THE SENTENCE AND
THE PARAGRAPH
The most important unit of structure is the sentence. Most of the other grammatical
units are parts that go together to form a sentence. However, that leaves us
with the question ‘What is a sentence?’ and there has been some dispute about
the definition. The traditional view of the sentence seems as good a
jumping-off point as any—a unit of language that can stand alone and make
sense.
The following are all complete in themselves,
make sense and are, therefore, all sentences: We ran.
The boy kicked the ball.
They played hard and they won.
Look over there!
The following examples are also all complete in
themselves and make sense and are, therefore, sentences. They are known as minor sentences or irregular
sentences.
They are called minor sentences because they lack some of the other usual
grammatical features of a sentence. For example, a minor sentence often lacks a
subject and a predicate.
Minor sentences are most common in spoken English and in conversation in literary fiction. They are also common in certain kinds of written English such as
notices,
labels and adverts. The following are examples of minor sentences: No!
Nonsense!
How terrible!
What a view!
Good try!
No way!
Taxi!
Poison!
No entry.
Well done!
Once bitten, twice shy.
Other
sentences are known as major sentences
or regular sentences. A major
sentence
usually has a subject (see 1) and predicate (see 1).
The following are
examples
of major sentences: We ran.
The boy kicked the ball.
Mother baked a cake.
She leaves tomorrow.
They are coming to town.
She studied hard, but she failed the exam.
I called him when I arrived.
Basically, a sentence is a combination of two
grammatical units—the subject (see 1, 2, 3) and the predicate (see 1, 2, 3).
The subject (see 4) of a sentence refers to what the sentence is
about, often the person or thing that carries out the action of the verb. The subject usually gives a clear idea of
what the sentence is about.
The subject can be a noun—either a common noun or a proper noun or a verbal noun; a noun phrase; a pronoun; a subordinate clause; an infinitive.
In the following sentences the underlined words
form the subject of the sentence and
the subjects are nouns: Dogs need a lot of exercise.
Children play in the park.
Money is extremely important to him.
Marriage is not for him, he says.
Accommodation is expensive in that area.
People are beginning to leave.
Jane is giving a party.
Jim has resigned.
Paris is the capital of France.
Mountaineering can be
dangerous.
Dancing is her favourite pastime.
Painting can be a form of relaxation.
In
the following sentences the underlined words form the subject of the sentence and the subjects are noun phrases: A heatwave
has been forecast.
Several unhappy employees have
complained to the management.
The large black dog bounded up
to the child.
Those terrible floods affected
many people.
Representatives from the firm have issued
a statement to staff.
James, my brother-in-law and dear friend, has just
died.
In the following sentences the underlined words
form the subject of the sentence and
the subjects are pronouns: They were found guilty.
We won the battle.
You have passed the exam.
He denied the charge.
She lost her wedding ring.
It has broken down again.
In
the following sentences the underlined words form the subject of the sentence and the subjects are subordinate clauses: Who
she was remained a mystery. Why he left has not yet been revealed.
What he says is not true.
When he will go has not yet
been decided.
In
the following sentences the underlined words form the subject of the sentence and the subjects are infinitives: To do that
would be unforgivable.
To get there is going to be very difficult.
To marry young is her main
aim.
To get through your exams should be
your principal concern.
NB: Dummy
subject
A dummy
subject sometimes has no intrinsic meaning but is inserted to maintain a
balanced grammatical structure.
and
There is no
reason for his behaviour.
the word There
is a dummy subject.
NB:
Directives
In sentences which are directives the subject often does not appear, but is
implied, as in: Get this out of here.
and
Lend me that
pen for a minute, please.
The implied subject is you.
The predicate refers to the
part of a sentence or clause that gives information about the subject. It is basically all the parts
of a clause or sentence that are not contained in the subject. It can either be
a single verb or a number of elements.
Thus
in the sentence
The little girl fell.
the
word fell is the predicate of the
sentence.
Similarly,
in the sentence
The tired old man slept soundly.
the
words slept soundly form the
predicate of the sentence.
And
in the sentence
The tired old man slept like a log.
The
words slept like a log form the
predicate of the sentence.
In the following sentences the underlined words
form the predicate of the sentence: Jane fainted.
