The Structure of a Sentence

Part a; Lecture:01
Fahmida Rahman
 Question

Define a Sentence?
 Answer
• A set of words that is complete in itself,
typically containing a subject and predicate,
conveying a statement, question, exclamation,
or command, and consisting of a main clause
and sometimes one or more subordinate
clauses.
 Elements of Sentence Construction

1.Subject
2.Predicate
3.Phrases
4.Clauses
 1. Subject

• A subject can be a noun or pronoun that is

partnered with an action verb.
 Examples of “Subject”:

1. Philanthropists donated million to charity.

subject verb
2. (you) call the plumber , please.
(imperative sentence)

subject verb

Note: we use such statements when we are

talking directly to someone, we omit the
word you.
 2. Predicate

• A predicate is a verb that expresses the

subject’s action or state of being.
 An Example of Predicate:

1. Philanthropists donated million to charity.

subject predicate
Note 1:
Some times the predicate will be composed of
two or three verbs that fit together the main verb
preceded by one or more auxiliary (helping
verbs).

The examples are:

 Note 1
Examples 1,2 ,3:
1. philanthropists donated

subject predicate

2. philanthropists have donated

subject predicate
3. philanthropists will be donating

subject predicate

NOTE:
To be a predicate, a verb that ends in
-ing must ALWAYS have a helping verb with it. An
-ing verb WITHOUT a helping verb cannot be a
predicate in a sentence.
• Note 2:
A subject and predicate may not always
appear together or in the normal order, as the
following examples show:
 Note 2
Examples 1,2,3:

Subject predicate

1. The dog on the hillside howled at the moon.

( prepositional phrase)
 Subject predicate

2. The dog has often howled at the moon.

(adverb)
 predicate

3. Has the dog howled at the moon lately?

(subject)
 To sum up “SUBJECT” & “PREDICATE”
• A noun and pronoun functions as the
sentence subject when it is paired with a verb
functioning as the sentence predicate.
• Every sentence has a subject and predicate
 3. Phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that
1. does not express a complete thought
2. does not have a subject and predicate

• There are 9 types of phrases

One type of phrase is a prepositional phrase

Examples:
at the beach, near the store, by this time
• Another kind of phrase is a verbal phrase

EXAMPLES:

to fly in a plane, building a large dam

Even though these phrases contain nouns

(pronoun) and/ or verb forms, none of
nouns/pronouns/verbs are subjects or
predicates. None of them work as a partnership.

Also, these phrases do NOT express complete

thoughts.
 4. Clauses
• Words and phrases can be put together to
make clauses.
• A clause is a group of related words that
contain a subject and predicate.
• Example:
I will meet him in office.
• A clause may stand as a simple sentence or may join another clause
to make a sentence. Therefore, a sentence consists of one, two or
more clauses.

Examples.

• He is sleeping. (one clause)

• The kids were laughing at the joker. (one clause)

• The teacher asked a question, but no one answered. (two clauses)

• I am happy, because I won a prize. (two clauses)

• I like Mathematics, but my brother likes Biology,

because he wants to become a doctor. (three clauses)
 Types of clauses
Clauses are divided into

main clause (also called independent clause)

&
subordinate clause (also called dependent
clauses).
 Main or Independent Clause
“Main (or independent) clause is a clause

1. that expresses a complete thought and can stand as a sentence.

2. that contains a subject and a predicate

EXAMPLE:

• I met the boy who had helped me.

• The teacher asked a question but no one answered.
• He became angry and smashed the vase into peaces.

In the above sentences each underlined part shows main clause.

 Subordinate or dependent Clause
Subordinate (or dependent) clause is a clause

1. that does NOT expresses a complete thought and

can’t stand as a sentence.
2. that contains a subject and a predicate

EXAMPLES:
• I met the boy who had helped me.
• He takes medicine because he suffers from fever.

In the above sentences each underlined part shows

dependent clause.
 Two Paragraphs

• Read the paragraphs below. Choose the

paragraph that is more effective
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