Sentence Structure

The structure of a sentence is as important as all the grammar you learn in

English. When you write a sentence, the way you put the words together
can make it beautiful and effective. Without good sentence structure, the
sentence is not clear, not beautiful and not effective.

Imagine you want to make a large sculpture or even a building. The

structure has to be strong and sound or it will fall apart. Your sentences
are just like that. They have to have a strong structure, so that they will be
able to carry your meaning and make them clear to whoever is reading
them.
In this chapter on sentence structure, you will learn what things you
MUST have in a good sentence and what order they must come in. You
will also read about parts of speech and how the form of a word is
different from its function in a particular sentence. Then you will learn
about the elements of sentences and how to use those elements to make
sound sentences.

This chapter does not need to be studied in its entirety. If you have a firm
handle on parts of speech and how verbs work, etc., you may want to go
down to Part III to study the mechanics of sentence building. However, it
is a good idea to read everything, for familiarization, review, or just to
begin understanding terms as you study the structure of the English
sentence.

This chapter is quite helpful for editing and error correction. As many
students, including those who are native English speakers, have problems
with sentence fragments and mechanics, this chapter provides an
explanation as too some of the problems that students may encounter.
PART I

Parts of speech
The most important first step in learning good sentence structure is to know parts of
speech. When we talk about parts of speech, we mean that we have some words that
can be put into the same group because they are the same type. For example, nouns
are people, places and things.

Nouns

We just saw that nouns are people, places and things. That means any word that is a
person (boy, mother, king, children) are all nouns. Words that are places are also
nouns (school, Africa, Singapore, Europe). Also words that are things must be nouns
too (painting, brush, chisel, lunch). Because all of these words show people, places
and things, they must all be nouns.

We have to remember that there are many types of nouns. They are probably the most
versatile set of words in English, so it is not surprising that there would be so many
different ones:

1. Concrete nouns. These are nouns that you can feel, touch or see. Examples of
concrete nouns include trees, grass, clouds, friend, chocolate, or paint.
2. Abstract nouns. These are nouns that you cannot see, feel or touch. They are
more like ideas, or example, religion, love, sadness, communism, duty.
3. Common nouns. These are nouns that do not have any proper name attached
to them, like a person or country. They can be concrete or abstract, for
example pen, table, love, hate, birds.
4. Proper nouns. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are specific names, like
China, Lasalle, John, Obama. They are usually capitalized.
5. Countable nouns. These are nouns that can be counted like chair(s), book(s),
cup(s), computer(s). etc.
6. Uncountable nouns. They are different from countable nouns because they
cannot be counted, like rice, water, air, coffee, junk, homework. Usually
abstract nouns (ideas) are uncountable. Uncountable nouns always take
singular verbs.
7. Compound nouns. Compound nouns are two or more nouns that work
together. The can be two nouns in one word (homework – home + work) or
two separate words (coffee table). Sometimes they can be joined by a hyphen,
like in the word mother-in-law, although quite often in a hyphenated noun,
part of the word may not be a noun (‘in’ is a preposition). The entire word
together, however, is a noun.
8. Collective nouns. These are nouns that represent groups or collections of
things. For example family, group, team, class, are all nouns (in the singular)
which mean groups of people. They are normally used with singular verbs (i.e.
the family IS happy) but it is becoming more common to see collective nouns
with singular verbs (Manchester are winning).
It should be noted that it is not necessary to understand all of the noun classes to
understand sentence structure. There are many classes we can use to make noun
categories, like feminine/masculine, animate/inanimate, etc. However all of these
distinctions can be found without a deep knowledge of nouns and are not necessary
for understanding sentence structure. The most useful and necessary ones are the eight
listed above.

Pronouns

Nouns can be replaced by pronouns (he, she, it, we, etc.) and can be used in all the
same ways as nouns.
Verbs

Verbs are words that show action or state. They are the only words that can have
present, past or future tense. They have a number of forms like infinitive (no tense),
imperative (request or command) and participles (-ed or –ing forms used for various
kinds of tenses and sentences). Verbs are usually classified into two groups, action
and non-action (or stative).

