Chapter 4.1 from 1,2,3, Write! by Gay Monteverde
Gay Monteverde
Preview
This section will cover the following topics:
- subjects, verbs, and objects
- phrases and clauses
- fragments
Writing is basically a system of structures. Words connect to form , and, eventually, sentences. Then, sentences connect to form paragraphs, and paragraphs connect to create essays, stories, letters, and reports.
Ch. 2 and Ch. 3 focused on words. This chapter looks at how we put words together into sentences.
Sentence Structure
A is defined as a group of words that has a and a verb and express a complete thought. Some sentences are brief and others are complex, but those three criteria are the basic requirements for a sentence.
subject + verb + complete thought = sentence
The subject of the sentence is always a noun or a pronoun. It is who or what performs the action. The verb tells what happened to the subject or what state the subject is in. For example:
Samantha sleeps. (The proper noun “Samantha” is performing the action so she is the subject of the sentence, and “sleeps” is the verb, the action she is performing.)
To find the subject of a sentence, first find all the nouns and pronouns. Then ask yourself which noun or pronoun is performing the action. For example:
Samantha often sleeps on the sofa. (The nouns in that sentence are “Samantha” and “sofa.” But which noun is performing the action? “Samantha” is sleeping, so “Samantha” is the subject.)
The subject is often at the beginning of the sentence, but sometimes it isn’t. For example:
After dinner, Alice served cake. (The nouns in that sentence are “dinner,” “Alice,” and “cake.” But “Alice” is the subject and “served” is the verb; “After dinner” is a prepositional phrase that tells us when the action happened.)
Sometimes sentences have two subjects. For example:
Alice and Juan walked to school. (“Alice” and “Juan” are the subjects; they both did the action. The word “and” isn’t part of the subject; it is a conjunction that joins the two subjects.)
Sentences can also have more than one verb. For example:
Samantha studies at her desk, sleeps on the couch, and drives to school. (Samantha does three things: “studies,” “sleeps,” and “drives.” All three of those words are verbs.)
Exercise 1
Type the sentences below.
- I have strong feelings about bullying.
- Rachel and Jack dance competitively.
- The patient was quickly admitted to the hospital.
- Kim checked the condition of the track.
- In August, Lily celebrated her birthday.
First, find all the nouns and pronouns. Then, figure out which noun or pronoun is the sentence subject. Underline subjects once.
What is the subject doing? That is the verb. Underline verbs twice.
For example: My neighbor’s flowers usually bloom in April.
(It is easy to insert underlines and double underlines in Word. If you don’t know how to do this, contact the computer tutor at the college.)
Remember that a sentence can have more than one subject and more than one verb.
For example: Martie and Mitch spend time in the garden every weekend.
Phrases and Clauses
Groups of words are called “phrases” or “clauses.” (Remember that in Ch. 3 we studied one type of phrase: a .)
A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a sentence subject or verb. For example:
- in the kitchen
- the long and winding road
A clause is a group of words that does contain a subject and verb. For example:
- Luisa cooked lasagna.
- the journey includes
There are two types of clauses:
- Dependent clauses need further information to make a complete sentence. For example: “the journey includes” has a subject and a verb but it does not express a complete thought. It is a dependent clause.
- Independent clauses do not need additional information to stand on their own. For example, “Luisa cooked lasagna” has a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. It is an independent clause. Another name for an independent clause is “a sentence.”
Building Longer Sentences
Obviously, most sentences are not as simple as a noun plus a verb: “Eugenio helped.” But writers build on this basic structure.
One way sentences grow is by adding an “object.”
subject + verb + object
The object of a sentence is the noun or pronoun affected by the action of the verb. In other words, the subject is the person or thing doing something; the object is having something done to it. For example:
Alice baked a cake. (“Alice” is the subject; she is doing the action of baking. “baked” is the action being done by Alice; it is the verb. “cake” received the action of the verb; it is the object in this sentence.)
Adding is another way to build more complex sentences. For example:
Samantha is a good student who studies from 6 to 9 p.m. every day and often she will fall asleep on the sofa with a book in her lap.
“from 6 to 9 p.m.,” “on the sofa,” “with a book” and “in her lap” are all prepositional phrases; they add information about where and when to the sentence.
Experienced writers often write complex sentences, but a sentence is not good just because it is long. It is important not to overload sentences. For example:
The treasure lay buried under the old oak tree, behind the crumbling fifteenth-century wall, near the schoolyard where children played merrily during their lunch hour, unaware of the riches that remained hidden beneath their feet.
