All About Sentences and their Constituent Parts

Recapturing Basics of English Grammar

Two or more words making complete sense are called sentence.

Examples:

Birds chirp.

Dogs bark.

We worship One God.

A large number of students appear in intermediate examination every year.

People have right to govern themselves.

 

Basic Parts of Sentence
 

A sentence has two basic parts. They are:

·        Subject

·        Predicate

Subject

Subject is a word or group of words which is generally put at the beginning of sentence before a verb or a verb phrase. A subject can be a doer or some object or thing being described or talked about. In the sentences given above as examples subjects are ‘birds, dogs, we, a large number of students and people respectively.

Predicate

Predicate is a word or group of words describing the subject or telling something about the subject. In the sentences given above as examples predicates are ‘chirp, bark, worship One God, appear in intermediate examination every year and have right to govern themselves’ respectively.

Ex. A. Given below are a few sentences. Identify subject and predicate in them and write down in the space provided for. The first has been done for you.

1.     I miss my childhood.

2.     Children like flying kites

3.     A bad works man quarrels with his tools.

4.     Two of trade seldom agrees.

5.     Writing comes through practice.

6.     We cannot concentrate on our work.

7.     Hawks sit high on the mountains.

8.     Freedom has its cost.

9.     Love will never die.

10.                        Child is a father of man.

Sr.	Subject	Predicate
1	i	miss my childhood.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

 

Ex. B. Given below are subjects and predicates in jumbled form. Arrange them as the one has been done for you.

Sr.	Subject	Sr.	Predicate                                                              Answers
1	Horses	A	was skipping the rope.                                      1… J
2	Bats	B	is played in many countries of the world.
3	Dogs	C	is a serious problem in our country.
4	The girl	D	has become one of the major threats.
5	Cricket	E	produce new leaves in spring.
6	Unemployment	F	lies the head that wears the crown.
7	Hate speeches	G	very strong sense of smell.
8	Global warm	H	imports oil in huge quantities.
9	Pakistan	I	fly at night.
10	Trees	J	eat grass.
11	Uneasy	K	should be discouraged.

 

Ex. C. Given below are jumbled words. Rearrange them to make meaningful sentences and write down in the space provided for.

1.     Mortal man is.

2.     Begets love love.

3.     Miss can you never the railway station.

4.     Hates the rich the poor should not.

5.     Die will he for his country.

6.     Kills heat mosquitoes.

7.     Work unfinished be finished must.

8.     The Pakistan president of address the nation will tonight.

9.     Every child obey must his teachers.

10.                         Work bores me never.

11.                        Is the best policy honesty.

Sr.	Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

 

What are sentences made of?

Sentences are made of words. There are eight kinds of words. Words are either:

1.       Nouns < Names>

2.       Adjectives <Words used to describe nouns>

3.       Pronouns <Words used in place of nouns>

4.       Verbs <Action showing or state showing words>

5.       Adverbs <Modifiers of verbs, adjectives, adverbs and the sentences>

6.       Conjunctions <Joining words>

7.       Prepositions <Words showing relationship>

8.       Interjection <Words showing strong emotions>

Nouns

Nouns are name of things, places, persons and qualities.

Examples:

1.       A knife is to cut with.

2.       Multan is a big city.

3.       Ali is a good boy.

4.       Beauty is not forever.

Underlined words in the above sentences are nouns.

Adjectives

Words used to describe are called adjectives.

Examples:

1.       My friend lives in a big house.

2.       We love courageous people.

3.       Small bird told me this news.

4.       Wake up the old man.

5.       Hard work will be rewarded.

Underlined words in the above sentences are adjectives.

Pronouns

Words used to replace nouns are called pronouns.

1.       Ali is my friend, He lives in Lahore, I like him very much. We have been friends for a long time. I have other friends. They are nice boys. Ayesha is Ali’s sister. She is very hardworking girl.

Underlined words in above sentences are pronouns.

Verb

Words used to show actions or states are called verbs.

Examples:

1.       I eat an apple a day.

2.       We love our country.

3.       The earth is round.

4.       He was absent.

5.       He worked hard and passed the examination.

Underlined words in above sentences are verbs

Adverb

Words used to modify meanings of verbs, adjectives, adverbs and sentences are adverbs.

Examples

1.       He went out hurriedly.

2.       He walked slowly.

3.       Consequently, he could not reach his destination.

4.       He walked extremely slowly.

Underlined words in above sentences are adverbs.

Conjunctions

Joining words are conjunctions. Conjunctions may join two words or two clauses.

Examples:

1.       Ali and Ayesha are brother and sister.

2.       He stood up and walked out of the room.

3.       I love you or I do not love you.

4.       She tried to get up but could not.

5.       Love is strong because we know love is life and hate is death.

Underlined words in the above sentences are conjunction.

Prepositions

Words showing relationship between a noun and some other word are called prepositions.

Examples:

1.       The sky is above us,

2.       The dog ran after the small girl.

3.       I am coming behind you.

4.       He was sitting between his father and mother.

5.       He went towards his home.

Underlined words in above sentences are prepositions.

Interjections

Words denoting strong emotions are interjections.

Examples:

1.       Alas! I cannot convince him.

2.       Hurrah! I have won.

3.       Shit! Things are becoming worse.

4.       Wow! What a nice colour!

5.       Ah! We cannot move on.

Underlined words in above sentences are interjections.

Ex. A.

Pick out nouns from the sentences given below and write them in the space provided for. The one first has been done for you.

1.       Asian people need to feel proud of their own culture.

2.       Urdu is spoken and understood almost everywhere in Pakistan.

3.       Great care should be taken while you bring up your kids.

4.       After death there is no death.

5.       Muslims ruled vast area of the world.

6.       Indus is one of the major rivers flowing through Pakistan.

Sr.	Nouns
1	People, culture
2
3
4
5
6

 

Ex. B.

