Unit-1--Sentence structure: use of Phrases and Clauses.

 

Unit-1

Toasted English  

Sentence structure: use of Phrases and Clauses.

 

What is sentence?

Sentence is a 

group of words which may be combination of phrase/s and clause/; and has sense and tense.

                                                  

    In the next session

, we will discuss sentence structures.                                                Simple   Future 

   People follow their dreams.                                                                                     

            Simple Present

   I have given you clear instructions.                                                                                     Present Perfect

 

 

What is a phrase?

Phrase is a word or a group of words. It can be part of a sentence. But it can’t always be a sentence.

There are 5 types of phrases.

1.Noun phrase

2.Adjective phrase

3.Verb phrase

4.Adverb phrase

5.Prepositional phrase

 

 

 

 

1.            Noun phrase

(Single noun or a group of words built around a single noun)

Example:

                 Students require books.

                 Who can bring the lost reputation back?

                  All students with determination can do it.

 

2.            Adjective phrase

(Single adjective or group of words built around a single adjective)

Example:  Students have great talent.

                   They have very clever plans.

                   Frustrated, misguided and discouraged students are committing suicides.

                   
3.            Verb phrase
(Main verb and auxiliary verbs including modal verbs)
 
Example:
Unless students are ready to learn, the best teacher of the world can teach nothing. But, by the time the students realize it, things will be out of their hands. They can’t but tell themselves “we should have listened to the lectures attentively.
 
 
4.            Adverb phrase
An adverb phrase can be a single adverb or a group of words built around a single adverb
 example:
·         Please do it now.
·         He spoke very softly.
·         They did it as fast as possible.
 

5.            Prepositional phrase
A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by its object (usually a noun phrase), for example:
·         They were arguing about money.
·         The window was behind a large brown sofa.
·         They resumed after an unusually large meal.
 
 
 
 
Note that the word "phrase" can also mean any short group of words such as "because people speak English" and other company mottos, as well as expressions typical of idioms such as a piece of cake, back to square one and caught red-handed.
 
                                                       
Types of verbs
 
Linking, Intransitive and Transitive Verbs
 
To understand sentence construction, it helps if you know a little about three types of verb:
 
·         linking verbs
·         intransitive verbs
·         transitive verbs
 
 
All verbs have a subject (the person or thing that "does" the action).
 
The real difference between linking, intransitive and transitive verbs is whether or not they have an object (the person or thing that "gets" the action).
S = subject
V = verb
SC = subject complement
DO = direct object
IO = indirect object
 
 
 

linking verbs take a subject complement	intransitive verbs take NO object	transitive verbs take an object
		mono-transitive verbs take ONE object: a direct object	di-transitive verbs take TWO objects: an indirect object + direct object
cannot be passive		can be passive
S-V-SC	S-V	S-V-DO	S-V-IO-DO
be seem become appear feel get look	arrive break down come cough go sleep	clean destroy eat like turn down want	buy give pass send show tell
	many verbs are ambitransitive—they can be intransitive OR transitive depending on context

 
 
 
Linking Verbs
 
 Linking verbs have NO object.
 
Linking verbs link two parts of a sentence.
They link the subject to a noun or adjective. In this sense, linking-
verbs are like a mathematical equals sign (=).
 

subject	verb	subject complement
Mary	is	a nurse.
Mary	=	a nurse

 

Linking verbs do not make sense if used alone: they need a "subject complement" to complete their meaning.

 

·         They are (???)
They are teachers

·         I feel (???)
I feel unwell

In the above examples, teachers and unwell are subject complements.

Linking verbs work in two different ways:

 

1.  the two parts of the sentence are the same thing (Mary is my mother)

 

2.  the first part has the quality described by the second part (Mary is English)

The most obvious linking verb is the verb:

·         be

Other linking verbs include:

·         appear, become, feel, get, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, taste, turn

Linking verbs cannot be passive.

Look at these example sentences with linking verbs:

 

·         Is that your car?

