2. Basic Grammar Terminology
3. What Makes a Sentence?
John explainedthe grammar.
Subject = noun or pronoun that does an action or experiences a
state of being
Verb =
expresses the action or stateof the subject
Object = noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb
4. This is also a sentence
The students wereinterested.
Subject
Verb
Complement
A complement is a great deal like an object, but it differs in that
it does not receive the action of a verb. Instead it is the
subject.
Complements can be nouns or adjectives. The key to understand them
is to identify the verbs that they follow.
5. And this is a sentence as well.
John wasin theclassroom.
Subject = noun or pronoun that does an action or experiences a
state of being
Verb =
expresses the action or stateof the subject
Adverbial = adverb or group of words that tells where, when, why or
how the verb happened.
6. More adverbial examples
John was a student last year.
When
John went to New Yorkto visit his aunt.
Why
Where
John reads English texts quickly.
How
7. Sentence components
So, we can symbolize the basic components of a sentence in the
following way:
S + V / O / C / A
Where:
S = subject (a noun or pronoun that does an action)
V = verb (the action itself)
/= optional some verbs do not need an O, C or A
O = object (a noun or pronoun that receives an action)
C = complement (an adjective or noun that is the subject)
A = adverbial (an adverbial that tells more about the action)
Is this a sentence?
The students were interested while John explained the
grammar.
8. Verb
Subject
John spoke English
while heexplained the grammar
Object
We have the original subject Johnwith its verb spokeand its object
English
But the sentence continues with a second subject, this time he, a
second verb, explainedand a second object, the grammar.
9. Clause
Our one sentence is basically two mini sentences hooked together by
the word while.
John spoke English
while heexplained the grammar
Mini sentences, units ofS+V/O,C,A,within a sentence are called
clauses.
10. Clause
1
21
John spoke English while he explained the grammar.
Afterstudying, John spokeEnglishwhileheexplainedthegrammar.
In addition to the two clauses we are familiar with, this sentence
has the added words after studying.These work together to give
extra information about the clauses, but they do not form a clause.
They form a phrase.
11. Phrase
One way to define a phrase is to say it is a group of words that
belong together in terms of meaning but donot have both a subject
and a verb.
PhraseS + V
Another way to define a phrase is to think ofhow it works within a
sentence. When you think of a phrase this way, you can define it
as:
Phrase = a group of words that acts like one word
12. Types of Phrases
- Prepositional phrasewith a prepositionas head (after
studying)
13. Noun phrasewith a nounas head (the grammar)
- Verb phrasewith a verbas head (spoke English; explained the
grammar)
14. Adjective phrase with an adjectiveas head (easiest part) 15.
Adverbial phrase with adverbas head (very carefully)
