What Is a Sentence?

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. For example:

Joe likes basketball.
The weather is cold today.
Words can go together to make sentences. Sentences can go together to make a paragraph.
Finally, paragraphs can be combined into an essay. In this book, you will study sentences and sentences
in paragraphs.

letter

word

� = The second focus

� of this book

essay

Do You Know?
Do you know what languages the sentences on the right are in? Check your answers on the
bottom of page 31.
The class has twelve students. Ci sono dodici studenti nella classe.

The student is from Canada.

Mike speaks French and English. Miklos beszel franciaul es angolul.

A cat has a tail and four legs. Pisica are o coada �i patru picioare.

We want to learn English.

4 UNIT 1 • Understanding Sentence Basics

 ACTIVITY 1 Changing Words into Sentences
Unscramble the words to make correct sentences.

I. My name I Angela/is/. _M----"y_n_:_a_m_:_els '-- _n.>L,g..:...e...c.la _. __

.:........c A _____________
_

2. from Kearney, Nebraska/I/ am/ . ______________________

3. in the middle of the United States/ a small city/ Kearney/is/. __ ___________

4. have/ two parents/ I/. __________________________

5. have/and one sister/I / three brothers/. -- ------------------

6. like to ride /I / horses/. --------------------------

7. in the country/ like to hike/ I/ . _______________________

 8. am/ I/an/English teacher/. _______________________

9. foreign languages/like to stud y/I/. ____________________

10. like/I/my job/very much/. _______________________

ACTIVITY 2 Writing Simple Sentences

A. Write six to ten sentences about yourself. Follow the examples in Activity 1.
I. ---------------------------------
2. ------------------ --------------
3. --------------------------- - - ---

4. ---------------------------------
5. ------------------ - -------------

6. ----------------------------- - - -

7. ---------------------------------
8. --------------------- - - - - -------
9. ---------------------- - - - - -- ---
10. ---------------------------------
B. Read your sentences to a classmate. Then your classmate will read his/her sentences to you. Write
four things you learned about your classmate.

1. ---------------------------------

2. ------------------ - -------------
3. ---------------------------------
4. ---------------------------------

Grammar for Writing

Parts of a Sentence: Subjects, Verbs, and Objects
In this unit, you will learn about a sentence pattern that we call a simple sentence. In English,
every sentence has two main parts: the subject and the verb. Sometimes there is an object and/or other
information after the verb.

Subject I Verb I (Object) I (Other Information)

Maria sings.
She plays the piano.
Maria practices at home.
She sings songs in the morning.

6 UNIT 1 • Understanding Sentence Basics

Subject
The subject is the person or thing that does the action. The subject:

• can be a noun or a pronoun

• can be two (or more) nouns/ pronouns. However, the nouns/ pronouns must share the
same verb(s).
Maria and her sister go to piano class every week.

Verb
The verb tells what the subject is doing. The verb:

• is usually an action word, such as go, speak, write, swim, and watch
• sometimes does not have much action, such as be (am, is, are, was, were), like, want, and need
• can have two (or more) actions for one subject
They create and play beautiful music.

Object
The object is the thing or person after the main verb. The object:

• receives the action of the verb

• can be a noun or a pronoun
• can be two (or more) nouns/ pronouns
Maria's brother plays guitar and violin.

Other Information
Sentences can contain other information after the verb and the object, such as time words/
phrases or place phrases. When a sentence has a time word/ phrase and a place phrase, the time word/
phrase usually comes last.

place time word/

phrase phrase
Maria and her sister practice the piano at home every day.

ACTIVITY 3 Identifying Subjects, Verbs, and Objects

Read these sentences about making tuna salad. Underline each subject. Circle each verb. Put a box
around any objects.

1. Tuna salad@ easy to make.

2. The ingredients are simple and cheap.

3. Two ingredients are tuna fish and mayonnaise.

4. I also use onions, salt, and pepper.

5. First, I cut up the onion.

7
6. Then I add the tuna fish and the mayonnaise.

7. Finally, I add some salt and a lot of pepper.

8. Without a doubt, tuna salad is my favorite food!

ACTIVITY 4 Unscrambling Sentences

Unscramble the words to make correct sentences.
l. in Central America/ a small country/ Costa Rica/ is/ .

2. between Panama/ and Nicaragua/ It I is/ .

3. This country I between the Pacific Ocean/ is/ and the Caribbean Sea/ .

4. more than four million/ is/ The population/ of Costa Rica/ .

2. There------- twenty-six letters in the English alphabet. ____________

3. There _______ different students in my class. ________________

4. There _______ an insect on the window. -----------------

5. There _______ a huge map of the world on the wall in our classroom. _______

6. There _ ______ many different animals in a zoo. _______________

Grammar for Writing

Prepositions of Place-At, On, and In

Three important prepositions are at, on, and in. These
prepositions are often used to describe location.

The pyramid design shows the difference in meaning

between at, on, and in.

• The top of the pyramid is a small, specific place.

We use at for a specific location or building,
such as business names and street addresses
(number+ street).
• The middle of the pyramid is larger than
the top. We use on for a street name,
which is larger than a specmc place
like a bank or specific address.
• The bottom of the pyramid is
the largest. We use in for a city,
state, region, or country-places
that are much larger than a street.

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