Basic Sentence Structure

1. Basic Sentence Structure
Cansu SÜER

2. A typical English Sentence
Subject + Verb +
Complement/Object
- A highly influential politician
supports my project.

3. The Subject
Form Example
Noun Ece is a student at METU.
Pronoun She studies management.
Det.+Noun+Pr
ep. Phrase
The management courses at
METU are highly demanding.
Gerund Phrase Acquiring managerial skills is
important for her.

4. The Subject
Form Example
Infinitive Phrase To become a manager requires a
good theoretical background as well as
practical experience.
Noun Clause What she learns at the university is
relevant to her future career.
Det.+Noun+Relativ
e Clause
The courses that she takes at the
university will enable her to become a
good manager in the future.
Det.+Noun+Reduc
ed Relative Clause
A manager capable of making sound
decisions at the right time is certain
to succeed.

5. The Subject
Form Example
Determiner +
Noun + Reduced
Clause
Ece, a highly motivated
management student, studies her
lessons regularly.

6. Structures Used in the Subject Position
Form Example
Det.+Adv+Adj+Nou
n Det+ Noun
1. This extremely interesting
invitation should please Mary.
2. George’s invitation should please
Mary.
Infinitive 1. To be invited by George should
please Mary.
2. For George to invite her should
please Mary.
Gerund 1. Being invited by George should...
2. George’s inviting her should…

7. Structures Used in the Subject Position
Form Example
Noun Clauses 1. That George has invited her should
please Mary.
2. The fact that George has sent her an
invitation should please Mary.
Det+Noun+Relativ
e Clause
1. The invitation, which is a sign of
George’s sincerity, should…
2. The invitation, which demonstrates
George’s sincerity, should…
3. The invitation, which was sent by
George,…
4. The invitation, which is from George,….

8. Structures Used in the Subject Position
Form Example
Det+
Noun+Reduced
Relative Clause
1. The invitation, a sign of George’s
sincerity, should please Mary.
2. The invitation, demonsrating
George’s sincerity, should...
3. The invitation, sent by George,…
4. The invitation, from George,…
- ever Clauses 1. Whatever George says, seems to
please Mary.
Pronoun 1. George has sent Mary an
invitation. It should please her.

9. Identifying the Subject
A highly ambitious project has been prepared to create
new jobs.
These extremely sensitive issues must be dealt with
urgently.
A democratically elected government is now ruling the
country.
Many newly married couples are willing to participate in
the special program.
An incredibly beautiful woman opened the door.
The woman in the car parked in front of the bank across
the street is our history teacher.

10. Identifying the Subject
A highly ambitious project has been prepared to create
new jobs.
These extremely sensitive issues must be dealt with
urgently.
A democratically elected government is now ruling the
country.
Many newly married couples are willing to participate in
the special program.
An incredibly beautiful woman opened the door.
The woman in the car parked in front of the bank across
the street is our history teacher.

11. The Verb
Subject
Noun
Phrase
Verb Phrase Notes
Ece
Studies management at METU.
Has been studying at METU for 3 years.
Willi have graduated from METU by
next July.
Took German 201 as an elective course
last term.
Active
verbs in
different
tenses
Hopes to go to Germany to improve her
German.
Enjoys studying management.
V+ to V1
Gerund

12. The Object
Noun I like Ali.
Pronoun I like him because he is so kind
Adj+noun I like kind people.
Gerund I like singing songs.
Infinitive I like to sing songs.
Noun Cl. I don’t remember what I did.
I admit that I make mistakes.
I don’t know whether I’ll be able to get permission from my
parents.
You can do whatever you want.
Det+Noun+
Relative Cl.
Det+Noun+
Reduced
Relative Cl.
I hate people who don’t keep their promises.
The man kissed the woman, a well-known model.
The man kissed the woman dressed in a striped shirt.
The man kissed the woman sitting next to him.

13. The Compliment
Noun+Noun
Det+Noun+Prep.Phase
One problem we are faced with is air pollution.
The principal problem facing many developing
countries is the lack of capital to finance large-
scale projects.
Adj+Noun+Relative Cl. The main problem confronting us today is
environmental deterioration, which has reached
dangerous proportions.
Infinitive One of th aims of education is to train the personnel
needed by different sectors.
Gerund My hobby is collecting stamps.
Noun Clause The problem is that the available resources are
inadequate.
What is not clear is what caused the fire.
What seems uncertain now is whether he will
become a candidate.

