Basic Sentence Structures

in the English Language

To understand sentence structures in the English language, you must first have a general
understanding of the types of words that are used to make sentences.

Noun – a person, place or thing

Singular examples (one): brother, home, sock, mouse

Plural examples (more than one): brothers, homes, socks, mice

Verb – an action

Examples: jump, sit, talk, have

Adjective – describes a noun

Examples: colorful shirt, funny story, tall boy

Adverb – describes other verbs (not nouns)

Examples: jumped yesterday, talks fast, sings loud, very pretty, luckily for us

Subject – the noun or nouns that perform the action

Example: The dog jumped.

The subject of this sentence is the noun, dog, because it is performing the action of jumping.

Example: Dogs and cats sleep.

The subjects of this sentence are the nouns, dogs and cats. This is called a compound
subject because there is more than one subject performing the same action.

Object – the noun or nouns that receive the action

Example: The child drank milk.

The object of this sentence is the noun, milk, because the child is drinking the milk. The milk is
receiving the action.

Example: She is eating bread and cheese.

The objects of this sentence are the nouns, bread and cheese. The subject is eating them both.

Five basic sentence structures

There are five basic sentence structures in the English language.

1. Subject-Verb

Examples:

 The boy plays.

 Jack eats.
 Sara sits.

2. Subject-Verb-Object

Examples:

 The girl pets the cat.

 I love apples.
 Bill kicks the ball.

3. Subject-Verb-Adjective

Examples:

 Lisa is pretty.
 They are nice.
 I am sad.

4. Subject-Verb-Adverb

Examples:

 Maria laughs loudly.

 The dog jumps high.
 Apples are everywhere.

5. Subject-Verb-Noun

Examples:

 I am the teacher.
  Jon is a carpenter.
 The boy is a student.

Expanding Sentences
The examples above are basic sentences. Basic sentences can be expanded, or lengthened, by
adding adjectives, adverbs and objects.

1. Subject-Verb

 Jack eats.
This is the basic subject-verb pattern.

 Jack quickly eats.
An adverb is added (quickly) to tell how Jack eats.  
 
 Jack quickly eats carrots.
An object is added (carrots) to tell what Jack eats.

 Jack quickly eats carrots at home.

Another adverb is added (at home) to tell where Jack eats.

 Jack quickly eats fresh carrots at home.

An adjective is added (fresh) to tell what kind of carrots Jack eats.

2. Subject-Verb-Object

 Bill kicks the ball.        

This is a basic subject-verb-object pattern.

 Bill kicks the red ball.

An adjective is added (red) to tell the color of the ball.

 Bill kicks the red ball hard.

An adverb is added (hard) to tell how Bill kicks the ball.

 Bill kicks the red ball hard every day.

Another adverb is added (every day) to tell when Bill kicks the ball.

3. Subject-Verb-Adjective

 She looks pretty.

This is the basic subject-verb-adjective pattern.

 She looks pretty tonight.

An adverb is added (tonight) to tell when she looks pretty.

 Lisa looks pretty tonight.

The subject is identified with a name (Lisa).
4. Subject-Verb-Adverb

 Apples are everywhere.

This is the basic subject-verb-adverb pattern.

 Green apples are everywhere.

An adjective is added (green) to describe the apples.

 Ripe, green apples are everywhere. 

A series of adjectives are added (ripe and green) to describe the apples.

5. Subject-Verb-Noun

 The boy is a student.

This is the basic subject-verb-noun sentence pattern.

 Jon is a student.
The subject is identified with a name (Jon).

 Jon is a smart student.
An adjective is added (smart) to tell what kind of student Jon is.

 Jon is a smart student at school.

An adverb is added (at school) to tell where Jon is a smart student.

What does GRAMMAR mean?

 Grammar is simply the way we combine words together so that other people can
understand us. As time went by, people made rules about how to use the words
together. They made rules about how these words change to show different things. For
example, "is drinking" shows the action happens now, and "drank" shows that the action
happened in the past.

