chapter 3

sentence patterns
 This chapter discusses:
1. The ten basic sentence patterns.
2. Four types of verbs: be, linking, intransitive, and transitive.
3. Subject complement, direct object, indirect object, and object
complement.
4. The adverbs and prepositional phrases that fill out the ten sentence
patterns.
5. Phrasal verbs and simple compound structures.
6. Four types of sentences: declarative, interrogattive, imperative and
exclamatory.
subject and predicate
The two parts that all sentences have in common are:
the subject and the predicate.
 The terms subject and predicate refer to  We can describe the sentence functions in
sentence functions: terms of form.

Subject: what the sentence is about (its topic) The subject slot is generally filled by a noun
phrase (NP).
Predicate: what is said about that subject.
The predicate slot is filled by a verb phrase
(VP).
SENTENCE
SENTENCE
Subject Predicate
NP VP
(Noun Phrase) (Verb Phrase)
subject and predicate
 In studying sentences, the verb is the central slot in the sentence. The
sentence patterns are determined by variations in the predicates.
So, we can say: sentence patterns = predicate patterns.
the sentence slots
 The first slot in every sentence pattern is the subject.
 The second slot (the first position in the predicate) is the main verb =
predicating verb.

 The ten patterns are based on their verb types with different slots under
each group:
1. The be patterns.
2. The linking verb patters
3. The intransitive verb patterns.
4. The transitive verb patterns.
the sentence slots
the be patterns
 BE patterns = a form of be is the main or predicating verb.
 The predicating verb (a form of be) is followed by one of the following:
• Adverbial of time or place. (Pattern I)
• Adjectival. (Pattern II)
• Noun phrase. (Pattern III)
Forms of be:
One-word forms: am, is, are, was, were.
Expanded forms include: have been, was being, might be, will be.
pattern i: np be adv/tp

 ADV = adverbial of time or place. (when and where information)

 Examples:
The students are upstairs. (place)
The teacher is here. (place)
The last performance was yesterday. (time)
The adverbials of time and place can be prepositional phrases as in the
following examples:
The next performance is on Monday. (time)
The students are in the library. (place)
pattern ii: np be adj
 The complement that follows be is an adjectival.
 It is called subject complement because it completes the verb and
modifies or describes the subject.
 Examples:
The students are diligent.
The price of gasoline is ridiculous. (adjectives in forms)
The play was very dull.

Henry is under the weather. (prepositional phrase)

The prepositional phrases in pattern II are different from pattern I:

• The prepositional phrase can be substituted by an a single-word adjective:
(Henry is ill).
• The prepositional phrases don’t supply information of time or place.
pattern iii: np₁ be np₁

 In pattern III, the NP fills the subject complement slot in the predicate part.
 The two NPs have the same referent.
 Referent means the thing that the noun or noun phrase stands for. Page 30
 Examples:
The students are scholars. (the students and scholars refer to the same persons)
Professor Mendez is my math teacher. (professor Mendez and my math
teacher refer to the same person)
Here, the main verb acts as an “equal sign” connecting the subject with its
complement.
exercise 4 (p.34)
the linking verb patterns

 Linking verb = all verbs other than be completed by a subject complement

(adjectival or a noun phrase that describes or modifies the subject)

pattern iv: np v-lnk adj
 In this pattern, an adjectival fills the subject complement slot just like Pattern
II.
 Pattern IV is a common category for verbs of the senses: taste, smell, feel,
sound, look that link an adjective to the subject.
 Examples:
The students seem diligent. Single-word adjective
The soup tastes salty.

The piano sounds out of tune.

The fighter seems out of shape. Adjectival prepositional phrase

The list of all the verbs that pattern with subject complements would be fairly
short. (more details on page 36)
pattern v: np₁ v-lnk np₁
 In this pattern a noun phrase fills the subject complement slot following the
linking verb. The two NPs have the same referent.
 Very few linking verbs will fit in this pattern.
 Become and remain are the most common linking verbs used in this
pattern.
 Examples:
The students became scholars.
My uncle remained a bachelor.
(Rare cases on page 36)

exercise 5 (p.36)
the optional slots
 All ten sentence patterns can include optional adverbials, which come at
the beginning or end of the sentence or even in the middle.
 A sentence can have any number of adverbials, providing information
about time, place, manner, reason, and the like.
 Examples:
I stopped at the deli (where?) for some bagels (why?). (pattern VI)
On Saturday night (when?) the library was almost deserted. (pattern II)
Mario suddenly (how?) hit the brakes. (pattern VII)

No matter where they occur in the sentence, all adverbials are diagrammed
as modifiers of the verb.
Adverbs can be modified with words like very (known as qualifiers).
A qualified adverb is called an “adverb phrase.”
the intransitive verb pattern
pattern vi: np v-int
 Intransitive verb has no complement (NP or adjectival) in the slot following
the verb.
 Examples:
The students rested.
Mary laughed.
The visitors arrived.
 Most Pattern VI sentences contain adverbial information.
 Examples:
The students rested after their long trip.
Mary laughed loudly.
The visitors arrived at the airport.