Here are some examples:

Action Non-action

Run Believe
Take Understand
Eat Be
Read Know
Buy Want

Verbs can also be classified as transitive or intransitive (whether or not they take
direct objects). For more on this topic, see ‘Objects’ below.
Adjectives

Adjectives are basically words that describe nouns. Some examples are: slow, nice,
warm, delicious, beautiful, crazy, artistic. They can come before nouns (the brown
dog) or after the nouns (The teacher was busy. – Here ‘busy’ is an adjective but it
doesn’t come before the noun.) See the sections on Subject compliments and Link
Verbs to better understand how adjectives work in this kind of environment.

There are some distinctions between adjectives that should be learned in order to
better understand sentence structure, mostly in terms of word order.

1. Opinions come before facts (wonderful before old).

2. As for facts: size- shape – age – colour – origin – material.

Examples:

He bought a beautiful big round antique wooden table.

opinion size shape age material NOUN
She did a fantastic monochromatic blue oil painting.
Opinion colour material

They always love big black Labrador dogs.

size colour origin

Adverbs

Adverbs generally are known for describing verbs (He walked slowly.). Here ‘slowly’
describes how he walked. However, adverbs can also be used to describe other things.
Adverbs can describe:
1. Verbs: The talked quietly. (Quietly describes how they talked.)
2. Adjectives: I was really hungry. (Really describes how hungry I was.)
3. Other Adverbs: She screamed very frantically. (Very describes how frantically
she screamed.)
4. Entire Sentences: Personally, I don’t believe in ghosts. In this sentence, the
adverb describes the entire idea. This is often called a sentence adverbial,
simply because it functions differently from normal adverbs. See the section
below on Adverbials.
5. Everything else: Often times we call parts of speech adverbs if they do not fit
into other part of speech categories. For example, He looked up. Here we can
say that ‘up’ is an adverb because it describes where. Adverbs are words that
can describe time, place, direction, etc.

There are many kinds of adverbs as well. Here are examples of some of them:
1. Manner (how something is done – quickly, slowly, carefully)
2. Degree (how much of something – he works very slowly).
3. Frequency (how often something happens)
4. Time and Place (information about when and where).

Prepositions

Prepositions are words that tell us about time and space (like adverbs) but can also tell
us about relationships, special, physical, and other types of relationships. They are
different from adverbs because they are followed by a noun (unless found as part of a
phrasal verb or some other such expression). We use the word preposition because of
its relationship to nouns. Pre means before and Position means place. So a Preposition
comes before a noun. Here are some examples:

In two weeks
At school
On the table
To Japan
With my friends
Before the test
Since 1998
Near the door
You can see from the examples above that prepositions are followed by nouns, but
often in questions the preposition is found at the end. In these cases, it is the noun
itself that is being asked about. For example: Who did you go with? We want to find
the noun that fits with (my friends, my sister, some people I know). In more formal
language we might say: With whom did you go? Now with is followed by whom,
which represents the noun that should come after ‘with’. However, we often do not
use this type of structure anymore, simply because it is stilted or overly formal. For
more information on Formality, please read the chapter on Stylistics and Register.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are connector words. They join groups of nouns, groups of adjectives,
groups of verbs, etc. They can even join smaller sentences or clauses.
There are three types of conjunctions:
1. COORDINATING
2. CORRELATIVE
3. SUBORDINATING
For a full study on conjunctions, see the chapter on conjunctions and transitions.
Some examples of conjunctions are:

But
Because
So
If
When
Not only…but also

Interjections

Interjections are parts of speech that do not have a grammatical link to the rest of the
sentence. Their meanings are clear, but there is no dependence on the rest of the
sentence for structure or word order. They are sometimes a single utterance. Some
examples of interjections are:
Hey! Ouch! Oh! Shoot! Sigh. Hmmm…
These words lend feeling to the sentence and can convey the attitude of the speaker.

PART II

Form and Function

This part of the chapter allows us to take a closer look at how sentences are formed.
Now that we have looked at all the parts of speech, we can see how they work in a
sentence. We first have to look at the difference between FORM and FUNCTION.

