The Ten Sentence Patterns with Traditional Labels

I. Sophie is in her kennel. Subject BE

of e rb plac ve ad e or tim

II. Sophie is lonely. Subject BE predicate adjective

III. Sophie was a beautiful dog. Subject BE predicate nominative

IV. Sophie seems anxious. Subject linking verb predicate adjective

V. Sophie remains a big problem. Subject linking verb predicate nominative

VI. Sophie dreams. Subject intransitive verb

VII. Sophie chases squirrels. Subject transitive verb direct object

VIII. Sophie brought Fred a stick. Subject transitive verb direct object

indirect object IX. Sophie found reworks upsetting. Subject transitive verb direct object objective complement (adjective) X. Sophie considered Gordon the alpha dog. Subject transitive verb direct object objective complement (noun phrase)

Hints for remembering the patterns: Patterns I-III are all built around some form of the verb BE. Types II, IV, and IX end with adjectives. Types III, V, and X end with a noun phrase (NP). The following patterns are in pairs: II and III, IV and V, IX and X. The rst pattern in each pair ends with an adjective, while the second patterns ends with a noun phrase. Patterns II and IV and Patterns III and V are the same, except that Patterns II and II are built around some form of the verb BE, while Patterns IV and V are built around linking verbs. BE could be considered to be a kind of linking verb, but it is also possible to form a sentence with an adverb of time or place with BE (Pattern I), but not with other linking verbs. Pattern VI is in a class by itself. Patterns VII and VIII are identical, except that Pattern VIII has an indirect object.

The Ten Sentence Patterns

I. Sophie is at home. Noun Phrase (NP) BE
of e rb plac ve ad e or tim

II. Sophie is angry. NP BE adjective

III. Sophie was a difcult dog. NP 1 BE NP 1

IV. Sophie appeared tired. NP linking verb adjective

V. Sophie resembled a crazed beast. NP 1 linking verb NP 1

VI. Sophie died. NP intransitive verb

VII. Sophie ate a mouse. NP 1 transitive verb NP 2

VIII. Sophie brought the guests a dog toy. NP 1 transitive verb NP 3 NP 2

IX. Sophie found left-over steak delicious. NP 1 transitive verb NP 2 adjective

X. Sophie considered enclosed spaces a challenge. NP 1 transitive verb NP 2 NP 2

Hints for remembering the patterns: Patterns I-III are all built around some form of the verb BE. Types II, IV, and IX end with adjectives. Types III, V, and X end with a noun phrase (NP). The following patterns are in pairs: II and III, IV and V, IX and X. The rst pattern in each pair ends with an adjective, while the second patterns ends with a noun phrase. Patterns II and IV and Patterns III and V are the same, except that Patterns II and II are built around some form of the verb BE, while Patterns IV and V are built around linking verbs. BE could be considered to be a kind of linking verb, but it is also possible to form a sentence with an adverb of time or place with BE (Pattern I), but not with other linking verbs. Pattern VI is in a class by itself. Patterns VII and VIII are identical, except that Pattern VIII has an indirect object.