Some intransitive verbs require an adverbial to be complete.

Examples: My best friend resides in Northridge.
She glanced at her watch.
the adverbials in pattern i and
in pattern vi

Pattern I Adverbials Pattern VI Adverbials

 Not optional (required)  Optional (in most cases)
 Tell where or when.  Not restricted to time and place
information (why, how, how
long,…)

exercise 6 (p.39)
intransitive phrasal verbs
 Intransitive phrasal verbs consist of a verb combined with a preposition-like
word (particle); together they form an idiom.
 Example: We made up. = reconciled our differences. (phrasal verb)
We Jumped up. Jumped up is not a phrasal verb (why?)
 We can recognize the phrasal verbs through the following tests:
• Movability: The particle in phrasal verbs can not be moved to opening
position without a change in meaning. (Up we made. Grammatically
wrong).
• Meaning: The phrasal verb has a special meaning that is different from the
combined meanings of its parts.

(more examples and information on page 41)

exercise 7 (p.41)
the transitive verb patterns

 All transitive verbs take one or more complements.

 The last four patterns are classified according to the kinds and number of
complements they take.
 All transitive verbs have one complement in common: the direct object.
pattern vii: np₁ v-tr np₂
 In this pattern, the noun phrase following the verb (the direct object) has a referent
different from that of the subject.
 Examples:
• The students organized a party.
• Devon helped her little brother.

Transitive verb = an action word.

Its subject = the doer.
Its object = receiver of the action.
 In most cases, we can think of the object as the answer to a what or whom question:
• The students organized (what?) a party.
• Devon helped (whom?) her little brother.

 This is different from the linking verbs in that the two noun phrases have different referents.

 An exception occurs when the direct object is a reflexive or reciprocal pronoun.

 Examples: John cut himself. (John = himself)
John and Mary love each other. (John and Mary = each other)

(more details on pages 42 & 43)

pattern vii: np₁ v-tr np₂
 transitive phrasal verbs:
 The transitive verbs can be phrasal verbs and take direct objects.
 Examples:
He came by his fortune in an unusual way.
 Explanation: came by is a transitive phrasal verb that means “acquired”
followed by a direct object = Pattern VII.
He came by the office in a big hurry.
 Explanation: came is an intransitive verb followed by a prepositional phrase
(by the office) that modifies the verb = Pattern VI.
 The transitive phrasal verbs include two and three-word strings.
 Examples on page 44.
exercise 8 (p.44)
pattern viii: np₁ v-tr np₃ np₂
 In this pattern two slots following the verb, both are filled by noun phrases.
The first slot = the indirect object. (the recipient of the direct object)
The second slot = the direct object.
 The three noun phrases all have different referents.
 Examples:
• The students gave the professor their homework.
• The judges awarded Mary the prize.

 An important characteristic of this pattern is the option of shifting the

indirect object to a position following the direct object, where it will be the
object of a preposition. (Note: when the direct object is a pronoun not a
NP, the shift is required.)
• The students gave their homework to the professor.
• The judges awarded the prize to Mary.
• The students gave it to the professor. (required)

 This shift DOES NOT change the sentence pattern.

exercise 9 (p.46)
pattern ix: np₁ v-tr np₂ adj
 In this pattern: the object complement is an adjective that modifies the
direct object.
 Examples:
• The students consider the teacher intelligent.
• The teacher made the test easy.
 The function of the object complement is twofold:
1. It completes the meaning of the verb.
2. It describes the direct object.
 It is possible to remove the object complement, and still we have
grammatical and meaningful sentences BUT the pattern changes to
pattern VII and sometimes the meaning will change without the object
complement.
• The students consider the teacher.
• The teacher made the test.