Peter was rich and powerful.
Children screamed loudly.
The lights went out all of a sudden.
Workers protested long and loudly at the
factory gates.
They are leaving at the end of next week.
We took the stray kittens home.
The students celebrated their exam results
all night long.
The child threw the red ball to the dog in
the park.
Very often the predicate contains an object (see 1).
The object of a sentence is the part
of a sentence that is acted upon or is affected by the verb. It usually follows
the verb to which it relates.
There are two possible forms of object in a
sentence or clause—a direct object
or an indirect object.
A direct object (see 1) refers to the
person or thing that is directly affected by the action described by the verb.
The
direct object can be a noun, and in the sentence The girl hit the ball.
the
word ball is a noun and the direct object.
A
direct object can also be a pronoun, and in the sentence She hit him.
the
word him is a pronoun and the direct
object.
A
direct object can also be a noun phrase, and in the sentence He has bought a
the
phrase a large Victorian house is a noun phrase and the direct object.
A
direct object can be a noun clause, and in the sentence I know what he means.
the
clause what he means is a noun clause and the direct object.
In
the following sentences the underlined words form a direct object: The dog
bit the child.
He dislikes cats.
We loved them.
People admire her.
He wanted a comfortable city-centre flat.
She lost her diamond engagement ring.
I don’t know what you mean.
I asked why you did that.
An
indirect object usually refers to
the person who benefits from the action described by the verb, often by
receiving something.
In
the sentence
Her father sent the school a letter.
the school is the indirect object and a letter is the direct object.
NB: Direct
and indirect objects
If there is a direct object and an indirect
object in a sentence or clause, the indirect
object is almost always placed before the direct object, as in: I
gave the boy the sweets.
where the
boy is the indirect object and the sweets the direct object.
However, if both the direct and indirect objects
are pronouns the direct object is sometimes placed first, especially in informal speech, as
in: That is my book. Give it to me, please.
NB: Verbs
and indirect objects
Some verbs commonly take an indirect object as well as a direct
object.
These include bring, buy, give, send, show, tell.
In the following sentences the underlined words
form an indirect object.
I sent you
the book.
She showed her
mother the letter.
We had to
tell her the bad news.
They gave the
children some sweets.
Mary bought them
some magazines for the journey.
Pass me
the salt, please.
An
indirect object can be preceded by
the word to or for.
Her father sent a letter to the school..
And
in this case the direct object would
come before the indirect object.
In
a sentence where the verb is a linking verb,
such as be, become, seem, etc, what
follows the verb in a predicate is
called not an object, but a complement.
In
the sentence
Mark is a policeman.
the
words a policeman form the complement of the sentence.
Similarly,
in the sentence
Jane became a heart surgeon.
the
words a heart surgeon form the complement of the sentence.
In
the following sentences the underlined words form a complement: He seems an honest man.
She became a huge fan.
They are nice enough people.
It appears a good bargain.
A
sentence begins with a capital letter
and ends with a full stop or an
equivalent punctuation
mark, such as a
question mark or exclamation mark.
Thus,
the following are all sentences: They did
not like the house.
He lives in the country.
He designed and built the house.
We will leave when he gets here.
Where did he go?
Why did she leave?
Get out of here!
Help me!
(See Punctuation.)
Traditionally five types of sentence are recognized.
These are statements, negative sentences, questions, directives or commands and exclamations.
Statements are sentences that ‘state’ something or give
information. They are sometimes
called declarative sentences because
they ‘declare’ something. In most statements the subject comes before the verb.
The following sentences are all declarative
sentences: The boy hit his sister.
The man attacked the old woman.
We serve evening meals.
The weather was dreadful.
A
negative sentence is one that makes
a negative, rather than a positive,
statement.
This is usually created by the inclusion of a word such as not, nothing
or
never. The word not is sometimes contracted to n’t.
When not or n’t is used it
is
accompanied by an auxiliary
verb. The following
sentences are negative
sentences: We
did not invite her.
I didn’t see him.
I don’t like it.
I don’t know the man.
I heard nothing unusual last night.
They did nothing about it.
She has never been here.
We have never denied that.