Form
Imagine you are a person from Germany. No matter what you do, you are German.
You are German in the morning, German in the afternoon, and German at night. This
is something that never changes. No matter what you do, where you go, or who you
speak to, you are always German. This is like FORM in grammar. A noun is always a
noun. It doesn’t change. No matter where you see it in a sentence, it is always a noun.
The parts of speech we learned above are all FORM.

Function

Imagine again that you are that same German person, who is always German, no
matter what. Besides being German, you have many functions in life. Sometimes you
are a parent, sometimes a child, sometimes a friend, sometimes a classmate, boss or
co-worker. You can have many functions or jobs in life, but always you are a
German. Your form stays the same, but your function, or what you do in life (you’re
your relationship to others) changes. This is how we will look at the next segment,
FUNCTION. How do words work in a sentence?

Subject

In any sentence, there is a person or thing that is doing something or being something.
The boy went home. ‘The boy’ here is a person who did something in a sentence.
‘The boy’ is the subject. The subject is the person/thing that is doing or being
something. Here are some more examples of subject:

His mother made breakfast every day. Subject – his mother

John loves coconut. Subject - John
Russia is a cold country. Subject - Russia
The population is growing rapidly. Subject – the population
Art is the most subjective study area. Subject – art

Subjects are nouns. We will discuss other functions of nouns below.

Verb

Part of the confusion in distinguishing verbs as form and verbs as function is that they
are the same for both. So, FORM is verb and FUNCTION is also verb. This is
because there is no need to make a difference between them. Verbs are verbs as both
form and function. Unlike nouns, they do not have functions other than being verbs.
In the following sentences the verbs are underlined. Which ones are action verbs and
which are stative verbs?

David was hungry so he went to the supermarket.

I have been to China three times.
He is our best film student.
She first ate her own rice, and then she ate mine.

For a thorough look at how we use verb tense, see the chapter on verb tenses.
3 Objects

Above we saw the first function of nouns – the subject of the sentence. Nouns have
various other functions as well. They can be objects in a sentence. This means they
can be grammatical objects, of which there are three.

Direct Object

A direct object is a noun which is the object of a verb (something that may or may not
be affected by the verb, but is closely linked to it). Here are some underlined
examples:

She finished her homework. (what she finished)

They need more money. (what they needed)
We can’t do this any longer. (what we can no longer do)
James writes poetry and stories. (what he writes)
Johnny sings jazz and rock n roll. (what he sings)
I wanted pizza. (what I wanted)

As you can see above, the direct object can answer the question “What?” when it
refers to something the subject has done (or thought, or wanted, etc.)

Indirect Object

An indirect object is usually a person, but could also be a group, an organization or

even an inanimate object, but normally we see this as a person. It is usually a person
because the indirect object is the receiver of the direct object.

For example: John gave Darla a ring.

Subject: John (He did something.)

Verb: gave (This is what he did.)
Direct Object: a ring (This is what he gave.)
Indriect Object: Darla (This is the person who received the ring.)

Sometimes people confuse the direct object and the indirect object. In the following
sentences, look at the indirect and direct objects. Which one does the subject throw,
give or sell? Who receives something?

1. I threw Mary a pen.

2. He gave his mother some flowers.
3. She sold the old man a valuable book.
4. They gave their best chair to the guest.

In the above sentences, Mary, his mother, the old man and the guest are all indirect
objects. Mary received a pen; his mother received some flowers; the old man received
a valuable book; and the guest received their best chair. The things that these people
received (pen, flowers, sculpture, chair) are the direct objects.
I did not throw Mary; I threw a pen and Mary received it.
He did not give his mother; he gave flowers and his mother received them.
She did not sell the old man; she sold a sculpture. The old man received it.
They did not give the guest; they gave a chair and the guest received it.

You will notice that with indirect objects, we sometimes will use “to” plus the indirect
object when we want to put it after the direct object. When it comes before the direct
object, we do not use “to”, as in the example below:

John gave his girlfriend a new car. John gave a new car to his girlfriend.
S V IO DO S V DO IO

Prepositional Object

The third kind of object is a prepositional object (also known as an object of a

preposition). Earlier we learned, that prepositions are always followed by nouns. The
nouns that come after prepositions are called Prepositional Objects.

