© 2019 Steve Campsall
© 2019 Steve Campsall
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sentence structure and function (3) |
Now for a little more detail - and as it gets a shade more complex, it surely time for a rest and a nice cuppa first. See you soon!
Declarative sentences
There are several ways to form a declarative sentence depending upon the nature of its main verb. When the main verb
needs an object to complete its sense, the
structure is said to be
SVO.
This is the most common sentence structure in the language.
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The cat |
caught |
a mouse |
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SUBJECT (S) |
VERB (V) |
OBJECT (O) |
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Noun phrase |
Verb phrase (i.e. also called the predicate) |
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A few verbs take two objects, and the structure is
then SVOO. One object is called 'direct' (the object that directly
affected by the verb's action) the other 'indirect' (the object that receives
something from the verb's action).
|
I |
gave |
Sally |
a present |
|
SUBJECT (S) |
VERB (V) |
OBJECT (O) |
OBJECT (O) |
|
|
|
DIRECT OBJECT (DO) |
|
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Noun phrase |
Verb phrase |
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A very few verbs take a complement,
and the structure is
SVC. A complement acts to give more information
about the subject, rather than state who or what was acted upon by the verb.
|
I |
feel |
ill |
|
SUBJECT (S) |
VERB (V) |
COMPLEMENT (C) |
Some verbs are complete with only a subject, the structure is
SV. These verbs are technically called
intransitive.
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The animal |
died |
|
SUBJECT (S) |
VERB (V) |
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Noun phrase |
Verb phrase (or predicate) |
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Main clause or sentence. |
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