Mohamed Khider University, Biskra
Faculty of Arts and Languages
Department of Foreign Languages
English Language Division
Module: GRAMMAR
Level: First Year LMD
Teacher: SAIHI H.
INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR
2. SENTENCE IN ENGLISH
Sentence
1. Sentence Word order The word order influences the meaning of the English sentence
* THE BASIC WORD ORDER
S +
The cook
S +
He
I
I
2. Sentence forms
Any sentence can be:
V
+
burnt
V
+
read
waited
bought
O
the dinner
O
+
the note
a hat
ADVERB
quickly
at the corner
yesterday
how?
where?
when?
A statement e.g. the shops close/ I don't close at night.
A question: e.g. do the shops close at 7 tonight?
A command: e.g. shut the door/ don't shut the door
An exclamation: e.g. what a slow train this is?
N.B. These are certain things you must respect:
 A capital letter at the beginning and a full stop at the end for the
statement
 A question mark for the question
 An exclamation mark for the exclamation
 Quotation marks for the reported speech
3. Sentence kinds
Simple
Compound- complex
Compound

SIMPLE SENTENCE
Complex
One independent clause e.g. This car is made in Germany
COMPOUND SENTENCE
Two independent clauses linked together by these ways
e.g. The game of basketball was invented in the United States, but it is now popular all over the world.
The game of basketball was invented in the United States; however, it is now popular all over the world.
The game of basketball was invented in the United States; it is now popular all over the world.
COMPLEX SENTENCE
One independent clause (subordinate)
e.g. A sports teacher invented the game because he wanted his students to have a sport that could play indoors during the
cold months of winter.
The first baskets were peach baskets which were attached to the walls of the school gymnasium.
COMPOUND – COMPLEX
Two independent clauses + at least one dependent clause
e.g. The first baskets were peach baskets which were attached to the walls of the school gymnasium, and
the first basketballs were soccer balls.
2012/2013 ©SAIHI H.
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Let’s practice (01): Identify the following sentences as S=simple, CP=compound, CX=complex, CC=Compound-Complex.
To make this easier, circle the subjects, underline the verbs, and cross out the prepositional phrases.
_____ 1. The most popular sport in the world is soccer.
_____ 2. People in ancient China and Japan had a form of soccer, and even Rome had a game that resembled soccer.
_____ 3. The game as it is played today got its start in England.
_____ 4. In the Middle Ages, whole towns played soccer on Shrove Tuesday.
_____ 5. Goals were built at opposite ends of town, and hundreds of people who lived in those towns would play on each side.
_____ 6. Such games resembled full-scale brawls.
_____ 7. The first side to score a goal won and was declared village champion.
_____ 8. Then both sides tended to the wounded, and they didn’t play again for a whole year.
_____ 9. The rules of the game were written in the late 1800s at British boarding schools.
_____10.Now, nearly every European country has a national soccer team, and the teams participate in international tournaments.
_____11.For both rich and poor in Rome, public baths were a daily pleasure.
_____12.The baths were somewhat similar to modern health clubs, although they had little equipment for exercising.
_____13.Rome alone had 856 baths; most of them were private.
_____14.Citizens who became rich were expected to build baths for their fellow citizens, and many generously built huge marble facilities.
_____15.For the equivalent of about a quarter-penny, any Roman could be massaged, scrubbed, and soaked in a public bath.
_____16.First, bathers might exercise, and then they went to a hot, dry room to sweat.
_____17.Next, they visited a hot, steamy room, and the final stage was a plunge into ice-cold water.
_____18.After the citizens finished their baths, they would wrap themselves in towels and visit with friends or walk about the grounds.
_____19.The serious-minded could browse through the bath’s library.
_____20.They also sat around and played chess and checkers in game rooms.
4. Sentence Parts
Predicate
Subject
Simple
e.g.
Simple:
complete
the dog
Complete:
barks all day long.
Predicate
barks all day long.
the little dog in the house next door
Predicate
Let’s practice (02): Label the part of sentence for the words in bold.
Use these labels: simple subject, complete subject, simple predicate, complete predicate
1. I drove to my sister's house.
2. My sister and I are planning a trip to Costa Rica.
3. Everyone enduring a Minnesotan winter wants a trip to Costa Rica.
4. San Jose is the capital of Costa Rica.
5. While there, we plan on hiking and swimming
5. Sentence Patterns
a.
b.
Pattern One:
Pattern Two:
Subject
predicate
Subject
Intransitive verb
Dogs
bark
the baby
is sleeping
Subject
linking verb
Our neighbour's dog
looks
Dogs
c.
Pattern Three:
are
Subject
Subject
Dogs
We
2012/2013 ©SAIHI H.
predicate
Subject
Subject complement
lonely(adjective)
sociable animals
predicate
Transitive verb
need
visited
Direct object
attention
our aunt
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d.
Pattern Four:
Subject
predicate
Subject
Transitive verb
Our neighbours
leave
Our neighbours
e.
named
Direct object
Object
their dog
alone
complement
their dog
Fifi
Pattern Five:
Subject
Subject
predicate
Transitive verb
Indirect
Direct object
object
f.
They
should give
Fifi
more attention
They
bought
her
a new leash
Pattern Six:
Subject
predicate
There or it
Verb (usually be)
There
isn't
It
is
Subject
any hot weather
(nice) to meet you
Let’s practice (03): In the blank, identify the sentence pattern according to this code:
A. Subject - Action Verb
B. Subject - Action Verb - Direct Object
C. Subject - Action Verb - Indirect Object - Direct Object
D. Subject - Non-Action Verb (Linking Verb) - Complement
_____ 1. Some of my friends did come to the party.
_____ 2. Some of my friends gave a party at a big hotel.
_____ 3. Some of my friends were sorry about missing the party.
_____ 4. Some of my friends gave me a bon voyage party.
_____ 5. Some of my friends gave the office party a bad name.
_____ 6. The four-day work week may soon be a reality.
_____ 7. Many people now work a full seven-day week.
_____ 8. To many people, the idea of more leisure time is appealing.
_____ 9. Labor unions will consider the four-day work week.
_____ 10. Long holiday weekends now give people a taste of more leisure time.
_____ 11. A reduced work week would provide more jobs for those now unemployed.
_____ 12. For some people, the four-day work week will remain a dream for a long time.
_____ 13. Some experiments will evaluate the four-day work week.
_____ 14. Employee dissatisfaction creates alarming conditions.
_____ 15. The four-day week could conceivably give us too much free time.
6. Question patterns
YES/NO
INFORMATION
TAG
1. YES/NO QUESTIONS:
e.g. Is she your sister?
Does he know the answer?
2. INFORMATION QUESTIONS: e.g. Who is she?
Where were they?
3. TAG QUESTIONS:
e.g. Positive sentences: it is a nice day, isn't it?
Negative sentence: it isn't too windy, is it?
2012/2013 ©SAIHI H.
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