 All these rules are important because they help us communicate our ideas
and understand the ideas of other people.

What does TENSE Mean?

A tense is a form of a verb which shows the time at which an action happens.

It comes from the Latin word "tempus", which means "time".

Examples

"Sang" is a form of the verb "sing". This form shows the action happened in the past. This is the
Past Tense.

"Sleeps" is a form of the verb "sleep". This form shows the action happens in the present. This is
the Present Tense.

In fact, English verb tenses are not much more complicated than that. We will go over them step
by step so that you get full a understanding of them.
We will start with the Simple English Tenses.

A Simple tense is a form of a verb that simply shows when the action takes place.

 The Simple Past is a form of the verb that shows the action took place in the past.

For example: Lisa danced yesterday.

 The Simple Present is a form of the verb that shows the action takes place in the
present.

For example: Lisa dances every day.

 The Simple Future is a form of the verb that shows the action will take place in the
future.

For example: Lisa will dance tomorrow.

PROGRESSIVE means "continuing".

A Progressive tense is a form of a verb that shows the action is in progress. Or in other words,
that it continues.

 The Past Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action was in progress at
some time in the past.

For example: Lisa was dancing yesterday at 8 o'clock.

 The Present Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action is in progress in
the present.

For example: Lisa is dancing right now.

 The Future Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action will be in progress
at some time in the future.

For example: Lisa will be dancing tomorrow at 8 o'clock.

PERFECT means "complete, finished".

A Perfect tense is a form of a verb that shows the action is complete. It does not mean the
action is "perfect" (100%). It means the action is finished.

 The Past Perfect is a form of the verb that shows the action was complete before some
time in the past.

For example: Lisa had danced before she came.

 The Present Perfect is a form of the verb that shows the action was complete before
the present.

For example: Lisa has already danced.

 The Future Perfect is a form of the verb that shows the action will be complete before
some time in the future.

For example: Lisa will have danced tomorrow by 9 o'clock.

Perfect + Progressive?!
Yes! There are 3 more tenses. These are the Perfect Progressive (Continuous) tenses.

A Perfect Progressive tense is a form of the verb that shows the action started, continued, and
was complete until some point.

 The Past Perfect Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action started in the
past and continued until some point in the past.

For example: Lisa had been dancing for 2 hours before she was tired.

 The Present Perfect Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action started in
the past and continued until the present.

For example: Lisa has been dancing for 3 hours without stopping!

 The Future Perfect Progressive is a form of the verb that shows the action will
continue until some point in the future.
 For example: By tomorrow morning, Lisa will have been dancing for 12 hours!

Simple Present Tense

(also called Present Simple)
The Simple Present is a very common tense in English. You should understand
it, and know it well.
How do we use this tense?
The Simple Present is a form of the verb that shows the action takes place in the
present.

Here are the different usages of this tense:

Repeating actions or habits
(The verbs are in bold)

They travel every Sunday.

He goes to school by bike.

He always loses his papers.
They usually get a lot of fish.
They go to work every day.

Facts or things which are

true at all times

Paris is in France.
He is a policeman.

Conditions (not actions)

taking place at this moment

This is a big ship.

She looks dangerous.
She likes him.
He thinks that she is pretty.
He has a car.

Positive Sentences

Form of
Who? Examples
verb
I verb I run every day.
He runs every day.
He/She/It verb + s She runs every day.
It runs every day.
You verb You run every day.
We verb We run every day.
They verb They run every day.
 Negative Sentences

Form of
Who? Examples
verb
I do not / don't I don't run every day.
He does not run every day.
He doesn't run every day.
She does not run every day.
He/She/It does not / doesn't
She doesn't run every day.
verb It does not run every day.
It doesn't run every day.
You do not run every day.
You do not / don't
You don't run every day.
We do not / don't We don't run every day.
They do not / don't They don't run every day.

Question Sentences

Form of
Who? Examples
verb
Do I Do I run every day?
Does he run every day?
Does he/she/it Does she run every day?
verb Does it run every day?
Do you Do you run every day?
Do we Do we run every day?
Do they Do they run every day?

