THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Basic clause structure

A clause can stand alone as a sentece has a subject and a verb. It may also have other elements

 An object
 A complement
 An adverbial

Each element plays its part in the structre of a clause. We can putt he elements together to form
different kinds of clauses.

 My friend is waiting – subject + verb

 The company sells mobile phones – Subject + verb + object
 The old cinema bécame a nightclub - subject + verb + complement
 The concert is tomorrow - subject + verb + adverbial
 We should give the childre some Money – subject+ verb+ object + object
 The Project kept everyone very busy - subject + verb + object + complement
 The pólice got the car out of the river - subject + verb + object+ adverbial

The subject of a sentence is a noun phrase.

My dad washed his car.

The object is also a noun phrase.

My dad washed his car.

A complement usually gives information about the subject of the sentence. It can be an adjective
phrase or a noun phrase. There are two types of complementes:

 SUBJECT COMPLEMENT : It relates to the subject of the clause:

Everyone was very busy (who? EVERYONE)
Carol looks happy (Who? Carol)
 OBJECT COMPLEMENT: It relates to the object of the clause
The Project kept everyone very busy ( to whom? Everyone )
Carol found the game frustating (what was frustating? The game)

An adverbial expresses an idea such as when, how or why something happens. It can be an adverb
phrase, prepositional phrase or a noun phrase.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF CLAUSES

SV : The basic Subject-Verb-Object structure can be reduced to produce a clause with the
structure Subject-Verb (SV)

-My friend is waiting

SVO: English syntax generally follows a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order.We see that the Subject
of the clause (the thing or person performing the action) is the boy; the Verb, which describes the
particular action, is hugged, and the Object (the thing undergoing the action) is the dog

- The boy hugged the dog

*some verbs may take an Object, and then them can be expanded into the basic SVO structure,
whereas some may not.

TRANSITIVE VERBS : An action verb with a direct object is transitive

Give, buy, pass. Make. Sell, take, show, offer, leave, wish, lend, cost, eat,see,etc.

INTRANSITIVE VERBS: An action verb with no direct object is intransitive

cry, work, laugh, talk, wait, happen, sleep, go, etc.

LINKING VERBS:

SVC: There is a fundamental difference between an Object and a Complement. The difference is
that the Subject and Object refer to different things whereas the Subject and Complement (in a
SVC clause) refer to the same thing. the Complement can be represented by an adjective
phrase consisting of just a head adjective or a noun phrase.

-My mother appeared sad

- the old cinema bécame a nightclub

SVOC: the Complement refers to the same thing as the Object when it follows the Object

-The Project kept eveyone very busy

-Paul considered your ideas rather silly

SVOO: Involves the addition of a second Object to the primary SVO structure, i.e. SVOO. When
two Objects are included in a clause a distinction is made between the direct object (Od) and
the indirect object (Oi). The direct object is the thing or person undergoing an action, being talked
about, and so on, and the indirect object is the person who is the recipient or beneficiary of the
action. Consider the following example.

- Anna gave her mother a beatiful card

(In this example, the thing undergoing the action is a beautiful card, i.e. it is the card that is being
given. This is, therefore, the direct object. The person who benefits from the action is her mother,
i.e. the beautiful card is given to the mother. This is, therefore, the indirect object)

SVOA: As well as adding a Complement to the fundamental SVO structure, we can also add an
Adjunct. Recall that Adjuncts are discretionary elements that supply extra information related to
manner, time, location, and so on.

- the boy hugged the dog gently

- I put my credit card in my wallet

SVA : The Object in the basic SVO structure can be substituted by an Adjunct that supplies further
detail about actions, events and states. Adjuncts are most often optional elements that provide
information related to manner, time, location or cause. Consider the following. Adjuncts may be
represented by adverb phrases, noun phrases and prepositional phrases

- She has been sad since you left.

- Robert run two miles.

*IN ADDITION! WE CAN:

- Link two or more Word or phrases with and or or :

- The colour is nice and bright

- Use two noun phrases one after the other when they both refer to the same thing. (Phrase in
APPOSITION) :
- My friend Mathew is coming to stay.