If a sentence is cluttered, divide it into two shorter sentences:
The treasure lay buried under the old oak tree, behind the crumbling fifteenth-century wall. In the nearby schoolyard, children played merrily during their lunch hour, unaware of the riches that remained hidden beneath their feet.
Dissecting a sentence is like dissecting a frog in science class. We are opening it up and looking at the parts, giving each part a name and figuring out how the parts work together, with the goal of understanding how the frog works. Digging into the anatomy of language can be as interesting as when other people dig into the anatomy of a political movement, or a car engine, or a piece of music.
Avoiding Fragments
One of the benefits to understanding sentence structure is the ability to identify fragments. It is easier to avoid fragments if you know how a sentence is built.
Remember that a complete sentence requires three things: a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. “Samantha sleeps,” fulfills those requirements. It has a subject “Samantha,” a verb “sleeps,” and it expresses a complete thought. Even though it is short, it is a complete sentence.
A fragment is an incomplete sentence.
It may be missing a subject. For example:
Went to the movies last weekend. (Who went to the movies? The subject is missing.)
Or a fragment may be missing a verb. For example:
The statue damaged during the riots. (“damaged” is not a verb; it’s an adjective that describes the noun “statue.” Without a verb, this is a fragment.)
Or a fragment may have both a subject and a verb, but not express a complete thought. For example:
If she feels like going. (This has a subject “she” and a verb “feels.” But the point is unfinished.)
To fix fragments, add what is missing. For example:
- “Went to the movies last weekend” + subject = Massimo went to the movies last weekend.
- “The statue damaged during the riots” + verb = The statue damaged during the riots was a symbol of racism.
- “If she feels like going” + complete thought = If she feels like going, let her.
Exercise 2
Type up the sentences below, adding missing information to any fragments so the sentence is complete. If a sentence is complete already, write “Complete.”
Don’t guess. Look for subjects and verbs, then make sure the sentence expresses a complete thought.
- The band arrived in a limo with their guitars in the trunk.
- Entered the office and took off his coat.
- A kite shaped like a raven.
- In the park, I saw a homeless family.
- My password for the library website.
- Bentley, the next door neighbor, likes.
- Blew down in the high wind, but the maple tree was unharmed.
Takeaways
- A sentence is a group of words with a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.
- Groups of words are called phrases or clauses. There are two types of clauses: dependent and independent.
- Adding prepositional phrases and objects makes a sentence more complex.
- Understanding how a sentence is constructed will help you avoid errors such as fragments.
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1, 2, 3 Write! by Gay Monteverde is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, except where otherwise noted. It was adapted from Writing for Success, which in turn was adapted from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2011 by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution.
Learning Objectives
- To understand what a verb is and why it is important
- To differentiate between “Be” verbs and “Do” verbs, action verbs and non-action verbs, helping verbs and main verbs, with their various uses though multiple examples and exercises
- To be aware of the twelve verb tenses and five basic verb forms
I. Pretest
The following ten sentences are about pets. Some verbs are bold-faced. Identify what type of verb each one is by selecting one of the two choices. After you finish one sentence, you will get instant feedback on your answer before the next sentence. If you make mistakes, you can retry all the questions or see all the answers at the end of the pre-test.
II. Definition of a Verb and Its Importance
Each sentence in English must have a verb. A verb expresses an action or shows a state of existence[1].
Why are verbs important? There are two reasons:
- They appear in every sentence in English.
- Errors in verbs cause serious misunderstanding[2].
In order to express ideas clearly and accurately, you need to make sure:
- You have a basic understanding of different types of verbs. This is the purpose of this unit.
- A subject and its verb must match each other. For detailed information and practice, please refer to Unit 10 Subject-Verb Agreement. (Open Unit 10 here.)
- A verb tense and its verb form must match each other. There are detailed explanations and practice in verb tenses and forms from Unit 11 through Unit 14 in this book. (Open Unit 11 Present Tenses, Unit 12 Past Tenses, Unit 13 Future Tenses, Unit 14 Mixed Tenses here.)
For detailed explanations and practice in sentence structure and punctuation, open Unit 7 here.
Exercise 1. Highlight the verbs in the following short paragraph about pet dogs. (To highlight, you position your computer curser on the verbs and right click.)
III. "Be" Verbs and "Do" Verbs
“Be” verbs: They look different depending on the subjects and the verb tenses. The most common ones are “am, is, are, was, were”. A "Be" verb is often followed by a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, a prepositional phrase, or an expression of age.
