Sentence Patterns Practice

For each sentence:

·         Underline the subject once and label it with “S;”

·         Underline the verb twice and label it “V;”

·         Circle the predicate complement, i.e. the Direct Object, the Indirect Object, the Predicate Noun, or the Predicate Adjective

·         Label the predicate complement.  (DO for direct object, IO for indirect object, PN for predicate noun, PA for predicate adjective).

1.   Three of my friends formed a band.

2.   The weather was calm and peaceful.

3.   Max drinks soda with his lunch.

4.   My dog is smelly after his encounter with the skunk.

5.   Our guest is the senator from Maine.

6.   Dad washed his car at the gas stations.

7.   I bought the whole class some candy.

8.   Callie seems the best candidate for the class representative position.

9.   Cindy baked the elderly twelve dozen cookies.

10.       We use expensive pots and pans in the restaurant kitchen.

11.       Uncle Fred told the children stories from his time in the army.

12.       Sue, send me an e-mail about that meeting.

13.       John Glenn was a pilot, an astronaut, and a senator.

14.       Mr. Johnson appears distracted by the TVs at the restaurant.

15.       This unpredictable weather is crazy.

SIX BASIC SENTENCE PATTERNS

 There are six basic sentence structures in the English language.

1. Subject-Verb

Examples:

·         The boy plays.

·         Jack eats.

·         Sara sits.

2. Subject-Verb-Direct Object

Examples:

·         The girl pets the cat.

·         I love apples.

·         Bill kicks the ball.

3. Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object

Examples:

·         The girl bakes her mother a cake.

·         I bought Frank a book.

·         Cindy gave me a present.

4. Subject-Linking Verb-Adjective

Examples:

·         Lisa is pretty.

·         They are nice.

·         I am sad.

5. Subject-Linking Verb-Noun

Examples:

·         I am the teacher.

·         Jon is a carpenter.

·         The boy is a student.

6. Subject-Verb-Adverb

Examples:

·         Maria laughs loudly.

·         The dog jumps high.

·         Apples are everywhere.

Expanding Sentences

The examples above are basic sentences. Basic sentences can be expanded, or lengthened, by adding adjectives, adverbs and objects.

1. Subject-Verb

• Jack eats.
  This is the basic subject-verb pattern.
• Jack quickly eats.
  An adverb is added (quickly) to tell how Jack eats. 
   
• Jack quickly eats carrots.
  An object is added (carrots) to tell what Jack eats.
• Jack quickly eats carrots at home.
  Another adverb is added (at home) to tell where Jack eats.
• Jack quickly eats fresh carrots at home.
  An adjective is added (fresh) to tell what kind of carrots Jack eats.

2. Subject-Verb-Direct Object

• Bill kicks the ball.      
  This is a basic subject-verb-object pattern.
• Bill kicks the red ball.
  An adjective is added (red) to tell the color of the ball.
• Bill kicks the red ball hard.
  An adverb is added (hard) to tell how Bill kicks the ball.
• Bill kicks the red ball hard every day.
  Another adverb is added (every day) to tell when Bill kicks the ball.
•  

3. Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object

• The girl baked her mother a cake      
  This is a basic subject-verb-object pattern.
• The girl baked her mother a chocolate cake.
  An adjective is added (chocolate) to tell the kind of cake..
• The girl skillfully baked her mother a cake.
  An adverb is added (skillfully) to tell how the girl bakes the cake..
• The girl baked her mother a cake yesterday.
  Another adverb is added (today) to tell when the girl bakes the cake

4. Subject-Linking Verb-Adjective

• She looks pretty.
  This is the basic subject-verb-adjective pattern.
• She looks pretty tonight.
  An adverb is added (tonight) to tell when she looks pretty.
• Lisa looks pretty tonight.
  The subject is identified with a name (Lisa).
•  

5. Subject-Linking Verb-Noun

• The boy is a student.
  This is the basic subject-verb-noun sentence pattern.
• Jon is a student.
  The subject is identified with a name (Jon).
• Jon is a smart student.
  An adjective is added (smart) to tell what kind of student Jon is.
• Jon is a smart student at school.
  An adverb is added (at school) to tell where Jon is a smart student.

6. Subject-Verb-Adverb

·         Apples are everywhere.
This is the basic subject-verb-adverb pattern.

·         Green apples are everywhere.
An adjective is added (green) to describe the apples.

·         Ripe, green apples are everywhere.
A series of adjectives are added (ripe and green) to describe the apples.

·         Children sing happily.
The subject-verb-adverb pattern can also use action verbs.

·         Children sing happily today.
Additional adverbs may be added to inform when.

·         Children in the choir sing happily today..
Prepositional phrases may be added to explain which children.

Sentence and Predicates Vidoes

Below are some review videos regarding complete subjects and predicates and simple subjects and predicates.