Pick out verbs from the sentences given below and write them in the space provided for. The first one has been done for you.

1.       My sister lives in a big house.

2.       I work for a big company but I get very meagre amount as salary.

3.       Those who work succeed.

4.       If you run fast, you can reach your destination.

5.       I hit with full force and threw the ball out of the stadium.

6.       The boy who stood first in our class was given a cash prize.

Sr.	Verbs
1	Lives
2
3
4
5
6

 

Ex. C.

Pick out adjectives from the sentences given below and write them in the space provided for. The first one has been done for you.

1.       I want a big ball for my son.

2.       The brave was chasing the wild lion.

3.       Many people will lose their lives in accidents if we do not improve traffic on our busy roads.

4.       He is a strong, brave, courageous and uncompromising person.

5.       The bold old man was looking for his lost small beautiful daughter.

6.       The capitalist countries functions like hit man.

Sr.	Adjectives
1	Big
2
3
4
5
6

 

Ex. D.

Pick out adverbs from the sentences given below and write them in the space provided for. The first one has been done for you.

1.       My parents never miss their prayers.

2.       Her foot was hurt badly and she was limping slowly.

3.       Anyhow I shall give you five thousand rupees and you will never come here again.

4.       He missed the point completely..

5.       The lion was roaring very fiercely.

6.       I always work devotedly.

Sr.	Adverb
1	Never
2
3
4
5
6

 

Ex. E.

Pick out pronoun from the sentences given below and write them in the space provided for. The first one has been done for you.

1.       I want a big ball for my son.

2.       The brave was chasing the wild lion. It might be hiding in the jungle.

3.       Many people will lose their lives in accidents if we do not improve traffic on our busy roads.

4.       He is a strong, brave, courageous and uncompromising person.

5.       The bold old man was looking for his lost small beautiful daughter.

6.       The capitalist countries functions like hit man. They force the poor countries to depend on expensive things.

Sr.	Pronoun
1	I
2
3
4
5
6

 

Ex. F.

Pick out prepositions from the sentences given below and write them in the space provided for. The first one has been done for you.

1.       The bench was behind the wall.

2.       Dogs bark at strangers.

3.       Birds fly with their wings.

4.       Fish live in the rivers and the seas.

5.       She put her purse on the table.

6.       The rat went under the table.

Sr.	Prepositions
1	Behind
2
3
4
5
6

 

Ex. G.

Pick out conjunctions from the sentences given below and write them in the space provided for. The first one has been done for you.

1.       Jack and Jill fell from the wall.

2.       The cat was running and the dog chased it.

3.       You will sit or I will make you sit.

4.       I can help you but you will not tell anybody.

5.       Animals live happily because they do not feel.

6.       You are clever as you keep things secret.

Sr.	Conjunctions
1	And
2
3
4
5
6

Kinds of Sentences on the Basis of Structures

Sentences have five kinds on the basis of their structure.

1.       Simple Sentences

2.       Compound Sentences

3.       Complex Sentences

4.       Compound Complex Sentences

5.       Complex Compound Sentences

Simple Sentences

Sentences consisting of just one subject and just one predicate are simple sentences.

Examples:

1.       Boys like cricket.

2.       I took tea with my friends.

3.       People are losing jobs.

4.       We have watched this movie.

5.       Norma frowned.

Compound Sentences

Sentences consisting of independent clauses are called compound sentences. All clauses of compound sentences can be written as independent sentences.

Examples:

1.       The sun rose from the east and travelers set out on their journey.

2.       I knocked at the door many times but there was no answer.

3.       Either he is honest or he is dishonest.

4.       You will behave or I have to report you to the manager.

5.       He cannot walk any further as he is much tired after his journey.

Complex Sentences

Sentences consisting of at least one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses are complex sentences. Clauses of complex sentences cannot be written as independent sentences.

Examples:

1.       The book which I bought yesterday is about use of English in hotels.

2.       The girl who stood first in our college is leaving the college.

3.       The horse which won the race has been sold.

4.       The gift that I received from uncle is very expensive.

5.       We need a nurse who should be fifty to take care of our baby.

Ex. A.

Given below are sentences. Write whether they are simple sentences or compound sentences or s complex sentences. The first one has been done for you.

1.       Those who work hard succeed.                                                                                Complex sentence

2.       The passengers were waiting for the train.

3.       The sun set down and the travellers went to sleep.

4.       We can wait but you will have to pay today.

5.       Many students appear in intermediate examination across the province.

6.       You will sit silent or I shall send you out.

7.       She will fulfill her promise.

8.       The money which I borrowed from my brother was stolen from my room.

9.       The girl who I was talking was my new colleague.

10.   We can arrange a meeting to discuss the deal.

11.   I sold my old computer and bought a new one.

Compound Complex Sentences

Sentences consisting of two or more coordinating clauses as well as subordinating clause or clauses are compound complex sentences.

Examples:

1.       Boys will leave the class and girls will sit where they are.

2.       He worked hard and passed the exam, but his friend who wasted his time failed in all subjects.

3.       The hare disappeared in the bushed and dogs returned in despair but the hunter who was not tired went into the bushes looking for the hare.

Complex Compound Sentences                                                                                           

Complex sentences followed by two or more coordinating clauses are called complex sentences.

Examples:

1.       The boy who stood first in our class could not continue his study as his parent could never afford the high fees of our school and they sent him to another school.

2.       The things which were stolen from my room were never recovered but I was compensated by the insurance firm as all the things were insured.

Note: Clauses which can be written as independent sentences are called coordinating clauses and the clauses which cannot be written as independent sentences are subordinating clauses.