Basic Sentence Structure
There are five basic patterns around which most English sentences are built.*
They are as follows:
| S-V | Subject-Verb | John sleeps. Jill is eating. Jack will arrive next week. |
| S-V-O | Subject-Verb-Object | I like rice. She loves her job. He’s eating an orange |
| S-V-Adj | Subject-Verb-Adjective | He’s funny. The workers are lazy. Karen seems angry. |
| S-V-Adv | Subject-Verb-Adverb | Jim is here. Flowers are everywhere. |
| S-V-N | Subject-Verb-Noun | She is my mom. The men are doctors. Mr. Jones is the teacher. |
At the heart of every English sentence is the Subject-Verb relationship. Other elements can be added to make a sentence more interesting, but they are not essential to its formation.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V pattern.
|
She sleeps. |
Core sentence |
|
She sleeps soundly. |
An adverb is added to describe how she sleeps. |
|
She sleeps on the sofa. |
A prepositional phrase is added to tell where she sleeps. |
|
She sleeps every afternoon. |
A time expression is added to tell when she sleeps. |
|
She is sleeping right now. |
Verb tense is changed, but S-V relationship remains the same. |
|
Mary will sleep later. |
Subject is named and another tense is used. |
|
The dogs are sleeping in the garage. |
New subject may require a different form of the verb. |
Note: Any action verb can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-O pattern.
|
They like rice. |
Core sentence |
|
The people like rice. |
Specific subject |
|
The friendly people like rice. |
Subject modified with an adjective |
|
The people in the restaurant like rice. |
Subject modified with an adjective |
|
The people like boiled rice. |
Object modified with an adjective |
|
The people like hot, white rice. |
Object modified with more than one adjective |
Note: Only transitive action verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adj pattern.
|
He is fine. |
Basic sentence with “be” verb |
|
He seems happy. |
Basic sentence with another linking verb |
|
Jordan is tall, dark and handsome. |
Series of adjectives |
|
He appears very comfortable. |
Adverb or intensifier added |
|
George became sick last night. |
Different tense and linking verb |
Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-Adv pattern:
|
The teacher is here. |
Basic sentence |
|
The teacher is over there. |
Using an adverb phrase |
|
Teachers are everywhere. |
Plural noun and verb used |
|
The teachers are in the lobby. |
Prepositional phrase functioning as adverb |
Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
The following sentences are examples of the S-V-N pattern.
|
The man is a doctor. |
Basic sentence |
|
The women are doctors. |
Using plural noun and verb |
|
My father is a nice guy. |
Modified subject and complement |
|
My grandparents are senior citizens. |
Modified plural subject and complement |
Note: Only linking verbs can be used with this sentence pattern.
*Other, less common structures are dealt with in another unit.