NB: The
double negative
The occurrence of two negative words in a
sentence or clause is known as a double
negative. If taken literally, this actually conveys the opposite sense to that which is intended.
Thus
He didn’t
say nothing.
literally conveys the idea that he said
something.
However, this is rarely what is intended by the
speaker or writer and the double
negative should be avoided in standard English, although it is a feature of some regional dialects.
Words such as hardly and scarcely, which can be regarded as semi-negative forms, are
incorrectly used with a negative. When this happens it creates a double
negative.
Thus, a sentence such as
We didn’t
hardly have time to catch the train.
is an example of incorrect usage.
You should say
We hardly
had time to catch the train.
Questions (see 1) are sentences that seek information
of some kind. They are followed by a question mark (?) and they often involve the inversion of the subject and an auxiliary (see 1) or modal verb, as in: Do you play the piano? Did
you pass the exam?
Have you written to him?
Didn’t you like it?
There are three main types of questions: yes-no questions, wh-questions and alternative
questions.
Yes-no questions are designed to seek a reply in the affirmative
or negative,
whether
the reply is just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or whether this is amplified in some way,
as
in: Is the house occupied just now?
No.
Has the doctor arrived yet?
Yes. He’s just arrived.
Are we ready to begin?
Let’s get started. Yes.
Some
yes-no questions are tag questions in which the questioning part is in the tag at
the end of the sentence. The following are examples of tag questions, with the tags in bold: She’s a lawyer, isn’t she? He’s not here yet, is he?
You won’t tell her, will you?
Wh-questions begin with
a word beginning with wh, such as why, where, when,
who and what, as in: What do you want?
Where did he go?
When did you last see her?
Who gave you that?
Alternative questions require a reply that refers to the options given
in the sentence. They contain the
conjunction ‘or’. The following are examples of alternative questions: Did you come by bus or train? By
train.
Is the party on Friday or Saturday?
It’s on Saturday.
Is she younger or older than him She’s a few
years younger.
Exclamatory
questions are sentences which have the
structure of questions but which are
actually used as exclamations and end with an exclamation mark. They are really
seeking the listener’s agreement rather than seeking an answer. The following
are examples of exclamatory questions:
Wasn’t that a wonderful meal!
Hasn’t she changed!
Isn’t it a dreadful day!
Rhetorical
questions are also sentences that have
the structure of questions and they
end in a question mark. However, the speaker does not require an answer to
these questions.
The following are examples of rhetorical questions: Why should I care?
Who does she think she is?
How should I know?
A yes-no
question can have the structure of a statement, rather than a question,
uttered in a questioning tone of voice and ending with a question mark.
The following are examples of this: Anne told you I was going? Yes, she did.
Tom has actually left her?
He went today. Yes.
The house is no longer for sale?
No. It’s been sold.
Directives (see 1), which
are also called commands (although they are not all actually commands), are sentences
that instruct someone to do something.
In some directives
an actual command is being given and this is followed by an exclamation mark,
as in: Keep quiet!
There is usually no subject in a directive and
the verb is in its basic or infinitive form. In this kind of structure the verb
is said to be in the imperative
mood.
The following are examples of directives in the imperative mood: Stand up!
Help me, please!
Have a piece of cake.
Take two of these pills after meals.
Turn left here.
Some
directives begin with the word ‘let’
or the word ‘do’, as in: Let me help.
Let’s go.
Do come in.
Don’t worry.
Exclamations are sentences
expressed by someone who is impressed, excited or roused
by something. Exclamations sometimes take the form of a single word or a minor sentence but they can also be major sentences, often beginning with
‘what’ or ‘how’. Exclamations always end with an exclamation mark (!).
The following are examples of exclamations: Ouch!
How pretty you look!
NB: Sentence
length
As we have seen above, sentences, particularly
minor sentences, can be extremely short. They can even be one word. On the
other hand, sentences can be extremely long.
There is no
restriction on the length of sentences, except, of course, that they should not
be so long that they are confusing or unintelligible. Usually, relatively short
sentences make for greater clarity. However, a series of sentences should not
all be so short that the effect is too abrupt or jerky.
Apart from
clarity, there is the question of style when it comes to sentence length. From
the point of view of good style, it is important to vary the length of your
sentences. A mixture of sentence lengths makes a piece of prose seem more
interesting.
