SIMPLE SENTENCES

 

Sentence is a meaningful group of words. The group of words which makes a sense but is not completely meaningful is called a phrase. Each sentence begins with a capital letter; as:-

1._     You must work hard in order to get through.

The entire line is known as sentence but ‘in order to’ is a phrase.

PARTS OF A SENTENCE

A sentence has two parts: Subject and Predicate.

Subject:- It is the name of a person or a thing in question.

Predicate:- The part of the sentence which explains the subject is called a predicate.

Example:-

_   Great men  do not hate the sinners. 

(Subject)               (Predicate)     

FORMS OF SENTENCES

There are three types of the sentences: Simple sentences, Compound sentences and Complex sentences.

Simple Sentence:- There is a subject and a predicate in a simple sentence. The simple sentence has only one finite verb; as:-

1._     She does not like cold weather.      

2._     He bought a ring.                  

PATTERNS OF SIMPLE SENTENCES

Subject + Intransitive verb; e.g.

1._     The little children were frightened of the mad dog.

2._     The sun has already set.        

Subject + verb + Direct Object; e.g.

1._     The Eskimos make houses of ice.

2._     She can drive a car.               

Subject + verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object; e.g.

1._     Her mother told her a story.           

2._     She asked me several questions.     

Subject + verb + Direct Object + Preposition + Prepositional Object; e.g.

1._     I gave the money to my friend.      

2._     He bought a new suit for himself.  

Subject + verb + Adverb Adjunct; e.g.

1._     The rain fell the whole night.

2._     The book costs ten dollars.   

Subject + verb + Predicative Adjunct; e.g.

1._     Venus is a planet.                  

2._     The sky grew dark.               

Subject + verb + Noun or Pronoun + to be + Predicative Adjunct; e.g.

1._     Do you consider him to be innocent?      

2._     They believed her to be honest.      

Subject + verb + Object + Adverb Adjunct to Object; e.g.

1._     We found the box empty.     

2._     We painted the doors green. 

Subject + verb + Object + Predicative Adjunct to Object; e.g.

1._     They called him coward.                

2._     We called the dog ‘Brownie’.         

There + verb + Subject, etc.  e.g.

1._     There is a lot of water in the well.

2._     There came a knock at the door.

TYPES OF SIMPLE SENTENCES

There are four types of Simple sentences:-

A. Assertive Sentence:- A sentence that states or declares something is called an assertive sentence (declarative sentence). It is a statement of facts. It may be affirmative or negative. A full stop (.) is put at the end of every assertive sentence; as:-

1._     The sun rises in the east.                 

2._     I do not miss the class.                    

B. Interrogative Sentence:- A sentence that asks a question is called an interrogative sentence. A question mark (?) is put at the end of every interrogative sentence. It has three kinds:-

i. _Verbal Questions:- They have a rising intonation. These questions may be answered with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; as:-

1._         Is your father a Doctor?                 

2._         Have you a car?                    

ii. Pronominal Questions:- They have a falling intonation. These questions cannot be answered with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; as:-

1._         Who has done this?     

2._         When were you born? 

iii. Question-Tag:- It is a phrase in which a question is asked connected with an assertive sentence; as:-

1._         They did not help you, did they?   

2._         He went away early, didn’t he?

Generally, question-tags requiring information have rising intonation. But if they require approval, they have falling intonation; as:-

1._         She is very beautiful, isn’t she?                

2._         It is a fine morning, isn’t it?  

C. Imperative Sentences:- They denote request, advice, order or prohibition etc. A full stop (.) is put at the end of every imperative sentence; as:-

1._     Speak the truth.           

2._     Let her come in. 

D. Exclamatory Sentences:- These sentences express some strong or sudden feeling. A note of exclamation (!) is put at the end of every exclamatory sentence; as:-

1._     How hot it is!               

2._     What a noise you make!