Sentence Patterns

The Grammar Dogs present…

TerminologyS = SubjectV = VerbDO = Direct ObjectIO = Indirect ObjectOC = Object ComplementLV = Linking VerbPN = Predicate NominativePA = Predicate Adjective

Subject-Verb-Direct ObjectThe d.o. is always a noun or pronounThe d.o. will always follow an action verb- an action

that you can do to someone or to somethingThe d.o. will answer the question WHO or WHATThe d.o. will NEVER be in a prepositional phrase

(cross them out!)

S-V-DO

The dog eats food.The dog is eating my

lunch. I grab my lunch.The dog bites my

hand.

More Examples

John fed his dog in the morning.Alyssa ate the orange with her lunch.David bought the motorcycle with his

Christmas money.Jonathon earned an A on his essay.

Keep practicing!

The girl in the pink sweater is also wearing a fuzzy white scarf around her neck.

The principal of the school cancelled school on the Friday before Spring Break at the last moment on Thursday.

My dog eats her food from a glass bowl on the floor in the kitchen and drinks her water from a metal bowl on the floor by the glass bowl.

Try it out!

Write five sentences of your own. Make sure that the verbs are actions you can do to someone or something.

Each sentence must have a prep phrase and a direct object

Cross out all prep phrasesLabel the Subject, Verb, and Direct Object.

Indirect Objects!There must be a direct objectTherefore, there must be an action verbThe indirect object will always come BEFORE the d.o.The indirect object answers the questions TO WHOM,

TO WHAT, or FOR WHOMThe i.o. is NEVER in a prep phraseThe i.o. is ALWAYS a noun or pronoun

Verbs commonly used with indirect objects:

SEND LENDBRING GIVE

Other verbs that work

I bought you a car for your birthday.She found her sister a dress for the party.Joe emailed Lisa a list of things to do.His mom wrote him a note.

S-V-IO-DO

The dog brought me his bone.

I gave him a treat. I sent my cousin a

photo of my dog.

Examples:

Kevin sent Kailey a rose for her birthday.Scotty lent me five dollars for lunch.Adam brought his teacher an apple on

Monday.Can you give your mother a message for

me?

Indirect Objects

The dog brought his bone to me. (prep phrase)The dog brought me his bone. (indirect object) I sent a photo of my dog to my cousin. (prep ph.) I sent my cousin a photo of my dog. (indirect

object)

Indirect Objects can be rephrased as prepositional phrases after the direct object:

Questions???

Did you send the letter with the picture?Would you lend me a thousand dollars?Will Sarah bring Tina a cup of coffee on

Friday?Can I give you this movie to watch over the

weekend?

Try it out!

Write five sentences of your own!Each sentence must have a subject, verb,

d.o., i.o. and prep phrase Label your sentences!

The Objective Complement

An objective complement is an adjective or a noun that appears with a direct object and describes or renames it.

These do not occur often.

Object Complements

I made my dog angry. (angry = adjective)I consider my dog a good companion.

(companion = noun)

Object Complements can either be nouns or adjectives. They restate the direct object.

Rules

.They are used with the following verbs:

AppointNameMakeThinkCall

More rules

An objective complement can only be found in a sentence with a direct object.

To determine if a word is an objective complement, say the verb and the direct object, then ask What?

S-V-DO-OC

The girl named her dog Bingo.

The girl considered her dog intelligent.

Examples

Ben called his dog Rover.

(Called his dog what?)

The beautician made Anne’s hair short and curly.

(made Anne’s hair what?)

Recognizing the OC

The neighborhood bully considered Martin a bully.

A card for Father’s Day makes my dad very happy.

That pleasant woman called me kind and helpful.

Mr. Fenston thinks other people obstinate.

John’s uncle makes everyone welcome.

Her friends nominated Jane president.

The ointment made the wound less red and sore.

Impulsively, she painted the doors to the dining room pink.

The boss appointed Ms. Brady chairwoman.

Such experiences make life worthwhile.

Try it out!

Write five of your own sentences with subjects, verbs, direct objects, and object complements.

Label everything!

Predicate Nominatives and Adjectives

Predicate Nominatives

There must be a linking verb (state of being verb)

The pn means the same thing as the subjectThe pn is NEVER in a prep phraseThe pn is ALWAYS a nounThe pn is ALWAYS on the RIGHT side of

the linking verb

What is a linking verb?