Short sentences often contain one main clause and a sentence with just one main clause is
called a simple sentence.
The following are examples of simple sentences: The boy laughed.
He enjoyed the trip.
We liked the play very much.
Her son is ill.
Her daughter became a doctor.
They gave me a present yesterday.
Sentences which contain more than one clause are
known as multiple sentences, sometimes abbreviated to multi-sentences. These can either be compound sentences or complex sentences.
Longer sentences usually contain more than one clause. Sometimes they consist of just
two main clauses (see 1), sometimes more than two. These clauses are
linked by a coordinating
conjunction (see 4), such as and,
but or or, and the sentences formed in this way are known as compound sentences.
The following are examples of compound sentences: She loved the children and she looked after them well.
He left on time but the bus was late.
She will mend the dress or buy a new one.
I was sorry for him but I could not help him and
I felt bad about that.
She played well but her opponent played even
better and she lost the match.
Longer sentences are often complex sentences. In complex
sentences at least one of the clauses is a main clause but one or more of the clauses is a subordinate clause (see 1).
A subordinate
clause is connected to the main clause by a subordinating conjunction such as although, because, before, since, unless, when, while and why. Often the main clause comes before
the subordinate, but sometimes the subordinate
clause is put first.
The following are examples of complex sentences: She danced while he played.
I left when they arrived.
The book was still where we had left it.
She cannot go unless her mother gives her
permission.
Because his car broke down he arrived late at
the wedding.
Wherever he goes, she goes.
Since you left he has been sad.
The paragraph is usually a
considerably larger unit of structure than a sentence. Indeed, it usually consists of several sentences. Pieces
of prose are usually divided into paragraphs
to make the information conveyed by the prose more comprehensible and easier of
access.
Unlike the construction of sentences, there are
no set grammatical rules for the construction of paragraphs and many people
find it difficult to divide their work into paragraphs. However, this improves
with practice and soon becomes instinctive. Here are some guidelines.
There is no set length that a paragraph should
be. A paragraph should deal with one
particular theme or point of the writer’s writing or argument. When that has
been dealt with satisfactorily, a new paragraph should be started. If a
paragraph is very long it can be difficult for readers to make their way
through it and it can also be rather off-putting visually. In such cases it is
best to consider subdividing the theme of the long paragraph to make shorter
paragraphs.
On the other hand, it is best not to make all
one’s paragraphs too short as this can create a disjointed effect. Try to aim
for a mixture of lengths to create some variety. Traditionally, it was frowned
upon to have a one-sentence paragraph but there are no hard and fast rules
about this. Usually, however, it takes more than one sentence to develop the
theme of the paragraph, unless one is a tabloid journalist or copywriter for an
advertising firm.
The opening paragraph of a piece of writing
should introduce the topic about which you are writing. The closing paragraph
should sum up what you have been writing about.
New paragraphs begin on new lines and they are
usually indented from the margin. In the case of dialogue in a work of fiction,
each speaker’s speech usually begins on a new line to make things clearer for
the reader.
1 Which
of the following are minor sentences?
Have you finished?
Rubbish!
This food is tasteless.
How simply delicious!
What lovely flowers.
What’s causing that dreadful smell?
No pain, no gain.
There is no smoke without fire.
Better luck next time.
No smoking.
2 Underline
the subject in the following
sentences.
They own several flats in the area.
Skating is her latest hobby.
Anne has become engaged to Peter.
To study hard should be your main concern.
There is no sense in this.
Where we go has not yet been decided.
It was a complete disaster.
Teachers from local schools protested against
the school closures.
My cousin Jack knows two of the accident
victims.
Many disenchanted workers resigned right away.
3 Underline
the predicate in the following
sentences.
The old lady slipped on the ice.
He left suddenly without warning.
The soldiers moved slowly and cautiously.
The young man was violent and vindictive.
The lorry broke down yesterday on the motorway.
The teacher punished both pupils.
Jack quickly telephoned the police.
She
recovered from her terrible injuries in time.
The heavy rain battered against the cottage
windows all day and all night.
4 Which
of the underlined words in the following sentences form direct objects and which form indirect
objects?
The applicant gave the official the
necessary information.
Each guest brought a bottle of wine.
She recognized an old colleague.
The child sent her mother a birthday
card.
I know what you mean.
Pass our guest the bread, please.
She showed her friend her new outfit.
The result gave the team renewed
confidence.
Send me the document, please.
We had to tell her what happened.
5 Which of the underlined words in the following
sentences form complements? They
became best friends.
We made great changes to the system.
His friends blame themselves.
She seems a very caring person.
He appeared as if from nowhere.
Jack’s father is a professional tennis player.
This looks exactly what we need.
She always gets what she wants.
6 Which
of the following sentences are negative
sentences?
We have something important to tell you.
I have never seen anything like it.
He didn’t ever love her.
She saw something move the undergrowth.
It doesn’t matter any more.
I know nothing about the incident.
They will mourn her forever.
We saw nothing in the least bit suspicious.
They weren’t adequately equipped.
7 Replace
the full stop with the appropriate punctuation mark at the end of any of the following sentences which are questions.
Where he went is a mystery to us all.
She has been gone a long time, hasn’t she.
What did he say in reply.
Did she go abroad on holiday or stay at home.
When I last saw her she was very ill.
Is she older or younger than her sister.
Why she left so suddenly is unclear.
Have you lived here long.
The flat isn’t very big, is it.
He’ll come back one day, I’m sure.
8 Which
of the following questions are likely to be
rhetorical questions?
How can God do this to me?
Where is the nearest bus stop?
No one is serving me—am I invisible?
Do you know where we are?
Why does it always rain when I want to spend the
day at the beach?
How does this machine work?
9 Which
of the following sentences are compound
sentences and which are complex
sentences?
He enjoyed his work and he was very good at it.
While she was good at her work, she didn’t enjoy
it very much.
I won’t go unless it stops raining.
We had intended going but it started to rain
very heavily.
You can either study here or you can study in
the library.
As it was getting late, we looked for somewhere
to stay the night.
They can get the last bus or they can get a
taxi.
If you miss the last bus you will have to get a
taxi.
He’s going to accept the dinner invitation,
although he doesn’t really want to go.
1 Rubbish!
How simply
delicious!
What lovely
flowers.
No pain, no
gain.
Better luck next
time.
No smoking.
2 They own several flats in the area.
Skating is her
latest hobby.
Anne has become
engaged to Peter.
To study
hard should be your main concern.
There is no sense
in this.
Where we go has not yet
been decided.
It was a
complete disaster.
Teachers
from local schools protested against the school closures.
My cousin
Jack works there.
Many
disenchanted workers resigned right away.
3 The old lady slipped on the ice.
He left
suddenly without warning.
The soldiers
moved slowly and cautiously.
The young
man was violent and vindictive.
The lorry broke
down yesterday on the motorway.
The teacher punished
both pupils.
Jack quickly
telephoned the police.
She recovered
from her terrible injuries in time.
The heavy
rain battered against the cottage windows all day and all night.
4 direct objects
a bottle of
wine, an old colleague, what you mean, the blood-stained knife, what happened.
indirect
objects
the
official, her mother, our guest, the team, me.
5 best friends, a very caring person, a
professional tennis player, what we need.
6 I have never seen anything like it.
It doesn't
matter any more.
I know
nothing about the incident.
We saw
nothing in the least bit suspicious.
They weren't
adequately equipped.
7 She has been gone a long time, hasn't she?
What did he
say in reply?
Did she go
abroad on holiday or stay at home?
Is she older
or younger than her sister?
Have you
lived here long?
The flat
isn't very big, is it?
8 How can God do this to me?
No one is
serving me—am I invisible?
Why does it
always rain when I want to spend the day at the beach?
9 compound sentences
He enjoyed his work and he was very good at it.
We had intended going, but it started to rain very heavily. You can either study here or you can study in the library. They can get the last bus or they can get a taxi. complex sentences
While she
was good at her work, she didn’t enjoy it very much.
I won’t go
unless it stops raining.
As it was
getting late, we looked for somewhere to stay the night.
If you miss
the last bus you will have to get a taxi.
He’s going
to accept the dinner invitation, although he doesn’t really want to go.