Examples:

Bobby gave his girlfriend some flowers for her birthday.

In this sentence, ‘for’ is a preposition and must have a noun after it. ‘Her birthday’ is
the prepositional object.

He put the cup on the table. On = presposition the table = prepositional object
He was born in Canada. In = preposition Canada = prepositional object
Brazil is in South America. In = preposition South America = PO

Jennifer found her keys under the table.

S V DO Prep PO

They were always talking about grammar!

S V adv V prep OP

It is very common to consider a preposition and it’s PO (prepositional object) an

adverbial. For more information on adverbials, see the section called ADVERBIALS
below.

Complements

Subject complements

Nouns can also be complements (subject complements and object complements). A

complement is something that describes something else. Complements can be nouns
or adjectives and they come AFTER the subject / verb. Here are some examples:
William Shakespeare was the greatest English writer.
Subject verb subject complement

In the sentence above, William Shakespeare is the SUBJECT and the greatest English
writer is the SUBJECT COMPLEMENT. William Shakespeare and the greatest writer
are the same person. This is a noun that tells us something about the subject.

William Shakespeare was intelligent.

S V SC

An SC (or subject complement) can also be an adjective, since its function is to

describe the Subject, like in this example: William Shakespeare was intelligent. Here
the word ‘intelligent’ describes William Shakespeare, so it is also a subject
complement.

Object complements

Direct objects can also have complements. We call them, of course, object
complements. They are also nouns or adjectives, but are ones that describe the direct
object (we don’t use them for indirect objects). Below are some examples:

She painted the house green.

Subject verb direct object object complement

In the above sentence, the word green describes the house, not she. The house is the
direct object, so green must be the object complement since it describes the object.
Green is an adjective. Below are more examples. Note that in sentence 1 below, the
object complement is also an adjective, but in sentences 3 and 4, the object
complements are nouns.

Joe made me angry.

S V DO OC

The USA elected Obama President.

S V DO OC

The headmaster made him department head.

S V DO OC

Where do adjectives fit?

In the above sections we saw that nouns can have the following functions:

• Subject
• Direct Object
• Indirect Object
• Prepositional Object
So where do adjectives fit into all this grammar? We know already, that adjectives
can have the function of Subject Complements (SC) or Object Complements (OC) but
they can also be found attached to nouns in any of the four positions in the above list.
The adjectives in the sentences below are in bold. You will see that they can be part
of any grammatical function where there is a noun, including adverbials.

The tall man couldn’t find a suitable pair of trousers in the new store.
S V DO A

Jennifer was very angry at the new company policy.

S V SC A

Some large dogs were tearing at the black rubbish bags.

S V A

He gave his sick wife some hot chicken soup for her bad cold.
S V IO DO A

Verbs II

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

In the discussion on nouns, we saw that nouns can be not only subjects, but also direct
objects (as well as other things). In this section, we want to focus on direct objects
and verb that have direct objects compared to verbs that don’t.

Verbs that take direct objects are called transitive verbs.

He bought a piano.
S V DO

Verbs that do not take direct objects are called intransitive verbs.

He is sleeping.
S V

In the first sentence, the verb bought (buy) is transitive because it takes a direct
object.
In the second sentence, the verb is sleeping (sleep) is intransitive. Sleep does not take
a direct object.

Some verbs can be transitive or intransitive:

She was reading all day. ‘was reading’ is intransitive (no object).
She read four books. ‘read’ is transitive (the object is four books).
Link Verbs

Verbs that take subject complements (SC) are intransitive. They do not take objects.
Compare the two sentences below:

Barbara is a nurse. Barbara knows a nurse.

S V SC S V DO

In the first sentence, Barbara and a nurse are the same person (nurse describes
Barbara) so it is a subject complement. In the second sentence Barbara and a nurse
are not the same person (the nurse is someone Barbara knows) and is a direct object.