- My neighbor’s pet is a rabbit. Her name is Bonny. (followed by nouns)
- Bonny is not mine. (a pronoun)
- Bonny's tail is short and cute. (adjectives)
- Bonny is in a cage when my neighbor is at work. (prepositional phrases)
- Bonny was two months old when I first met her. (an age)
"Do" verbs: There are many "Do" verbs: study, get, sleep, wear, have, like, think...
Their forms also change based on the subjects and the verb tenses.
- Bonny stays indoors most days.
- My neighbor prepares special food for her.
- Sometimes I see Bonnie in my neighbor's backyard.
- I played with her yesterday.
- I hope that I can play with her again soon.
A “Be” verb is NEVER followed by the base form of a "Do" verb.
- Bonny is stay indoors most days. X
- Bonny stays indoors most days. √
- Most rabbits are stay in a cage. X
- Most rabbits stay in a cage. √
- I was meet my neighbor’s pet rabbit for the first time last week. X
- I met my neighbor’s pet rabbit for the first time last week. √
IV. Action and Non-Action Verbs
Action verbs: They show the action of the subject. All action verbs are "Do" verbs.
- In the U.S., many pet owners treat their pets as part of the family.
- Those pets get special food and even regular medical checkups.
- Some of them sleep in their owner's bed.
- They receive toys and often wear festive[3] outfits[4] during holidays.
- Most pets enjoy their good lives.
Non-action verbs: They do not show actions; instead, they show emotional or mental states, five senses, possessions, and others. Non-action verbs are also called stative verbs or non-progressive verbs. "Be" verbs are non-action verbs in most cases.
- Pets love their owners.
- Pets understand how much they are loved.
- Some pets can weigh over fifty pounds.
- Most pets have animal doctors called vets.
- Pets are our good friends.
Common Non-Action Verbs |
---|
Emotional/mental state:
|
Five senses:
|
Possessions:
|
Others:
|
Sometimes, the same verb can be both an action verb and a non-action verb, with different meanings and grammatical structures. Discuss the difference between the underlined verbs below.
- What do you think of my kitten? It seems that she is always thinking about playing hide and seek with me. (non-action, action)
- Feel the fur of my kitten. It feels so soft. (action, non-action)
- My kitten measures twelve inches in length[5]. I measure her every month to see how much she has grown. (non-action, action)
- I see some red pots on the kitten’s skin. I am taking her to her vet. We are seeing the vet at 3 pm this afternoon. (non-action, action)
Non-action verbs can be used in different verb tenses except progressive tenses, but action verbs can be used in all tenses.
- The kitten has been napping for a long time. He looks (
is looking) content[6] in his sleep. - Samantha likes (
is liking) kittens. She has (is having) two. Right now she is preparing their favorite snacks.
Exercise 2. The following sentences are about color-blindness[7] of dogs. Some verbs are bold-faced. Highlight if each bold-faced verb is an action verb or a non-action verb. The first one is an example. When you finish the exercise, you can retry or see all the answers. (To highlight, you position your computer curser on the verbs and right click.)
V. Helping Verbs and Main Verbs
Helping verbs: They are also called auxiliary verbs. These verbs “help” the main verbs to
- show verb tense
- make a negative sentence
- ask a question
- change the meaning or tone
- change the voice (from active to passive or passive to active, not addressed in this course)
Helping verbs must work with main verbs to form complete verbs. Common helping verbs include "do, does, did, have, had, had, will".
helping verb + main verb = complete verb
- Mohamod has always wanted to get his driver’s license. (helping verb “has” + main verb “wanted”)
- He has prepared for this driver’s test for several months. (helping verb “has” + main verb “prepared”)
- He does not want to carpool with his friend every day. (helping verb “does” + main verb “want”)
- He hopes that he will pass the road test. (helping verb “will” + main verb “pass”)
- Should he celebrate if he passes? (helping verb “should” + main verb “celebrate”)
Modals: Modals are a special type of helping verbs. They mainly show ability, possibility, obligation, advice, and many others. They are followed by the base form of the main verb.
- Every driver in the U.S. must have a driver’s license. (modal/helping verb “must” + main verb “have”)
- Should he or she buy car insurance, too? (modal/helping verb “should” + main verb “buy”)
- Maintaining a car can be expensive. (modal/helping verb “can” + main verb “be”)
- Life could become difficult without a car. (modal/helping verb “could” + main verb “become”)
For detailed explanations and examples of modals, please refer to Unit 15 Modals. (Open Unit 15 here.)
Exercise 3. The following is a brief account of Jose and his car. Type the helping verb in each sentence in the appropriate boxe. The first sentence is an example. When you finish the entire exercise, you can retry or see all the answers.
