Sentence
A sentence is a word or group of words that must express a complete idea or sense or meaning and that may consist of a subject and a verb.
Sentence = Subject + Predicate
Predicate = Verb + Object
Subject:
Definition: A ‘subject’ is a -place, entity, or idea that either performs an action or is being primarily discussed in the sentence.
Let us look at the two following sentences in order to understand the elements that a sentence has –
Muna gave the pen to Farhana.
"Muna" is performing the main action
in this sentence- ‘giving the pen’. So, this is the subject.
'the pen’ over here is an object. Since it is an inanimate object, it is a direct object.
‘Farhana’ is also an object over here. However, since ‘Farhana’ is a person, the object is an
indirect object.
However, the most important part of this sentence is yet to be identified. That is the ‘verb’.
Verb
A verb is a word that is used in order to express an action, an occurrence, or a state of being.
Here, “gave” is the verb.
LINKING VERBS:
Forms of be:
|
Is |
Can be |
May be |
|
Are |
Could be |
Might be |
|
Am |
Will be |
Must be |
|
Was |
Would be |
Has been |
|
Were |
Shall be |
Have been |
|
|
Should be |
Had been |
Feel: This sweater feels itchy.
Look: The sculpture looks strange.
Smell: The dinner smells wonderful.
Sound: That doorbell sounds broken.
Taste: This soup tastes delicious.
Act Grow Stay
Appear Prove Turn
Become Remain
Get Some
TRANSITIVE VERB:
Transitive verbs demand objects.
Example: Please bring coffee.
INTRANSITIVE VERB: Intransitive verbs are the opposite of transitive verbs i.e. they do not require an object to make sense out
of the verb. In other word, they do not require an object to act upon.
Example: They jumped.
Object
Definition: An ‘object’ is the part of the sentence upon which the action carried out by the subject takes effect.
An object can be of two types –
Direct Object – When the object is an inanimate being or a thing, then it is commonly referred to as a direct object. For example – pen, paper, book, etc.
A direct object answers the question of who(m) or what.
Indirect Object – When the object is an animate being or a person, then it is commonly referred to as an indirect object. For example – Messi, cow, Tasin, etc.
An indirect object answers the question of to whom, for whom, or for what. For example: Max pitched Alice the baseball.
Complement
Definition: ‘Complement’ is the part of a sentence that completes the meaning of the expression.
Sentence: She is a student.
The term “a student” completes the idea. Without it, we wouldn't understand what ‘She’ is.
Example: - Tom is the winner.
the winner= Subject Complement
- She named the cat Perry.
Perry= Object Complement
Practice:
Ronaldo is playing football against Messi.
Subject
Direct Object
Indirect Object
Verb
PHRASE:
A phrase is a group of words without a subject-verb component, used as a single part of speech.
Examples –
Best friend (this phrase acts as a noun so it's a noun phrase)
With the blue shirt (prepositional phrase)
The teacher is writing the answer ( is writing= verb phrase)
The dog covered in mud looked pleased with himself(the underlined phrases are both adjective phrases)
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE VS NOUN PHRASE:
Any phrase that starts with a preposition is a prepositional phrase.
Any phrase that ends with a noun is a noun phrase unless it's a prepositional phrase.
That is, the two types of phrases both end with a noun but a prepositional phrase starts with a preposition.
For example, “with the girl” is a prepositional phrase, but “the girl” is a noun phrase.
Placement of Participle Phrases
A participle phrase will often appear at the start of a sentence to describe something in the main clause.
For example:
• Removing his glasses, the professor shook his head with disappointment.
(When a sentence is structured this way, use a comma to separate the participle phrase from
whatever it's modifying (the professor in this example).)
A participle phrase can also appear immediately after whatever it's modifying. For example:
• I saw Arthur running for the bus.
(There is no comma when a participle phrase is placed immediately after its noun (Arthur in
this example).)
Tips:
It is also possible to use a participle phrase at the end of a clause and not immediately after whatever it's
modifying. For example:
• Paul loved his boxing gloves, wearing them even to bed.
(There is a comma when the participle phrase is used farther down the sentence than its noun
(Paul in this example).)
Beware of Dangling Modifiers and Misplaced Modifiers
Particularly when using a participle phrase at the start of a sentence, be sure to place the noun being
modified directly after the comma. If you fail to do this, you will have made a mistake known as
a misplaced modifier. For example:
• Disappointed almost to the point of tears, the empty test tube was examined by the
professor. (Incorrect)
(The empty test tube was not disappointed almost to the point of tears. The words after the
participle phrase and the comma should be the professor.)
Warning:
Also, be sure to include the noun being modified. If you omit it, you will have made a mistake known as
a dangling modifier. For example:
• Disappointed almost to the point of tears, an empty test tube was the worst outcome
possible. (Incorrect)
(In this example, there is nothing at all for the participle phrase to modify. It is dangling.)
Video Topic: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers(Part-01)
Video Topic: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers(Part-02)
CLAUSE:
A clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb.
Relative/Adjective Clause
Relative clauses are dependent clauses starting with the relative pronouns who, that, which, whose,
where, when. They are most often used to define or identify the noun that precedes them. Here are some
examples:
• I used the notebook that had a red-colored cover. Here the adjective clause- ‘that had a red-colored
cover’ tells about the noun i.e. the notebook.
Relative clauses are commonly classified as Restrictive and Non-Restrictive.
A restrictive clause modifies the noun that precedes it in an essential way. Restrictive clauses limit or
identify such nouns and cannot be removed from a sentence without changing the sentence’s meaning.
The astronaut who first stepped on the moon was Neil Armstrong.
The restrictive clause in this sentence is ‘who first stepped on the moon.' If we stripped it from the
sentence, we would be left with this:
The astronaut was Neil Armstrong.
There is nothing grammatically wrong with this sentence. However, it does not have the same intent as
the former example, which was to identify the person who first set foot on the moon’s surface.
A nonrestrictive clause, on the other hand, describes a noun in a nonessential way. Nonrestrictive
clauses provide additional but optional descriptions that can be excised from a sentence without altering
its meaning or structure.
Kaylee, who just graduated from high school, is an accomplished figure skater.
While the nonrestrictive clause ‘who just graduated from high school’ offers a good description of the
subject of this sentence, Kaylee, the sentence retains its meaning without it.
Kaylee is an accomplished figure skater.
THAT VS WHICH
THAT - Restrictive; Comma is not used.
WHICH - Non-restrictive; A comma is used to separate the phrase.