiliary verb “to

do” or “to have”.

Ex. a. Has Emmanuel completed his requirements for graduation? b. Have I done something to make you angry? c. Does the word “quirt” strike a chord in your memory? d. Did the thieves carry away the statue of the Blessed Virgin?

Sentence Inversion• Note 6: The auxiliary verb “to have” is

retained in the normal order of the sentence.– Emmanuel has completed his requirements

for graduation.– I have done something to make you angry.

• Note 7: The auxiliary verb “to do” disappears in the normal order of the sentence. The main verb changes its form to indicate agreement in number or tense.

Sentence InversionThe word “quirt” strikes a chord in your memory.The thieves carried away the statue of the Blessed Virgin.

6. Sentences introduced by prepositional phraseEx. a. Behind those thick clouds waits a vast blue

sky. Converted to normal order: A vast blue sky waits behind those thick clouds.

Sentence InversionEx. b. Inside the brain of the mental patient rage

violent thoughts.Converted to normal order:

Violent thoughts rage inside the brain of the mental patient.

Sentence Inversion7. Sentences introduced by present

participle.

Ex. a. Forming a long line along Rizal Avenueare the fans of the world famous

boxer, Manny Pacquiao.

Sentence Inversionb. Protesting loudly against the PDAF

are the militant students from the state university.

8. Sentences introduced by past participle.Ex. a. Hidden among the fallen, brown leaves is a solitary, mottled quail egg.

b. Taken in captivity are members of the Al’ Qaida break-away band.

Sentence Inversion9. Sentences in elliptical format using

“neither”, “nor” or “so”.

Ex. a. “I didn’t see Farida in class this morning.” “Neither did we.” (see Farida in class this morning) b. “Jane eats only organic food and so does her husband.” (eat only organic food)c. “I didn’t attend Myra’s party last night” “Nor did I” (attend Myra’s party.)

Sentence Inversion10.Sentences introduced by negative adverbs.

(Barely, scarcely, seldom, never, at no time, not only…but, not until…did, little, hardly, under no circumstances, no sooner, only)

Ex. a. At no time did Jinggoy Estrada admit he was involved in the PDAF scam. b. Never has Carmen been spoken so

rudely

Sentence Inversionc. Not until she became a mother did Rose realize the sacrifices her mother bore for her childrend. Only after she had spoken, did Nanette become aware how hurting her words were. e. Under no circumstances will Mrs. Cruz permit her daughter to go on dates at 13.f. No sooner had Rachel started her report, when a brownout occurred.

Sentence Inversion11.Sentences with inversions created by “so”

(followed by adjective) and “such” (followed by a verb)

Ex. a. So happy were the children to see their mother that they did not notice her companion.b. Such was the commotion they created that neighbors looked out of their windows.

Sentence Inversion12.Elliptical sentence introduced by “as”

Ex. a. John was too lazy to do his assignment as was his brother (too lazy to do his assignment.)b. Anita graduated from AdMU as was her best friend, Carina. (graduated from AdMU.

Basic Sentence Parts: Quizzes1. Please proceed to www.quia.com/web2. On the space provided, enter your log in

name, and your password.3. Under “Quiz”, please select “Lesson 1,

Quiz 1”4. Follow the instructions on the quiz.5. Following the same instructions proceed

to quiz 2, 3, 4 and etc.

End of Lesson 1