Created by the Evergreen Writing Center
Sentence Patterns I: Locating Subjects and Verbs Understanding the functions of subjects and verbs is an integral part of crafting coherent and grammatically correct sentences. Knowing how to spot those subjects and verbs is the first step to understanding how sentences are constructed.
Clauses A clause is comprised of a least one subject and one verb. There are two types of clauses: the independent clause and the dependent clause. Independent Clause An independent clause makes a statement or asks a question that can act as a complete sentence. Example: Peter dances. Dependent Clause A dependent clause cannot act as a complete sentence because it begins with a subordinating word, such as when, because, if, whoever, etc. Example: When Peter dances. All grammatically correct sentences have at least one independent clause, and, therefore, they have at least one subject and one verb.
Recognizing Subjects and Verbs Verbs There are two types of verbs: action verbs and linking verbs. Action verbs show us what is happening in a sentence. Example: The waves crashed on the beach. Linking verbs connect subjects with their descriptions. Example: My turtle is slow. Because verbs are often the most action-packed part of a sentence, they are easily recognizable.
Subjects Subjects are most often nouns and pronouns. They tell us who or what is performing an action or being described. Posing the Question, Finding the Subject Once you have recognized the verb, you can ask yourself a simple question to find the subject. If you have identified an action verb, ask, “Who or what is performing this action?” If you have identified a linking verb, ask, “Who or what is being described?” The answer to your question is the subject. Example: The waves crashed on the beach. Question: Who or what is crashing? Answer: the waves, and, therefore, the waves is the subject Example: My turtle is slow. Question: Who or what is being described as slow? Answer: my turtle, and, therefore, my turtle is the subject
Sentence Patterns Once you understand the basics of sentence construction, you can create sentences of varying length and structure. However, no matter the length or structure of your sentence, the word order you use will rarely change, and understanding the standard word order of English sentences will help you distinguish subjects and verbs. What do you notice about word order in the example sentences below? I flew my kite. Mount Rainier towers over other mountains in the Cascade Range. Frida Kahlo is arguably the most lauded female Surrealist painter of the 20th century. Large groups of archaeologists flock to Pylos, Greece each summer to continue their search for ancient artifacts. Ivan Illich lambastes compulsory public education in his monumental work, Deschooling Society. You’ve no doubt noticed that the subject always comes before the verb, and that the subject is contained the first half of the sentence. Also, you may have noticed that the verb tends to occur in the middle of the sentence. Any extra information about the subject, including when, where, or why the action is taking place, is placed after the verb.
Exercise Consider the following sentences. In each sentence, circle the verb and underline the subject. Also note the word pattern of each of these sentences. Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862. Maya Angelou recalls her formative years in her memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In 1873, Heinrich Schliemann excavated the ancient city of Troy in Turkey. The bacteria grew exponentially. Because of the roaring applause, Marcia performed an encore. Mountain-climbing is excellent exercise. Though the Berlin Wall was dismantled in 1989, East and West Germany remained economically disparate for years after. The bookstore closed early on Sunday due to the hurricane. The art of origami involves intricate paper-folding techniques. The RMS Titanic sank into frigid Atlantic waters on April 14, 1912.
Sentence Patterns II: Locating Objects and Complements All grammatically correct sentences have at least one subject and one verb. But few sentences are this simple; in most sentences, additional words follow the verb. These words are objects and complements.
Verbs There are two types of verbs: action verbs and linking verbs. Linking verbs connect subjects with their descriptions. Example: The oak tree is mighty. Action verbs show us what is happening in a sentence. There are two types of action verbs: intransitive and transitive. Transitive verbs do require following words to complete their meaning. Example: The leaves hit the ground. Intransitive verbs do not require following words to complete their meaning. Example: The leaves fell.
Recognizing Objects and Complements So, what is it that comes after the verb? The answer to this question depends on the type of verb:
Linking Verbs Linking verbs connect subjects with their following descriptions. The description that comes after a linking verb is called a subject complement, because it completes—or complements—the subject. A subject complement can be a noun or adjective, or it can be a phrase functioning as one of these parts of speech. Example: Today is the first day of spring. The air is fragrant. V
SC
V
SC
Transitive Verbs Transitive verbs require following words, or objects, to complete their meanings. Objects can take three different patterns: Direct Object A direct object is a noun that identifies who or what receives the action of the verb. Example: The puppy devoured the steak. DO
Indirect Object + Direct Object An indirect object is a noun that identifies for whom the action of the verb is performed or to whom the direct object goes. Example: My mom sent me money. IO
DO
Direct Object + Object Complement An object complement renames or describes the object. Like a subject complement, it can be a noun or an adjective. Example: The reporters declared the election a windfall. DO
OC
Intransitive Verbs Intransitive verbs do not require following words to complete their meanings. However, they are often followed by words or phrases that give more information about the action taking place in the sentence. Example: The leaves fell softly from the tree. V
Exercise Part One Read the following example sentences. Identify each verb as intransitive, transitive, or linking. Then identify each subject complement, direct object, indirect object, and object complement. 1. The runner drank a bottle of water to cool his parched throat. 2. I gave my love a cherry that had no stone. 3. The kite soared through the air. 4. Watching kids climb trees makes me nervous. 5. The children are very hungry; they are banging pots and pans in the kitchen. Part Two Using verbs from the box, construct five sentences, each with a different sentence pattern. gain be (is, am, are, etc.) discover arrive
destroy laugh tremble make
loan consider open seem
1. (Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement)
2. (Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object)
3. (Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object)
4. (Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement)
5. (Subject + Intransitive Verb)
For more practice, choose a passage from a book, newspaper, or magazine you are reading. See if you can identify the types of sentence patterns that are used.