English Grammar: Sentence Types and Structure

Sentence Types

• Declarative sentences make a statement. Example: The cat sat on the mat.
• Imperative sentences give a command or request. Example: Please sit down.
• Interrogative sentences ask a question. Example: What is your name?
• Exclamatory sentences express strong emotion. Example: Wow, that's amazing!

Sentence Structure

• Complete sentences contain a subject and a verb and express a complete thought.
• Sentence fragments are incomplete thoughts; they lack a subject, a verb, or both.

Clause Types

• Independent clauses express a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.
• Dependent clauses cannot stand alone as a sentence; they begin with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.

Parts of Speech

Nouns

• Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas.
• Singular nouns refer to one person, place, thing, or idea. Example: dog
• Plural nouns refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. Example: dogs

Pronouns

• Pronouns replace nouns.
• Subject pronouns take the place of the subject of the verb. Example: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
• Object pronouns take the place of the direct object or indirect object of the verb. Example: me, you, him, her, it, us, them
• Possessive pronouns show ownership. Example: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
• Possessive pronouns and adjectives show ownership. Adjectives modify nouns. Example: My book, your house.
• Antecedents are the nouns replaced by pronouns.
• Intensive and reflexive pronouns emphasize a noun. Example: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves
• Demonstrative pronouns point out specific nouns. Example: this, that, these, those
• Interrogative pronouns ask a question. Example: who, whom, whose, which, what
• Relative pronouns introduce adjective clauses. Example: who, whom, whose, which, that

Verbs

• Action verbs show action.
  • Transitive verbs have a direct object. Example: The dog chased the ball.
  • Intransitive verbs don't have a direct object. Example: The dog barked.
• Linking verbs connect the subject to a subject complement, which describes or identifies the subject. Example: The dog is tired.

Adjectives

• Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.
• Demonstrative adjectives point out specific nouns. Example: this house, that car.
• Interrogative adjectives ask questions about nouns. Example: which book.
• Indefinite adjectives refer to nouns in a general way. Example: many books
• Comparative and superlative adjectives compare nouns. Example: taller, tallest
• Few and little are used differently with count and non-count nouns.

Phrases and Clauses

• Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition (e.g., on, in, under) and function as adjectives or adverbs. Example: The book on the table.
• Appositives rename or describe nouns or pronouns. Example: My friend John, a kind man, is coming.
• Adjective phrases modify nouns or pronouns. Example: A house with a garden,
• Adjective clauses modify nouns or pronouns and begin with relative pronouns. Example: The book that I read

Other

• Subjects: The subject performs the action in a sentence
• Subject complements: these describe or rename the subject.
• Direct objects: receive the action of the verb.
• Indirect objects: tell to whom or for whom the action of the verb is done.
• Object complements: describe or rename the direct object.
• Object of prepositions: follow prepositions (words such as on, in, by).
• Possessive nouns show ownership. Example: my cat, the dog's bone.
• Comma usage with adjectives is discussed to avoid ambiguity.

Formatting

• Learn proper capitalization and formatting for titles (using italics or quotation marks) and friendly letters, including addressing and salutation.

Proofreading and Diagraming

• Practice identifying and correcting grammatical errors.
• Learn methods to diagram sentences for understanding sentence structure.