Change the verb into the correct form, then press "Check" to check your answers.

1. I usually   (go) to school.

2. They   (visit) us often.

3. You   (play) basketball once a week.

4. Tom   (work) every day.

5. He always   (tell) us funny stories.

6. She never   (help) me with that!

7. Martha and Kevin   (swim) twice a week.

 8. In this club people usually   (dance) a lot.

9. Linda   (take care) of her sister.

10. John rarely   (leave) the country.

11. We   (live) in the city most of the year.

12. Lorie   (travel) to Paris every Sunday.

13. I   (bake) cookies twice a month.

14. You always   (teach) me new things.

15. She   (help) the kids of the neighborhood.

Change the verb into the correct form:

1. London   (be) in England.

2. The summer   (be) hot.

3. She   (drive) very well.

4. They   (open) the store at 8:00.

5. Linda   (be) a very pretty girl.

6. I   (have) several jobs.

7. Water   (boil) at 100 degrees.

8. Water   (freeze) at 0 degrees.

9. My sister   (speak) English.

10. He   (have) a big apartment.

11. A triangle   (have) three corners.

12. My birthday   (be) in June.

13. Books   (have) pages.

14. Dogs   (be) good friends.

15. I   (work) hard.

Change the verb into the correct form,!

Change the verb into the correct form:

1. I   (love) you.

2. This   (weigh) 20 kilograms.

3. Ron   (seem) serious.

4. We   (like) tomatoes.

5. The boy   (want) to play.

6. You   (need) to sleep.

7. They   (agree) with me.

8. She   (hear) something strange.

9. The box   (contain) food.

10. Emma   (appear) sad.

11. David   (know) how to fix a car.

12. Daniel and Liz   (seem) happy.

13. This   (smell) bad.

14. I   (believe) you.

15. We   (be) number one!

Change the verb into the correct form:

1. I   (go) to the city once a week.

2. You   (play) the guitar very well.

3. She never   (visit) me.

4. Tom always   (find) new ways to do things.

6. Ann   (want) to speak.

7. Toronto   (be) in Canada.

8. Cars   (have) wheels.

9. My mother   (have) a big house.

10. We   (play) a lot.

11. They   (sell) fruit and eggs.

12. The building   (be) on fire.

13. Marta   (seem) sad.

14. I usually   (help) my neighbors.

15. His brother rarely   (leave) town.

Change the verb into the correct form:

1. Daniel   (fly) to Paris once a year.

2. She never   (do) her homework.

3. Lisa   (try) to help her sister.

4. Mark   (go) home at seven.

5. The baby   (cry) every night.

6. He   (miss) her a lot.

7. Joe   (study) really hard.

8. A boy   (kiss) a girl.

9. Joana   (buy) new stuff all the time.

10. Tim   (watch) this show every night.

11. Sara   (say) this all the time.

12. The teacher   (teach) us new things.

13. He   (pay) me well.

14. Barbara   (wash) the dishes, and Leo washes the floor.

15. Nick   (play) tennis twice a week.

16. This girl always   (push) somebody.

17. Isabella   (enjoy) listening to music.

18. David never   (mix) milk and eggs.

19. The bee   (buzz).

20. Taylor   (fix) cars.

Change the verb into the correct form:

1. I   (not ride) horses.

2. You   (not sell) cars.

3. He   (not bring) gifts.

4. She   (not take) pictures.

5. It   (not cost) so much.

 6. We   (not seem) so happy.

7. They   (not buy) new products.

8. Michael   (not dance).

9. Michel   (not run) fast.

10. Tim and Kate   (not work) every day.

11. Lucas and Clara   (not eat) meat.

12. I   (not swim) much.

13. You   (not ski) at all.

14. It   (not hurt).

15. We   (not give up).

ARTICLES

An article is a word that is used before a noun to show whether the noun refers to
something specific or not. A, an and the are articles.

