Putting a sentence together is not quite as simple as baking a cake or assembling a model plane. There are no easy recipes, no step-by-step instructions. But that doesn't mean that crafting an effective sentence depends on magic or good luck.
Experienced writers understand that the basic parts of a sentence can be combined and arranged in countless ways. So as we work to improve our writing, it's important to understand what these basic structures are and how to use them effectively.
We'll begin, then, by introducing the parts of speech and the most common sentence structures. For practice in shaping these words and structures into strong sentences, follow the links to the practice exercises, examples, and expanded discussions.
1) The Parts of Speech
One way to begin studying basic sentence structures is to consider the nine parts of speech (also called word classes): nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, and interjections. Except for interjections ("ouch!"), which have a habit of standing alone, and articles (a, an, the), which stand in front of nouns, the parts of speech come in many varieties and may appear just about anywhere in a sentence. To know for sure what part of speech a word is, we have to look not only at the word itself but also at its meaning, position, and use in a sentence.
More:
2) Subjects, Verbs, and Objects
The basic parts of a sentence are the subject, verb, and object. The subject is usually a noun--a word that names a person, place, or thing. The verb (or predicate) usually follows the subject and identifies an action or a state of being. An object receives the action and usually follows the verb.
More:
- Subjects, Verbs, and Objects
- What Is a Subject?
- What Is a Predicate?
- What Is a Direct Object?
- What Is a Simple Sentence?
- Exercises in Identifying Subjects and Verbs
3) Adjectives and Adverbs
A common way of expanding the basic sentence is with modifiers--words that add to the meanings of other words. The simplest modifiers are adjectives and adverbs. Adjectives modify nouns, while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
More:
- Adding Adjectives and Adverbs to the Basic Sentence Unit
- What Is an Adjective?
- What Is an Adverb?
- Sentence Building with Adjectives and Adverbs
- Sentence Combining: Martha's Departure
4) Prepositional Phrases
Like adjectives and adverbs, prepositional phrases add meaning to the nouns and verbs in sentences. A prepositional phrase has two basic parts: a preposition plus a noun or a pronoun that serves as the object of the preposition.
More:
- Adding Prepositional Phrases to the Basic Sentence Unit
- Arranging Prepositional Phrases
- What Is a Preposition?
- Identifying Prepositional Phrases
- Sentence Building with Prepositional Phrases
5) Coordination
A common way to connect related words, phrases, and even entire clauses is to coordinate them--that is, connect them with a basic coordinating conjunction such as "and" or "but."
More:
- Coordinating Words, Phrases, and Clauses
- What Is a Conjunction?
- What Is a Compound Sentence?
- Sentence Combining with Coordination
6) Adjective Clauses
To show that one idea in a sentence is more important than another, we rely on subordination--that is, treating one word group as secondary (or subordinate) to another. One common form of subordination is the adjective clause--a word group that modifies a noun. The most common adjective clauses begin with one of these relative pronouns: who, which, and that.
More:
- Subordination with Adjective Clauses
- Building Sentences with Adjective Clauses
- What Is a Relative Pronoun?
- What Is a Subordinate Clause?
- What Is a Complex Sentence?
- Sentence Combining with Adjective Clauses
7) Appositives
An appositive is a word or group of words that identifies or renames another word in a sentence--most often a noun that immediately precedes it. Appositive constructions offer concise ways of describing or defining a person, place, or thing.
More:
8) Adverb Clauses
Like an adjective clause, an adverb clause is always dependent on (or subordinate to) an independent clause. Like an ordinary adverb, an adverb clause usually modifies a verb, though it can also modify an adjective, an adverb, or even the rest of the sentence in which it appears. An adverb clause begins with a subordinating conjunction--an adverb that connects the subordinate clause to the main clause.
More:
- Building Sentences with Adverb Clauses (part one)
- Building Sentences with Adverb Clauses (part two)
- Building Sentences with Adverb Clauses (part three)
- What Is a Subordinating Conjunction?
9) Participial Phrases
A participle is a verb form used as an adjective to modify nouns and pronouns. All present participles end in -ing. The past participles of all regular verbs end in -ed. Irregular verbs, however, have various past participle endings. Participles and participial phrases can add vigor to our writing as they add information to our sentences.
More:
- Creating and Arranging Participial Phrases
- Identifying Verbals
- What Is a Participle?
- Building Sentences with Participial Phrases
10) Absolute Phrases
Among the various kinds of modifiers, the absolute phrase may be the least common but one of the most useful. An absolute phrase, which consists of a noun plus at least one other word, adds details to an entire sentence--details that often describe one aspect of someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the sentence.
More:
