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sentence.
Each sentence contains a subject, verb and, usually, a complement.
Basic sentence structure is Subject + Verb + Complement.
Begin writing with simple sentences.
Physical Appearance
tall / short
fat / thin
beautiful / good looking
well-dressed
old / young
etc.
Personality
funny
shy
outgoing
hard-working
friendly
lazy
relaxed
etc.
Verbs to Use
Use 'be' with adjectives describing physical appearance
Use 'have' with physical attributes (long hair, big eyes, etc.)
Simple verbs such as: work, live, play, use, speak, go
Ask students to write about one person. As you check the students' work, make sure that they are writing simple
sentences and not stringing too many attributes together with commas, or by using 'and'.
Simple Exercise 2: Describing an Object
Continue working on writing skills by asking students to describe objects. Use the following categories to help
students classify words to use in their writing:
Shapes: round, square, oval, etc.
Color: red, blue, yellow, etc.
Textures: smooth, soft, rough, etc.
Materials: wood, metal, plastic, etc.
Verbs: is made from / of, feels, is, has, looks like, looks
A variation to this exercise is asking students to write a description of an object without naming the object. Other
students should then guess what the object is. At this point, it is better if students do not use multiple adjectives in a
sentence which requires a good understanding of adjective order. It's best to keep these simple at the beginning.
For example:
This object is round and smooth. It is made from metal. It has many buttons. I use it to listen to music.
column. Ask students what type of word (which part of speech) the words are. Generally, one
student will know that they are nouns.
Label the words as "Nouns" on the board.
Ask students what you are doing as you mimic a few actions such as writing, speaking, walking,
these words on the board in another column. Ask students what type of words these are, write
"Adjectives" above the column.
Write "Adverbs" on the board and write down a few adverbs of frequency(sometimes, usually), as
well as some basic adverbs such as slowly, quickly, etc.
Go through each column and quickly explain what the words do: nouns are things, people, etc,
verbs show actions, adjectives describe things and adverbs state how, when or where
something is done.
Ask students to divide into groups of three and categorize the below. Alternately, ask student to
John is a student.
John is good.
As a class, call for students to label nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs in the simple
sentences. I like to use colored markers for this exercise to highlight each part of speech to help
students with recognition.
Point out that a simple sentence with a noun - John is a good student - can combine with a
simple sentence using an adjective - John is good - to combine into one sentence: John is a
good student.
Spend time helping students understand where certain parts of speech are usually found. For
example: Verbs are in the second position, nouns are in the first position or at the end of
sentences, adverbs of frequency are placed before the verb, adjectives end simple sentences
with 'to be'.
Ask students to write five of their own simple sentences.
Have students highlight their own sentences with "noun", "verb", "adjective", and "adverb."
For example:
I bought a book yesterday.
Mary gave Peter a present.
The parents drove the children to school.
Tim picked up the soccer balls.
Change to:
I bought it yesterday.
Mary gave him a present.
The parents drove them to school.
Tim picked them up.
Ask students to help you with replacements, just as you have done with subject pronouns. Go to the
board and fill in the object pronoun section of the chart you have started on the board.
Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives: Rounding out the Chart
Finally, introduce possessive pronouns and adjectives in a similar manner. Write a few examples on the
board, and then ask students to help you fill in the chart. It's important to introduce these two forms
together to help students understand theuse of the possessive adjective WITH nouns and possessive
pronoun WITHOUT nouns. Comparing the two in two sentences does the job well:
For example:
My book is on the table. It is mine.
Their bags are in the hall. They are theirs.
Ask students to complete similar sentences with you while you fill in the chart.
At this point, students will have been introduced to pronouns and possessive adjectives, as well as
gained insight into sentence structure. Following you will find exercises and activities that you can use
with students to continue to practice and explore pronouns.
Exercises and Activities
Use this learning pronouns lesson plan to follow along with the details outlined in this guide on how to
teach pronouns. Students can then take this pronouns quiz to test their knowledge. Print this pronoun
types page out for reference in your classroom.
By Kenneth Beare
Here are four types of sentences to begin writing in English. Follow the example in each type of sentence. Learn
these symbols to understand each type of sentence. These symbols represent parts of speech in English. Parts of
speech are the different types of words in English.
Key to Symbols
S = subject
Subjects include I / you / he / she / it / we / they and names of people: Mark, Mary, Tom, etc. or types of
people: children, students, parents, teachers, etc.
V = verb
Simple sentences use the verb be such as: I am a teacher. / They are funny.Verbs also tell us what we do: play /
eat / drive etc. or what we think: believe / hope / want etc.
N = noun
Nouns are objects such as books, chair, picture, computer, etc. Nouns have singular and plural forms: book - books,
child - children, car - cars, etc.
Adj = Adjective
Adjectives tell how someone or something is. For example: big, small, tall, interesting, etc.
Prep P = Prepositional phrase
Prepositional phrases tell us where someone or something is. Prepositional phrases are often three words and begin
with a preposition: For example: in the house, at the store, on the wall, etc.
() = Parentheses
If you see something in parentheses () you can use the type of word, or leave it out.
1. Start off Easy: Sentences with Nouns
Here is the first type of easy sentence. Use the verb 'to be'. If you have one object,use 'a' or 'an' before the object. If
you have more than one object, don't use 'a' or 'an'.
S + be + (a) + N
I am a teacher.
She is a student.
etc.). As a group, ask students to identify the part of speech for each word. Write down those parts of
speech as students identify them.
Pointing out the various parts of speech recorded on the board, call on random students asking
them to offer other examples for the indicated part of speech.
Once students feel comfortable with these various parts of speech, have students pair up.
Distribute the worksheet, make sure to cut each sheet in quarters between the word list and the
story.
Ask students to work together to fill in the word sheet. Once students have filled in the word
sheet, they should fill in the story. Go around the room helping students with difficulty.
Variation:
In order to teach specific vocabulary, provide a vocabulary list of target words for each part of speech.
Do the above introductory steps, but instead of writing just any word on the board, make
sure to use words from your target vocabulary list.
Ask students to use the target vocabulary list when giving further examples of each part of
speech.
Instruct students to complete the worksheet using words on the target vocabulary list.
Explore the use of word forms to further improve vocabulary expansion through
knowledge of parts of speech.
Noun __________________________________
Verb __________________________________
Adjective ______________________________
Verb ending in - ing ____________________
Adverb ________________________________
Verb Weather __________________________
Verb Transportation ____________________
Verb Transportation - ing ________________
Verb __________________________________
Adverb of frequency ____________________
won't complain! Some days customers want _________ (verb), on other days my boss asks me to
_________ (verb). It's really _________ (adjective). Have you ever had to _________ (verb)? If so, I
hope you are happy.