Basic Sentence Parts Unit 3 Chapter 19

Basic Sentence Structure Complete sentence—has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought Subject—a word or group of words that answers the question “who?” or “what?” about the verb Verb—tells what the subject does, what is done to the subject, or what the condition of the subject is Ex: Bobby gave her a ticket to the show. [put one line under the subj. and two lines under the verb]

Basic Sentence Structure A group of words expresses a complete thought if it can stand by itself and still make sense Ex: The man in the cowboy hat. Is the statement a complete sentence/thought? If the sentence is not a complete thought, it is called a fragment

Finding the Subject and Verb in a Sentence Locate the verb first: ask yourself these questions: What word(s) show action? If there are none, are there forms of the verb “be”? (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) Are there helping verbs surrounding the main verb? (am, was, must, may, can, etc.) Next, locate the subject: ask yourself these questions: Who/what is doing the action? This word(s) is the subject of the sentence. Remember: Subjects and verbs can be compound!

Compound Subjects and Verbs Subjects and verbs can be compound (more than one) Ex: Ted and Louise are both musicians. [underline the subjects] Ex: She composes, plays, and often directs her own pieces. [underline the verbs] *Compound subjects and verbs are usually connected by conjunctions and/or commas

Hard-to-find Subjects Ways to find subjects in confusing sentences: In sentences that give orders or directions, the subject is an understood “you.” Ex: (you) Drive carefully. In questions, the subject usually comes after the verb. This is known as an inverted sentence. Sometimes it will help if you reword a sentence that is inverted. Ex: Are the songs very long? [underline subj. & verb] How would you reword this sentence into a statement?

Hard-to-find Subjects “Here” or “There” is never the subject of a sentence. (Sentences that begin with “here” or “there” are inverted sentences.) There goes the team. [underline the subj. & verb] Here are the invitations. [underline the subj.& verb] RememberThe subject of the sentence is NEVER the object of a preposition!

Complements Complement—a word or group of words that completes the meaning of the subject or verb Types: Verb Complements Direct Object Indirect Object Subject complements Predicate nominatives (nouns and pronouns) Predicate adjectives

Types of Complements Direct object—a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb Find the verb then ask “what?” Ex: Jane drove her car. Direct objects can be compound If the sentence is a question, the direct object may be at the beginning before the verb What does he want from us? [mark the d.o.]

Types of Complements Indirect Object—a noun or pronoun that comes after an action verb and before the direct object, it names the person or thing to which something is given or for which something is done Find the d.o. and ask “to/for whom?” or “to/for what?” Ex: I told them the story. [mark the d.o. and the i.o.] Indirect objects can be compound

How to find direct and indirect objects in sentences: Find the verb Find the subject Ask “what?” after the verb, whatever answers the question is the direct object After the direct object ask the questions “to/for whom?” OR “to/for what?”, whatever answers the questions is the indirect object

Types of Complements Predicate nominatives (nouns/pronouns)—follows a linking verb and renames or identifies the subject of the sentence Ex: Ronnie will be the captain. [mark sub., verb, & p.n.] Can be compound. Linking verb acts as an = (equals) sign Ex: Ronnie = captain Predicate Adjectives—follows a linking verb and describes the subject of the sentence Ex: The flight to California was long. [mark sub.,verb & p.a.] Can be compound

REMEMBER: Find the verb—look for action, linking, and helping words Linking examples—am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been (more on p. 212, 214) Helping examples—may, might, can, could, must, did, have (more on p. 218) Find the subject—find someone/something that is doing the action Find the direct object—say subj. and verb, then ask “what?” Find the indirect object—find d.o. and then ask “to/for whom?” OR “to/for what?” Find predicate nominatives/adjectives—subject=____________ (word(s) in the blank is p.n. or p.a.) -always comes with LINKING verb