Examples:

"I need a chair."
In the sentence above we find the article "a". It shows us that the speaker does not need
a specific chair. He can have any chair.

"I want an apple."
In the sentence above we find the article "an." It shows us that the speaker does not want
a specific apple. He can have any apple.

"I want the red apple."

In the sentence above we find the article "the." It shows us that the speaker wants
a specific apple.

In English, there are two kinds of grammar articles.

 The Definite Article
(For example: the box)
"Definite" means "clear, obvious."

The definite article tells us that the noun is specific. The speaker talks about a particular (or
known) thing.

The definite article in English is "the."

Examples:

"The car I bought broke down."

"He has a son and a daughter. The daughter is a doctor."
"The actors were really good."
"I remember the day we first met."

"The" can be used before both singular and plural nouns.

Examples:

"The flower he gave her was very beautiful."

"The flowers on the table are nice."

The Indefinite Article

(For example: a box)
"In-" means "not," and "definite" means "clear, obvious."

"Indefinite" means "not clear, not exact."

The indefinite article tells us that the noun is not specific. The speaker talks about any one of
that type of thing.

The indefinite articles in English are "a" and "an."

Examples:

"I need a pen."
(The speaker doesn't tell us which pen he needs. He simply needs a pen, any pen.)

"Lisa wants to see a movie."

(The speaker doesn't tell us which movie Lisa wants to see. She wants to see some movie.)
 
"Joe has a car."
(The speaker doesn't tell us which car Joe has. He has some car.)

"She is a dancer."
(She dances for a living.)

What is the difference between "a" and "an"?

"A" and "an" have the same meaning.

We use "a" before a consonant sound.

Examples:
a dog
a building
a country
a professor
a university

We use "an" before a vowel sound.

Examples:
an apple
an umbrella
an eye
an hour

Important!

We use "a" and "an" only before a singular noun. We can't use "a" and "an" before a plural noun.

Examples:

Correct: a car.
Incorrect: a cars.

Correct: an orange.
Incorrect: a oranges.
Continuos or progressive present.

We use continuos present for action that we do at the moment that

We are speaking.

Condition of the verb, gerund (ing).= verb ando iendo

Auxiliaries TO BE PRESENT 1st am 2nd are 3rd is.

Time Express. Now, at this moment, right now.

I am watching TV now

PERSONA + AUX ( TO BE )+ VERB (ING) + REST. (+)

What are you watching now?

QW + AUX ( TO BE )+ PERSONA + VERB (ING) + REST ?

Are you coming?

No, I am not coming.

No, + PERSONA + AUX (TO BE ) + NEGATIVE CLAUSE+ VERB (ING) + REST.

Lemon tree
I'm sittin' here in the boring room
It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon
I'm wasting my time
I got nothin' to do
I'm hangin' around
I'm waitin' for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder
I'm drivin' around in my car
I'm drivin' too fast
I'm drivin' too far
I'd like to change my point of view
I feel so lonely
I'm waitin' for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder
I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon tree
I'm turnin' my head up and down
I'm turnin', turnin', turnin', turnin', turnin' around
And all that I can see is just another lemon tree
Sing!
Dap-dadada-dadpm-didap-da
Dadada-dadpm-didap-da
Dap-didili-da
I'm sittin' here
I miss the power
I'd like to go out takin' a shower
But there's a heavy cloud inside my head
I feel so tired
Put myself into bed
Well, nothing ever happens and I wonder
Isolation is not good for me
Isolation, I don't want to sit on the lemon tree
I'm steppin' around in the desert of joy
Baby, anyhow I'll get another toy
And everything will happen and you wonder
I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just another lemon tree
I'm turnin' my head up and down
I'm turnin', turnin', turnin', turnin', turnin' around
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon tree
And I wonder, wonder
I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see
And all that I can see
And all that I can see
Is just a yellow lemon tree…
I am speaking.

I am having breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner. MEALS

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR BREAKFAST ?

I AM HAVING BREAKFAST.

What are you having for breakfast?

I am having fried eggs for breakfast.