 The common verbs used with this pattern: consider, made, prefer, like, and
find.
pattern x: np₁ v-tr np₂ np₂
 In this pattern: the object complement is a NP. And its twofold function is:
1. It completes the meaning of the verb.
2. It renames the direct object.
 Examples:
• The students consider the course a challenge.
• The students elected Emma chairperson.
 To Be test: page 48
 Sometimes the object complement is signaled by as, which is called
“expletive.”
• We elected Tom as our leader.
 In some cases, the as is optional but in some cases, it is required. With the
verbs: refer to and know, for example, as is required.
• We elected Tom as our leader. (optional)
• I know her as a good friend. (required)
compound structures
 Every slot in the sentence patterns can be expanded in many ways.
 One common expansion: coordination = turning a single structure into a
compound structure.
 Coordinating is accomplished with the conjunctions: the most common of
which are
1. The coordinating conjunctions (and, or, and but)
2. The correlative conjunctions (both-and, not only-but also, either-or, neither-nor)
 Every slot in the sentence can be filled by a compound structure.
 Examples:
 Cats and dogs fight. (compound subject)
 They either drove or took the bus. (compound predicate)
 The teacher was tough but fair. (compound subject complement)

 More examples +diagramming compound structures on pages 49+50)

exercise 10 (p.50)
sentence types

1. Declarative sentences= statements

2. Interrogative sentences=questions
3. Imperative sentences=commands or orders
4. Exclamatory sentences= a shift in word order that
focuses special attention on a complement.
what + NP
How + adjective
(1) declarative sentences

 The previous ten sentence pattern describe the basic structure of

statements (declarative sentences).
 Declarative sentences are statements. Their purpose is to state, or declare,
a fact or an opinion.
 Examples:
• He talks on his cell phone all day.
• They are going to the movies.
(2) interrogative sentences
 The two most common in English are:
1. Yes/no question (yes or no answers)
2. Wh-question = interrogative-word question. (information questions)
 In this type of sentences, the basic declarative word order changes by putting the verb, or
part of the verb, in front of the subject:
• Are they going to the movies? (yes/no question)
• Where are they going? (wh-question)
 Wh-word or interrogative word can:
1. come first to fill the optional adverbial slot in Pattern VI sentence:
• Where are they going? = They are going where.
2. fill an NP slot in Pattern VII sentence:
• What have you been reading? = You have been reading what.
3. Act as a determiner:
• Whose car are taking? = you are taking whose car.
 However, when the information being elicited is a who or what that fills the subject slot,
then the usual word order is maintained and the auxiliary is not shifted:
• Who broke the window?
• What is making that noise?
(2) interrogative sentences

 Tag-question:
• Another method of asking questions.
• It is a repetition of the subject and auxiliary verb in reverse order.
• It is added at the end of a declarative sentence.
• Its main purpose is to seek confirmation of what is said.
Your mother is a nice person, isn’t she?
 When the sentence has neither an auxiliary verb nor be as a main verb, we
add a form of do in forming the tag-question:
He turned the phone off, didn’t he?
(3) imperative sentences
(commands)

 In this type of sentences,

• the subject is nearly always unstated, although clearly understood.
• the verb is in the infinitive (base) form.
• Examples:
Sit down. Take your time.

 Commands can also be negative:

Don’t be silly.
(4) exclamatory sentences

 Exclamation = any sentence spoken with heightened emotion, written with an

exclamation point.
• I love your new house!
• Are you kidding me!
 BUT in terms of form, a formal exclamatory sentence involves a shift in word order that
focuses special attention on a complement. What or How that introduces the
emphasized element is added to the underlying declarative sentence pattern.
 Examples with their underlying declarative sentence pattern:
• What a lovely house you have! Declarative = you have a lovely house. (Pattern VII)
• How proud you must be! Declarative = you must be proud. (Pattern II)
punctuation and sentence
patterns
1. Do not put single commas between the required slots.
2. Do not separate:
• The subject from the verb.
• The verb from the direct object.
• The direct object from the object complement.
• The indirect object from the direct object.
• The verb from the subject complement.
Example: page 54
3. Even if the noun phrase may be long, the slots are never separated by
commas.
 Exception: when the direct object is a direct quotation following a verb like
say:
He said, “I work in a company.”
How Do You Feel?
Usage Matters
Conduct a brief survey of your friends and classmates. Have them choose the word they would use in the following
sentences:
1. I feel bad/badly today.
2. I felt bad/badly about what happened.
3. I feel strong/strongly right now.
4. I felt strong/strongly about that issue.
5. I don’t feel good/well today.
How would you explain your results? Can you use your understanding of sentence patterns to explain why in the
past I feel badly was considered unacceptable and why I feel bad was the preferred form?
In comparing Sentences 1 and 2 with Sentences 3 and 4, do you think some people today use bad to refer to a
physical sensation and badly to indicate an emotional response?
Sentence 5 also raises a usage issue. You might have been told that instead of saying I don’t feel good you
should say I don’t feel well when you are discussing your health. Did anyone in your survey mention this old
admonition? Today both forms are widely used.
We’ll end with some further food for thought: Do you hope that your friend does well, does good, or both?