Verbs such as ‘be’ cannot take direct objects, but take subject complements. These are
called LINK VERBS because they link the subject and the complement. Here are
some more examples of link verbs:

She seems nice. He feels tired. She became president. He will be an artist.
S V SC S V SC S V SC S V SC

There are some verbs that can be link verbs OR transitive verbs, especially the verbs
of our senses. In these cases, the verbs change meaning:

TRANSITIVE LINK
(S + V + DO) (S + V + SC)
He smelled the coffee. The coffee smelled delicious.
He looked at the hat. The hat looked expensive.
He felt the fur. The fur felt soft.
He sounded the alarm. The alarm sounded scary.
He tasted the milk. The milk tasted old.

Adverbials

Adverbials are parts of the sentence that don’t always have connections to the
grammar of the sentence. They add meaning to the sentence without actually having a
grammatical (or structural) function. They can give information on time, place,
relationship, etc. Of course adverbs themselves, are also in this section and they serve
to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, etc. Here are some examples of
adverbials:

He was killed in the war.

I have never been so happy.
It was the best fireworks display in 50 years.
He lives somewhere around here.

As we saw in the above section on adverbs, sometimes adverbs can modify or

describe entire sentences. When an adverb modifies and entire sentence, it can be
called a sentence adverbial. Sentence adverbials usually come at the front of the
sentence and are marked with a comma, but sometimes they are found at the back.
Adverbs that only describe sentences usually take on a different meaning, like in the
examples below:

He speaks French very clearly.

Here, ‘clearly’ means how well he speaks French. It is an adverb that

describes the verb ‘speak’.

Clearly, he has never read this book.

In this case, ‘clearly’ modifies the entire sentence, and so is a sentence

adverbial. The meaning here also changes to ‘obviously’.

Below are more examples of the difference between adverbials (simple adverbs vs.
sentence adverbials). How does the meaning of the adverbial change in each of the
pairs of sentences?

I wanted to speak to her personally.

Personally, I don’t think she should get the job.

He moved strangely throughout the house.

Strangely, he didn’t say hello when he came in.

He told the story truthfully.

Truthfully, I feel I should have handled the situation better.

In a sentence, we can represent adverbials with the letter A.

She met her boyfriend at the football match.

S V DO A

Can you find a bank near here?

V S V DO A

We were talking about it.

S V A

He always used to come to our house to look at the flowers in the garden.
S A V A V DO A
PART III

The Structure

In the above sections we learned about parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs, etc). We learned how these forms have different functions (subjects, objects,
complements and adverbials). The third part of this discussion is on the structure of
the sentence and how all of the functions work together to make a good English
sentence.

Clauses

One of the most important concepts to understand in sentence structure is the idea of
the clause. A clause is basically a part of a sentence (it can also be a full sentence),
which has a subject and a verb. Basically the subject and verb are the main building
blocks of a sentence and a sentence is incomplete without both of them. If you have
two clauses in once sentence, that means there must be a minimum of two subjects
and two verbs (one verb for each subject). The idea of SV (subject – verb) is
elemental in English sentences. However, clauses can have more elements like the
things learned earlier (objects or complements, for example).

A clause should not be confused with a phrase. A phrase is a group of words that
make sense together but do not hold a subject AND verb. A phrase could be an
adverbial or subject, etc, but not a subject and verb together. For example, these are
phrases:
in a minute
my brother Joe
everybody around here
with you.

None of these have a subject-verb combination. As soon as it has a subject and verb
together, it becomes a clause.

Below are the seven basic structures of clauses. Notice that each one is different, but
that each one has at least a subject and a verb.

SV
SVC
SVA
SVO
SVOO
SVOC
SVOA
Below are some examples of these types of clauses (each of these clauses will also be
complete sentences).
SV
He died.

SVC
She is a doctor.

SVA
She is at the college.

SVO
He bought bread.

SVOO
She gave her grandmother a new watch.

SVOC
Candy makes children happy.

SVOA
I bought a house in Malaysia.

PUTTING CLAUSES TOGETHER

So far, we know:
1. what parts of speech are
2. what functions those parts of speech have
3. how to put those elements into clauses
4. the seven basic types of clauses.

