Basic Sentence PartsUnit 3Chapter 19

Basic Sentence Structure

Complete sentence—has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought

Subject—a word or group of words that answers the question “who?” or “what?” about the verb

Verb—tells what the subject does, what is done to the subject, or what the condition of the subject is Ex: Bobby gave her a ticket to the show. [put

one line under the subj. and two lines under the verb]

Basic Sentence StructureA group of words expresses a

complete thought if it can stand by itself and still make senseEx: The man in the cowboy hat. Is the statement a complete

sentence/thought?If the sentence is not a complete

thought, it is called a fragment

Finding the Subject and Verb in a Sentence Locate the verb first: ask yourself these

questions:1. What word(s) show action? If there are none, are there

forms of the verb “be”? (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been)

2. Are there helping verbs surrounding the main verb? (am, was, must, may, can, etc.)

Next, locate the subject: ask yourself these questions:

1. Who/what is doing the action? This word(s) is the subject of the sentence.

Remember: Subjects and verbs can be compound!

Compound Subjects and Verbs

Subjects and verbs can be compound (more than one) Ex: Ted and Louise are both musicians.

[underline the subjects] Ex: She composes, plays, and often

directs her own pieces. [underline the verbs]

*Compound subjects and verbs are usually connected by conjunctions and/or commas

Hard-to-find Subjects Ways to find subjects in confusing

sentences:1. In sentences that give orders or

directions, the subject is an understood “you.”

Ex: (you) Drive carefully.2. In questions, the subject usually comes

after the verb. This is known as an inverted sentence.

Sometimes it will help if you reword a sentence that is inverted.

Ex: Are the songs very long? [underline subj. & verb]

How would you reword this sentence into a statement?

Hard-to-find Subjects3. “Here” or “There” is never the

subject of a sentence. (Sentences that begin with “here” or “there” are inverted sentences.)

There goes the team. [underline the subj. & verb]

Here are the invitations. [underline the subj.& verb]

RememberThe subject of the sentence is NEVER the object of a preposition!

ComplementsComplement—a word or group of

words that completes the meaning of the subject or verb

Types: Verb Complements

Direct Object Indirect Object

Subject complements Predicate nominatives (nouns and pronouns) Predicate adjectives

Types of Complements

Direct object—a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb

Find the verb then ask “what?” Ex: Jane drove her car.Direct objects can be compound If the sentence is a question, the

direct object may be at the beginning before the verb What does he want from us? [mark the d.o.]

Types of Complements

Indirect Object—a noun or pronoun that comes after an action verb and before the direct object, it names the person or thing to which something is given or for which something is done

Find the d.o. and ask “to/for whom?” or “to/for what?”

Ex: I told them the story. [mark the d.o. and the i.o.]

Indirect objects can be compound

How to find direct and indirect objects in sentences:

1. Find the verb2. Find the subject3. Ask “what?” after the verb, whatever

answers the question is the direct object

4. After the direct object ask the questions “to/for whom?” OR “to/for what?”, whatever answers the questions is the indirect object

Types of Complements Predicate nominatives (nouns/pronouns)—

follows a linking verb and renames or identifies the subject of the sentence Ex: Ronnie will be the captain. [mark sub.,

verb, & p.n.] Can be compound.

Linking verb acts as an = (equals) sign Ex: Ronnie = captain

Predicate Adjectives—follows a linking verb and describes the subject of the sentence Ex: The flight to California was long. [mark

sub.,verb & p.a.] Can be compound

REMEMBER:1. Find the verb—look for action, linking, and

helping words Linking examples—am, is, are, was, were, be,

being, been (more on p. 212, 214) Helping examples—may, might, can, could,

must, did, have (more on p. 218)2. Find the subject—find someone/something

that is doing the action3. Find the direct object—say subj. and verb,

then ask “what?”4. Find the indirect object—find d.o. and then

ask “to/for whom?” OR “to/for what?”5. Find predicate nominatives/adjectives—

subject=____________ (word(s) in the blank is p.n. or p.a.) -always comes with LINKING verb