Sentence Forms

English sentences could be categorized as follows: 

A. Simple Sentence 

B. Compound Sentence 

C. Complex Sentence 

D. Compound-Complex Sentence [Mixed Sentence] 

IMPORTANT TERMS To understand these forms, you must know the following essential terms: SUBJECT The part which names the person or thing we are speaking about is called the subject. The subject may also have an attribute. Example: My colleague bought fifty books from online bookstores. In this sentence, ‘colleague’ is the subject, while ‘my’ is an attribute. PREDICATE The part which tells something about the subject is called a predicate. Predicate may have ‘verb, direct object, indirect object, complement, etc.’ Example: My colleague bought fifty books from online bookstores. In this sentence, ‘bought fifty books from online bookstores’ is a predicate. VERB A word or group of words that expresses an action, event, or state is called a verb. Example: My colleague bought fifty books from online bookstores. In this sentence, ‘bought’ is a verb. PHRASE A group of words that does not have a subject and a verb is called a phrase. A phrase makes sense, but not complete sense.

Phrases may be classified as follows: Adjective Phrase: A group of words that does the work of an adjective is called an adjective phrase. Thus, the adjective phrase describes a person or thing. Examples: Adjective phrase – covered with clouds [adjective – cloudy] Adjective phrase – made of wood [adjective – wooden] Adjective phrase – very small [adjective – tiny] Adverb Phrase: A group of words that does the work of an adverb is called an adverb phrase. Thus, an adverb phrase describes an adjective, phrase, or another adverb. Examples: Adverb phrase – at that place [adverb – there] Adverb phrase – at this place [adverb – here] Adverb phrase – in a comfortable manner [adverb – comfortably] Adverb phrase – in a suitable manner [adverb – suitably] Adverb phrase – in an efficient manner [adverb – efficiently] Adverb phrase – in an impatient manner [adverb – impatiently] Noun Phrase: A group of words that does the work of a noun is called a noun phrase. Thus, a noun phrase does the work as a subject, an object, a compliment, or as the object of the preposition. Examples: Noun phrase – the president of the country [noun – president] Noun phrase – the monitor of the class [noun – monitor] CLAUSE A group of words which forms part of the sentence, and contains a subject and a predicate is called a clause. Clauses may be classified as follows: Adjective Clause: An adjective clause is a group of words which contains a subject and predicate of its own, and does the work of an adjective.

Example:

They live in a house which has three stories. In this sentence – ‘which has three stories’ is an adjective clause. Adverb Clause: An adverb clause is a group of words which contains a subject and predicate of its own, and does the work of an adverb. Example: After they came, we left. In this sentence – ‘After they came’ is an adverb clause. Noun Clause: A noun clause is a group of words which contains a subject and predicate of its own, and does the work of a noun. Example: They know who won the competition. In this sentence – ‘who won the competition’ is a noun clause. BASED ON DEPENDENCY, CLAUSES ARE OF TWO TYPES: Independent or Principal Clause [Main Clause]: An independent clause has a subject and a predicate. It can stand on its own. It makes sense all by itself. So, it is a complete sentence in itself. Example: We hired a taxi for the stadium. This sentence has a subject ‘we’ and a predicate ‘hired a taxi for the stadium’. This sentence can stand on its own. It is a simple sentence. Dependent or Subordinate Clause: A dependent clause also has a subject and a predicate. However, it cannot stand on its own. It does not make sense by itself. So, it is dependent on an independent clause to make complete sense. Example: As we got off the bus This clause has a subject ‘we’ and a predicate ‘got off the bus’. But this clause is unable to stand on its own. It needs an independent clause to make complete sense. Now, combine both these clauses As we got off the bus, we hired a taxi for the stadium. This sentence has both independent and dependent clauses and stands on its own. Note: Types of Dependent Clause: 

(a). Adjective Clause, 

(b). Adverb Clause, 

(c). Noun Clause.