2015

ESOL Beginners course UNIT 3

ESOLcentre.uk
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Unit 3
Part 1 Sentence structure

In Part 1 of this Unit we are going to look at sentence formation. Sentences are built from
words. Each word in the sentence has a specific role, it carries information and meaning.

word word word

A Sentence is a group of words, usually containing a verb, which expresses a
thought, statement, question, instruction and starts with a capital letter.

Most (short) sentences consist of a subject/object and a verb.

Examples: John cycles. Subject+verb

We ate dinner. Subjects+verb+object

No *- easy task
*- moderate difficulty
**- difficult task 1
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Phrases to begin a sentence with:

I believe that... In my opinion...

It is vital that... I have to say that...

I really feel that... I’m sure... I know...

Others must agree that... It is clear that...

Clearly... I’m absolutely certain...

It has to be time that... Without a doubt...

The time has come to... It seems to me that...

Everyone knows that... I agree that... Of course...

The fact is... In truth... Surely…

*Task 1
Using the phrases above write five sentences on topics of your choice

Example: The time has come to cash in on my investment.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Share your answers on the Student Forum or email them to your tutor.
No *- easy task
*- moderate difficulty
**- difficult task 2
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Sentence structures

Sentences must contain a verb. A Verb is an action word. It describes an action, state of
being.

Example: It is raining. A noun refers to a thing, person, place

Subjects and objects are nouns.

Sentences also contain a subject(s) and/or an object(s).

It is raining. Tom ate his dinner.

Subject Subject Object

Verb (past form-irregular verb)

Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions are also sentence structures.

Describes a noun: red, fast, pretty, large, extreme, beautiful

Give more information about a verb, adjective or other adverbs: when, sometimes,
yesterday, here, always, never
Used to connect or link words in a sentence: at, by, in, across, on, behind, through
Connect words, phrases and clauses in a sentence: if, so that, as soon as, although, because

Examples:

ADJECTIVES: red hat; fast cars; pretty girl

ADVERBS: Tomorrow is the last day of school. We never drink while driving.

PREPOSITIONS: Jeremy lives across the road. Merry works at the biscuit factory.

CONJUNCTIONS: I want to learn English so that I can get a better job. Working and studying
can be exhausting because it requires more time and effort.

No *- easy task
*- moderate difficulty
**- difficult task 3
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**Task 2
Build as many sentences as you can using words from the table below.

Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Conjunctions

people play hard sometimes at because
animal work energetic always in although
park like fast usually on with

Share your sentences on the Student Forum or email them to your tutor.

√ You can move on to Part 2 of this Unit

No *- easy task
*- moderate difficulty
**- difficult task 4