·         I am feeling thirsty.

·         John is my boyfriend.

·         My father became an engineer.

·         The milk will turn sour if you leave it.

·         Her explanation did not appear plausible.

·         Hillary remained under suspicion for the rest of her life.

 

 (Note that linking verbs are sometimes called "copula verbs".)

 

Although we talk about "linking, intransitive and transitive verbs" (just as most grammar books and websites do), it is really more accurate to talk about "linking, intransitive and transitive usage".

 

This is because many verbs can be linking OR transitive OR intransitive depending on the exact meaning and context.

 

example verb (grow)	usage
The sky grew dark.	linking
Roses grow slowly.	intransitive
I grow coconuts.	transitive

 

 

 

Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs have NO object. Their action is not transferred from the subject to something else.

subject	verb
She	cried.

 

Many intransitive verbs can make sense if used alone:

 

·         He fainted.

·         She cried.

·         Our car broke down.

 

Of course, we often do follow intransitive verbs with other words telling us how, where or when—but NEVER with an object:

 

·         He fainted after lunch.

·         She coughed bitterly.

·         Our car broke down in Bangkok.

 

Intransitive verbs cannot be passive.

 

Examples of intransitive verbs are:

 

·         bark, boast, change, cough, die, go, live, run, sit, sleep, wave

 

 

Look at these example sentences with intransitive verbs:

  

·         They live in London.

·         Tell your dog to sit now.

·         Were the dogs barking?

·         The news hasn't changed.

·         He died after a long illness.

·         When I saw him he was running.

·         The president waved to the crowds.

 

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs have an object. Their action is Transferred from the subject to something else (the object).

Transitive verbs can be active OR passive.

Some transitive verbs have one object; some have two objects—as shown below.

Monotransitive verbs

Monotransitive verbs have ONE object: a direct object

 

subject	verb	direct object
He	kicked	the ball.

 

Examples of monotransitive verbs are:

·         bomb, clean, break, destroy, eat, kill, like, put off, trigger, turn down, want

Look at these example sentences with monotransitive verbs:

·         Do you love me?

·         The Allies bombed Dresden.

·         Pick it up and throw it away.

·         Tara doesn't want a new car.

·         Bond killed the snake and ate it.

·         Can frocking trigger earthquakes?

·         Do you think they'll turn down my offer / turn my offer down?

 

Ditransitive verbs

 

Ditransitive verbs have TWO objects: a direct object and an indirect object

subject	verb	indirect object	direct object
Sue	passed	Ann	the ball.

 

Examples of ditransitive verbs are:

·         buy, give, grant, lend, make, pass, send, serve, show, teach, tell

Look at these example sentences with ditransitive verbs:

·         . Make me an offer.

·         Who teaches him French?

·         The bank won't lend them any money.

·         They will serve the guests lunch at 12:30pm.

·         Kid refused to show the teacher her homework.

·         Anthony bought his new girlfriend some roses on her birthday.

·         The local council have granted us permission to open a shop

Note that many verbs can be used intransitively OR transitively (mono- and di-) depending on the context and the verb's exact meaning.

Such verbs are called "ambitransitive verbs".

·         He reads at night. (intransitive)

·         He is reading a book. (monotransitive)

·         He read Mary the letter. (ditransitive)

 

Finite and non-finite verbs

Finite verb forms show tense, person and number (I go, she goes, we went, etc.):

She was waiting in the room before he came in.

Does your brother know my brother?

The night before he had to leave, they sat on the small sofa in the living-room and looked at old family photos.

Aren’t you a bit late?

Non-finite verb forms do not show tense, person or number. Typically they are infinitive forms with and without to (e.g. to go, go), -ing forms and -ed forms (e.g. going, gone):

She tiptoed round the house so as not to wake anyone.

You need to paint the whole cupboard, starting from the bottom.

[from a biography]

Taken prisoner by the British in December 1776, he was held in New York City for a year …