VI. Twelve Verb Tenses
While verbs show actions or states of being, verb tenses indicate the time of those actions or states of being:
- in the past, in the present, in the future, or from past to present
- happened just once, happened repeatedly, or is still happening.
There are twelve tenses in English:
|
PAST |
PRESENT |
FUTURE |
---|---|---|---|
SIMPLE |
I studied. You studied. He studied. They studied. |
I study. You study. He studies. They study. |
I will study. I am going to study. You will study. You are going to study. He will study. He is going to study. They will study. They are going to study. |
PROGRESSIVE |
I was studying. You were studying. He was studying. They were studying. |
I am studying. You are studying He is studying. They are studying. |
I will be studying. I am going to be studying. You will study. You are going to study. He will be studying. He is going to be studying. They will be studying. They are going to be studying. |
PERFECT
|
I had studied. You had studied. He had studied. They had studied. |
I have studied. You have studied. He has studied. They have studied. |
I will have studied. You will have studied. He will have studied. They will have studied. |
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE |
I had been studying. You had been studying. He had been studying. They had been studying. |
I have been studying. You have been studying. He has been studying. They have been studying. |
I will have been studying. You will have been studying. He will have been studying. They will have been studying. |
In this course, you will be focusing on using eight of the above tenses in writing: simple present, present progressive, present perfect, present perfect progressive, simple past, past progressive, past perfect, and simple future tenses. You will learn the rest of the tenses in future courses.
VII. Five Basic Verb Forms
In the above chart, the verb “study” appears in different forms – study, studies, am studying, had been studying, will be studying, and some others. These are called verb forms. Verbs have five basic forms:
BASE |
PRESENT |
PRESENT PARTICIPLE |
PAST |
PAST PARTICIPLE |
---|---|---|---|---|
Be
|
am, is, are |
being |
was, were |
been |
Do |
do, does |
doing |
did |
done
|
Have |
have, has
|
having |
had |
had |
Study |
study, studies
|
studying |
studied |
studied |
Move |
move, moves
|
moving |
moved |
moved |
Speak
|
speak, speaks |
speaking |
spoke |
spoken |
Always remember that a verb tense and its verb forms must match each other. There are detailed explanations and practice in verb tenses and forms from Unit 11 through Unit 14 in this book. (Open Unit 11 Present Tenses, Unit 12 Past Tenses, Unit 13 Future Tenses, Unit 14 Mixed Tenses here.)
VIII. Unit Review Practice
Exercise 4. The following paragraph about leashing the dog is from a previous unit. Highlight "Be" for "Be verbs" and "Do" for "Do verbs". The first one is an example. When you finish the exercise, you can retry or see all the answers. (To highlight, you position your computer curser on the verbs and right click.)
Exercise 5. The following is a story about two puppies in love. Some verbs are bold-faced. Select what the type of verb each one is. You will get instant feedback after each sentence. If you make a mistake, you may also retry or see the answer.
Exercise 6. Take a paragraph you have written in this course. Exchange it with your partner’s.
In your partner’s paragraph,
- single underline all the "Be" verbs.
- double underline all the helping verbs.
- circle all the non-action verbs.
When you finish, return the paragraph to your partner. Discuss if you agree with each other on all the verbs.
NSNT Practice
Go to The NSNT Free Writing Approach and Additional Weekly Prompts for Writing in Appendix A. (Open Appendix A here.) Choose two topics to write a paragraph each. You may start with the NSNT approach and then rewrite it. Pay attention to the use of verbs. Be mindful of the verbs you are using: Are they main verbs or helping verbs? Action verbs or non-action verbs? "Be" verbs or "do" verbs? You are encouraged to share your writing with your partner and help each other improve.
Vocabulary Review
The words here have appeared in this unit. The best way to learn them is to guess the meaning of each word from the context. Then hover your computer mouse over the number beside each word to check its meaning and part of speech. These words are also listed in the footnote area at the end of each unit.
Here, you can use the flashcards below to review these words.
Summary
- A verb shows an action or a state of being and usually comes after the subject in a sentence.
- "Be" verbs include "am, is, are, was, were" and some others.
- There are many "Do" verbs such as "swim, study, eat, drive".
- A "Be" verb is NEVER followed by the base form of a "Do" verb.
- An action verb shows the action of the subject.
- A non-action verb shows the state, condition, or possession of the subject. A non-action verb cannot be used in a progressive verb tense.
- Some verbs can be both action and non-action verbs, with a different meaning.
- A helping verb must be accompanied by a main verb in a sentence.
- There are twelve verb tenses and five basic verb forms. Each verb tense has its own verb forms. Verb tenses and verb forms must match each other in sentences.