A sentence

A clause
A phrase

Patterns

Declarative: Interrogative: Imperative: Exclamatory:

In a declarative sentence
Participants Process Attributes Settings

First participant
The little boy

Process
The little boy is holding / The little boy was holding The little boy is walking/The little boy was walking

First participants attibute

The little boy He He He is turned must be was happy (a quality) three years old (a characteristic) Annies little brother (identification) a toddler (class membership)

Second participant
The little boy is holding a balloon

Second participants attribute

The little boy considered the balloon unpoppable
The little boy made the balloon his treasure

Third participant
The mother had given the boy a balloon The mother had bought the boy a balloon

The setting
Yesterday, He turned three years old The little boy was very proud yesterday The little boy is holding a balloon up high The mother had given the boy a balloon for his birthday
When he walked through the hallway, his balloon popped
When he walked through the hallway, he considered his balloon unpoppable

Roles and functions of sentence constituents

First participant: Process: Something about the first participant: Second participant: Something about the second participant: Third participant: The setting:

Exercise

Typical sentence patterns

The running pattern (intransitive verb) Subject + predicator + (adverbial) John is running (fast).

Typical sentence patterns

The being pattern (copula or linking verb) Subject + predicator + subject attribute John is fast (in the game). John is the runner (us usual).

Typical sentence patterns

The doing/seeing pattern (monotransitive verb) Subject + predicator + direct object John kicked the ball (when it was thrown by Bob). John saw the ball.

Typical sentence patterns

The giving/buying pattern (ditransitive verb)
Subject + predicator + indirect object + direct object

John gave Peter the ball (for his birthday). John bought Peter the ball (for his birthday). John gave the ball to Peter (for his birthday). John bought the ball for Peter (for his birthday).

Typical sentence patterns

The making/considering pattern (complex-transitive verb)
Subject + predicator + direct object + object attibute

They made John the umpire. John considered the ball out (as it went past the line). The judge declared him guilty. We crowned her queen. We elected him president. We name her Tracy.

Typical sentence patterns

Same verb, different patterns He makes a good coach. He makes a goal. He makes him a cake. He makes him coordinator.

Exercise