We now need to know what to do when we have more than one clause in a sentence.
There are a number of constructions that we must learn:
1. Simple Sentence
2. Compound Sentence
3. Complex Sentence
4. Compound Complex Sentence

1. A sentence with only once clause is a Simple Sentence.

The boy bought a toy car.

S V O

A simple sentence can have more than one subject (compound subject), more than
one verb (compound verb) or more than one object (compound object). Don’t confuse
compound subject, verb, etc with a compound SENTENCE (explained below).

The boy and his friend bought a toy car.

Compound subject V DO

The boy bought and used a new toy car.

 S Compound Verb DO

The boy bought a new toy car and a bag of candy.

S V compound object

2. A sentence with two simple clauses is a Compound Sentence.

The girl went to Japan and she visited her grandmother.

S V S V

3. However there is another kind of sentence with two simple clauses. It is the
Complex Sentence. The difference between a compound sentence and a complex
sentence is in the clauses. Some simple clauses can be independent (they can stand
alone). Other simple clauses are dependent (they cannot stand alone because of the
meaning). Look at the following example:

She made her favourite cake. She didn’t like it.

These are two simple sentences. When we put them together we can make a
compound sentence:
She made her favourite cake, but she didn’t like it.
Independent clause independent clause (compound sentence)

However, if we use the conjunction although, suddenly the clause “although she made
her favourite cake…” is now dependent. That means that it doesn’t have any meaning
without the rest of the sentence. It also shows which part of the sentence is most
important (she didn’t like it).

Although she made her favourite cake, she didn’t like it.
Dependent clause independent clause (complex sentence)

So, when we have a dependent clause (although she made her favourite cake) and an
independent clause (she didn’t like it), the result is a Complex Sentence. For a study
of the conjunctions that go with compound or complex sentences, see the chapter on
Conjunctions and Transitions.

4. When we have two independent clauses (compound) and a dependent clause

(compound) we have a Compound-Complex Sentence.

I saw my sister, but I didn’t talk to her, although I had the time.
Independent independent dependent (compound-complex sentence)

Sentence Fragments and Run On Sentences

One of the main reasons it is important for us to study sentence structure is the
problem of sentence fragments. Often in a paper can be seen sentence fragments like
these:
Although he was in school all day.
But she didn’t know the computer was broken.
Even when I went home.
Because I don’t like it here.

All of the above statements have subjects and verbs, but because they have
conjunctions in front of them, they are considered incomplete because they should
have another clause attached to them (either dependent or independent). If the
conjunction were not there, they would all be complete sentences.

Sometimes sentence fragments are caused because of mistakes in translation. For

example, in some languages a subject (or even a verb) can be omitted. If either is
omitted in an English sentence, then it becomes a fragment. For example, if you ask
the question “Can go to Orchard Road today?”, the sentence is not complete because
there is no subject. For a more complete study on local language vs. standard English,
see the chapter on Singlish vs. English.
Run-on sentences are sentences that have too many clauses. Some writers, in an
attempt to make complicated sentences, string together too many clauses, forming
run-on sentences. Here is an example:

The student wanted to buy a new book so he went to the book store and looked all
around the store because he was interested in all the books there and bought a lot of
books, especially books that he liked on subjects like geography and history, he didn’t
however, buy the book he wanted and had to go home without it, so he was upset
when he got home because he had to go back to the book store.

The above sentence is too long and has too many clauses. It should be simplified like
this:

The student wanted to buy a book, so he went to the store, but didn’t buy it because
he got too interested in other books. He bought lots of books on history and
geography, but went home without the one he wanted. So, he was upset because he
had to go back to the bookstore again.

The above now has three sentences instead of one and is much easier to read.

It is important in editing to realize where fragments and run on sentences are. We can
more easily see them by understanding sentence structure.
EXERCISES

1. Write below the parts of speech for each of the words in the following
sentences:

i. The boy gave his girlfriend some flowers for her birthday.
ii. Margaret said that she had been to China many times.
iii. UWC is an internationally recognized college.
iv. Sculpture is her favourite form of art.
v. She plays football whenever she feels like it.
vi. Oh! I’ve spilt coffee all over your workbook.
vii. Julia spoke quietly to her mother, who was feeling very ill.
viii. The performance showcased dances from around the world.
ix. Running is my favourite way to relax.
x. Food can be very therapeutic, when used in the appropriate manner.

