Simple Sentences

Introduction

When language is used in essays, reports, stories and

newspaper articles, the most significant units of
language are the sentence and the paragraph.
A standard English sentence is the largest unit of
language that can be analysed grammatically and the
smallest unit that can be analysed for prose style.
Thus grammar and style are interdependent. Good
prose style requires a foundation of grammatical
understanding.

Defining transitive and intransitive

verbs

It is important to understand the difference between transitive and

intransitive verbs.
Read the following sentences: The batter hit the ball and The bird sang.
How do the verbs differ grammatically?
The first sentence has two words following the verb hit but the second
sentence has nothing following the verb sang.
Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object to receive the action.
So the direct object ball receives the action of the verb hit.
Here are some more examples. All of these verbs are transitive because the
object receives the action of the verb.
I baked some biscuits.
I rode my bicycle.
I moved the furniture.

Defining transitive and intransitive

verbs
In the sentence, The bird sang, sang is an intransitive
verb. Intransitive verbs are action verbs but do not
have an object that receives the action.
For example: I laughed, Pumla cried, The book fell,
The dog barked, The sun set.
Thus the subject performs the action of the verb but
nothing receives the action.

Defining the sentence

A sentence is a group of words that must normally include a finite

verb and must normally form a complete unit of communication.
A finite verb is a verb which has a subject [who/what we are talking
about] and shows tense as opposed to a non finite verb which can
be a gerund [a noun formed from a verb], a participle [a type of
adjective] and an infinitive [the base form of a verb].
The subject of the verb, and therefore, the subject of the sentence,
is the agent responsible for the action/activity of the verb.
Example: A thunderstorm ruined the party. In this sentence,
thunderstorm is the noun/subject, ruined is the verb and the
party is the object.
Remember: English sentences follow a S-V-O structure in terms of word
order.

Defining the sentence

In the sentence: Jason and Lindsey entered the large auditorium,

Jason and Lindsey is a noun phrase/subject, entered is the
verb/action and the auditorium is the object.
In the sentence, We followed them, We is the pronoun/ subject,
followed is the verb/action and them is the object.
Verbs of command, ie: verbs in the imperative mood, break this
pattern by implying the subject [you]. For example [you] Sit
down! or [you] Keep quiet!
A group of words without a finite verb is not normally
acceptable as a standard English sentence.

Objects of sentences

The object of a transitive verb shows the result that follows from
the action of the verb.
An object, like a subject, must normally include:
A noun or a noun phrase or a pronoun. In our previous examples:
A thunderstorm ruined the party party is a noun
Jason and Lindsey entered the large auditorium the large auditorium
is a noun phrase
We followed them them is a pronoun.
Thus we can see that all of these objects the party, the large auditorium
and them follow directly from the verbs. When an object follows a verb
like this, it is called a direct object.
When the object is extended to add more information to the sentence,
this is known as an indirect object as it follows indirectly from the verb.

Objects of sentences- an example

Subject

Verb

Direct object

Indirect object

The police

have issued

a new warning

to JHB drivers.

A local
businessman

will seek

planning
permission

for a skyscraper
in central
Randburg.

Mr Antonio
Jameson

is promising

100 new jobs

at the Blue Cove

development.

Objects of sentences

When the verb is transitive then it must be followed by a direct object in

order to make the sentence grammatically and stylistically complete.
For example: we can see that the following sentences consist of a subject
and a verb but are incomplete:
City councillors took
The Chamber of Commerce will donate
Students at Central College need
However, when we add an object, each statement becomes a complete unit
of communication:
City councillors took a difficult decision.
The Chamber of Commerce will donate blankets to the homeless.
Students at Central College need a new library.

The predicate

Together, the verb + the object + the indirect object

[if there is one], are known as the predicate of the
sentence.
Sentence structure can be shown as subject +
predicate.
Subject

Predicate

The police

have issued a warning to city

motorists.

Simple sentences

All of the example sentences so far have only one

finite verb. These are known as simple sentences.
A simple sentence is:
Subject + predicate
OR
Subject +verb + object+ indirect object
Sentences can be structurally and grammatically simple. To
avoid monotony in writing most writers vary the types of
sentences. A great deal of variety can be achieved within
the simple sentence by using various links and extensions.

Simple sentences
links and extensions
One way of extending a simple sentence so that it conveys more
information and adds variety to your style is to use the conjunction
and, the adverb also and the linking phrases as well as, along with, in
addition to and on top of:
Manchester United and Liverpool met in the final.
Thomas Jones, Chairman of EduMax, is also chairman of three other
educational companies.
Women as well as men sang in the streets after South Africa won ten
gold medals at the Olympics.
The victory drinks, in addition to the brandy at half-time, affected the
Chairman of the board.
Their cup-winning bonus, on top of other cash awards and along with
their annual salaries, made The Running Tigers the highest paid team in
Europe.

Simple sentences
links and extensions: noun phrases
Another technique is to extend single words such as
nouns, adjectives, prepositions and adverbs, into phrases.
A phrase is normally a group of two or more words
without a finite verb.
For example: [the head word in each of the phrases below
is a noun, chairman in the first example and team in the
second example.
Thomas Jones, Chairman of EduMax, is also chairman of three
other companies.
Their cup-winning bonus, on top of other cash awards and
along with their annual salaries, made The Running Tigers the
highest paid team in Europe.

Links and extensions

Adjective phrases
Some noun phrases contain adjectives. In each case, check it is
clear that the noun is the head word and that the adjective
describes the noun.
Some phrases make it clear that the adjective is the head word
and these are called adjective phrases.
For example:
Matt Shuller, the new Member of Parliament, is much too
ambitious.
The editor of the Daily News is hard-working, fair and more
objective than the previous editor.
Centre Acres, the site of the old power station, is completely
derelict.

Links and extensions

Preposition phrases
A preposition can be used as a head word in a preposition
phrase.
For example: The New Zealand XV showed effort and
perseverance in a high-scoring match or Experienced
archaeologists will excavate an Iron Age site near the city
centre.
The preposition phrase can be placed at the beginning of a
sentence to create more variety. For example: After a
heated debate, the councillors accepted the proposal.

Adverbial phrases

Adverbial phrases allow you to extend the meaning of

the verb in simple sentences.
For example:
The editor publishes without fear or favour.
Slowly and painstakingly the ballet dancer tied her ballet
slippers.
As a matter of urgency, the dairy farms are competing
for new orders.

Source

Atkinson, J. 2011. Written English. BCA: London.