IsAmAreWasWereBeBeing Been

Other verbs

AppearBecomeFeelGrowLookremain

SeemSmellSoundStaytaste

Examples

John is the captain.

Is Tom the president of the class?

I am the teacher.

You are the student.

More examples

Chicago pizza is the best.

My favorite hobby is gardening.

Three miles is a long way.

My computer is a new model.

WARNING!Some verbs can be either linking or active!

Yes: He grew tired.No: He grew vegetables.Yes: The perfume smells good.No: The perfume tester smells well.Yes: The soup tastes salty.No: I will taste the soup.

S LV PA

S LV PA

S LV PA

S V DO

S V

S V DO

Try it out!

Write five sentences of your own and label the subject, l.v. and p.n. in each.

Predicate Adjectives!!!

There must be a linking verbA predicate adjective describes the subjectThe predicate adjective is NEVER in a prep

phraseThe predicate adjective is always an adjectiveThe predicate adjective is ALWAYS on the

right side of the verb

S-LV-PA

The dog is hungry.Lunch tastes good. I feel replete. I become tired.

Examples

Maren is beautiful!Matt appears sick.This exam looks difficult.That argument was nasty.His smile is very attractive

More examples to label

1. Her voice on the telephone sounded muffled.

2. After work Eugene’s muscles felt stiff and sore.

3. The mayor’s policy is important to our city.

4. My sandwich at the beach was gritty and inedible.

5. Joan grew kinder and more understanding.

Try it out!

Write five sentences with predicate adjectives and label all parts of the sentence.

Put it all together!

Write a paragraph which includes the following sentence patterns: S-V S-V-DO S-V-IO-DO S-V-DO-OC S-LV-PN S-LV-PA

Sentence and Sentence Structure

A sentence is a word group that contains a subject and a verb and that expresses a complete thought

Sentence fragment: word or word group that is capitalized and punctuated but does not contain both a subject and a verb or a complete thought

Parts of a sentence

Sentences contain two parts: subjects and predicates Subject: tells whom or what the sentence or clause is about Predicate: tells something about the subject Complete subject: the simple subject (whom or what the

sentence is about) and any words or word groups that modify the simple subject

Complete predicate: the simple predicate (or verb – the main word or word group that tells something about the subject) and all of the words that modify the verb and complete its meaning

Finding the subject

To find the subject of a sentence, find the verb first. Then, ask Who or What? Before the verb Example: My dog goes on a walk when I get

home. (The verb is goes. Who will go? Dog will go. Dog is the subject.)

Finding the subject

The subject of a verb is never in a prepositional phrase A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, the object

of the preposition and any modifiers – for the team, at all times

Do not mistake a noun or pronoun in a prepositional phrase for the subject of a sentence

Example: One of the dogs was a puppy. (Who was? One was. One is the subject. Of the puppy is a prepositional phrase.)

Unique sentences/sentence structure

Sentences beginning with There or Here: The word there or here may begin a sentence, but it is almost never the subject. It is usually an adverb.

Example: Here is the puppy. (Who is? Puppy is). Sentences asking questions: usually begin with a helping

verb or a word such as what or why. In most cases, the subject follows the verb or part of the verb phrase.

To find the subject in any question, turn the question into a statement, find the verb and then ask Who? Or What?

Example: Was your dog scared? – Your dog was scared. Subject – dog.

Unique sentences/sentence structure

The understood subject: in a request or command, the subject is usually not stated. In such sentences, you is the understood subject.

Example: Please pick up after the dog.(You) Please pick up after the dog.

Compound subjects and compound verbs

A compound subject consists of two or more subjects that are joined by a conjunction and that have the same verb

Penny and Lucy ran in the backyard.A compound verb consists of two or more

verbs that are joined by a conjunction and have the same subject.

Bella ate and slept most of the day.

Classifying sentences by purpose

Declarative: makes a statement and ends with a period. The dog meant a great deal to his new family. Imperative: gives a command or request; most end with a period; some

end with an exclamation point Be careful around the puppy. Interrogative: asks a question and ends with a question mark Can you take the dog for a walk? Exclamatory: shows excitement or strong feeling; ends with an

exclamation point What a cute puppy!