2. Write below the function of each of the underlined groups of words.

xi. The boy gave his girlfriend some flowers for her birthday.
xii. Margaret said that she had been to China often.
xiii. UWC is an internationally recognized college.
xiv. Sculpture is her favourite form of art.
xv. She plays football whenever she feels like it.
xvi. Oh! I’ ve spilt coffee all over your workbook.
xvii. Julia spoke quietly to her mother, who was feeling very ill.
xviii. The peformance showcased dances from around the world.
xix. Running is my favourite way to relax.
xx. Art can be very therapeutic, when used in the appropriate manner.

3. The following sentences have problems with structure. Fix the errors below the
sentences. There may be more than one way to fix them.

i. The woman gave her son wanted the toy.

ii. I went to Japan I was born there.
iii. She went to the shop buy a book.
iv. I took my students go to the library.
v. And I don’t like ice cream.
vi. But she didn’t tell me where she was going.
vii. Can finish soon?
viii. How to spell this word?
ix. The boy went to the doctor needed to be in hospital.
x. Betty I love her didn’t like the sculpture I made it for her.
ANSWER KEY:

Exercise 1

xxi. The boy gave his girlfriend some flowers for her birthday.
A N V PN N A N P PN N

xxii. Margaret said that she had been to China many times.
N V C PN V P N ADJ N

xxiii. UWC is an internationally recognized college.

N V A ADV ADJ N

xxiv. Sculpture is her favourite form of art.

N V ADJ ADJ N P N

xxv. She plays football whenever she feels like it.

N V N C N V P PN

xxvi. Oh! I’ ve spilt coffee all over your workbook.

I PN V N AD P ADJ N

xxvii. Julia spoke quietly to her mother, who was feeling very ill.
N V ADV P ADJ N PN V ADV A

xxviii. The performance showcased dances from

A N V A N P
around the world.
P A N

xxix. Running is my favourite way to relax.

N V ADJ ADJ N V

xxx. Art can be very therapeutic, when used in the appropriate

N V V ADV ADJ C V P A ADJ
manner.
N

KEY TO ABREVIATIONS:

A article
ADJ adjective
ADV adverb
C conjunction
N noun
P preposition
PN pronoun
V verb
Exercise 2

xxxi. The boy gave his girlfriend some flowers for her birthday.
S V IO DO P PO

xxxii. Margaret said that she had been to China often.

S V C S V P OP A

xxxiii. LASALLE is an internationally recognized college.

S V SC

xxxiv. Sculpture is her favourite form of art.

S V SC

xxxv. She paints pictures whenever she feels like it.

S V DO C S V P PO

xxxvi. Oh! I’ ve spilt coffee all over your workbook.

I S V DO A P PO

xxxvii. Julia spoke quietly to her mother, who was feeling very ill.
S V A P PO S V SC

xxxviii. The exhibition showcased the finest pieces of art from around the
S V DO
world.

xxxix. Drawing is my favourite way to relax.

S V SC

xl. Art can be very therapeutic, when used in the appropriate manner.
S VV SC C V P PO

KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS:

A adverbial
C conjunction
DO direct object
IO indirect object
P preposition
PO prepositional object
S subject
SC subject complement
V verb
Exercise 3

xi. The woman gave her son wanted the toy.

The woman gave her son the toy that he wanted.

xii. I went to Japan I was born there.

I went to Japan, where I was born.

xiii. She went to the shop buy a book.

She went to the shop to buy a book.

xiv. I took my students go to the library.

I took my students to the library.

xv. And I don’t like ice cream.

Also, I don’t like ice cream.

xvi. But she didn’t tell me where she was going.

However, she didn’t tell me where she was going.

xvii. Can finish soon?

Can we finish this soon?

xviii. How to spell this word?

How do you spell this word?

xix. The boy went to the doctor needed to be in hospital.

The boy who went to the doctor needed to be in hospital.

xx. Betty I love her didn’t like the sculpture I made it for her.

Betty, who I love, didn’t like the sculpture I made for her.