14. Verb Patterns
Verb + Ving/V1
1. hear
- I heard him cough. (once)
- I can hear him coughing. (repeatedly)
- I heard someone unlock the
door/unlocking the door.

15. Verb Patterns
Verb + Ving/V1
2. see
- I saw him cross the street. (I saw the
whole action)
- I saw him crossing the street. (I saw
only part of the action)
- I saw him (being) taken away by the
police.

16. Verb Patterns
Verb + Ving/V1
3. watch
- I watched the crowd gathering in the
street.
- I watched him cut the grass.
4. observe
- We observed them making
preparations for an experiment.
- We observed her teach a lesson.

17. Verb Patterns
Verb + Ving/V1
5. notice
- She noticed him looking out of the
window.
- I noticed him enter the room.
6. feel
- I felt something moving on my left leg.
- I felt someone touch my shoulder.

18. Verb Patterns
Verb + Ving/V1
5. notice
- She noticed him looking our of the
window.
- I noticed him enter the room.
6. feel
- I felt something moving on my left leg.
- I felt someone touch my shoulder.

19. Verb Patterns
Verb + Ving
1. find
- I found the child sleeping.
2. catch
- The teacher caught him cheating in the
exam.
3. keep
- He kept us waiting for a long time.

20. Verb Patterns
Verb + sth/sb + adjective
1. make
- Believe me that I’ll make you happy.
2. prefer
- Do you prefer your coffee black?
3. report
- Newspaper reported him dead.

21. Verb Patterns
Verb + sth + adjective
1. drive
- The noise was driving us all mad.
2. declare
- The chairman declared the meeting
official.

22. Verb Patterns
1. let
2. make
3. have
4. help
Verb + sb + V1
:My father doesn’t let me go to the
movies with my friends.
:You should make these boys behave
themselves.
:The judge had the witness repeat his
statement.
He helped (us) (to) carry the boxes.

23. Verb Patterns
force
They get us to carry the boxes.
allow
know : I have never known him tell a lie.
Verb + sb + to V1

24. Verb Patterns
- He let it be known that he wouldn’t
tolerate any chance.
- We were made to carry the boxes.
- He has never been known to tell a lie.
Verb + sb + V1/to V1 (Passive Form)

25. Verb Patterns
1. give
2. tell
3. show
4. send
5. lend
6. read
7. write
: I gave a book to him.
: She told a story to the children.
: I showed the pictures to my friends.
: He sent documents to his friend.
: She lent her dictionary to me.
: I read the letter to him.
: I wrote a letter to her.
Verb+direct obj.+preposition+ indirect obj.

26. Verb Patterns
8. bake
9. buy
10. reserve
11. get
12. cook
: She baked a birthday cake for us.
: I’ll buy a camera for him.
: I reserved a double room for them.
: Could you get a chair for me?
: She cooks dinner for her family.
Verb+direct obj.+preposition+ indirect obj.

27. Verb Patterns
Verbs +sth+ to+ V1
bring hand owe send tell
give lend promise show throw
grant offer read teach write
He offered me to go out.
She taught me to cook.
They gave a dictionary to look up the words.
He promised me not to leave.

28. Verb Patterns
Verbs +sth+ for+ indirect object
buy find leave order reserve spare
cook get peel make save
He cooked a meal for the whole family.

29. Verb Patterns
Verbs +noun + adjective/noun
1.keep
2.leave
3.think
4.consider
: Chris kept his marriage a secret.
: The army left the building empty/
a ruin.
: He thought me stupid/ a fool.
: We consider it important/
an important step.

30. Verb Patterns
Verbs +noun + noun complement
1.appoint
2.choose
3.make
4.elect
5.name
6.call
7. nominate
: They appointed him chairman.
: They’ve chosen her as the new
president.
: They made him captain.
: We elected him the chairman.
: They named the child Tekin.
: They call her ‘Princess’.
: The board nominated him as the
new president.

31. Verb Patterns
Some verbs with that clause can be reduced to
infinitive.
That Clause Infinitive
We believe that it was a mistake. We believe it to have been a mistake
We consider that money is
important.
We consider money [to be ]
important.
They have proved that they are
worthy of promotion.
They have proved themselves [to be]
worthy of promotion.
We know that he is highly
ambitious.
We know him to be highly ambitious.
Experts estimate that it costs
$50.
Experts estimate it to have cost $50.