Parts of a Sentence | English Grammar Class 4 PDF Download

Required Parts of a Sentence

Parts of Speech: There are eight parts of speech in English grammar:

• Nouns
• Verbs
• Adjectives
• Prepositions
• Pronouns
• Adverbs
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Sentence Composition: For a sentence to express a complete thought, it must have two essential components:

• A subject, which can be a noun or a pronoun.
• A predicate, which must contain a verb.

Incomplete Sentences: If a sentence includes only one of these essential components (either the subject or the predicate), it results in a sentence fragment. Sentence fragments are considered grammatically incorrect as they do not convey a complete thought.

Subject of a Sentence

Definition of a Subject:

• The subject in a sentence refers to who or what the sentence is about.
• It is usually a noun, pronoun, or a noun phrase.

Examples of Subjects:

• "Kelly walked down the street." (Kelly is a noun)
• "They went to school." (They is a pronoun)
• "The black cat slept all day." (The black cat is a noun phrase)

Types of Subjects:

• Simple Subject: A single word, typically a noun or pronoun, without modifiers.
  • Example: "Kate is a nice girl." (Kate is the simple subject)
• Complete Subject: The simple subject along with all its modifiers.
  • Example: "Jeffrey's poem about his mother made the class cry." (Jeffrey's poem about his mother is the complete subject)
• Compound Subject: Consists of more than one subject element.
  • Example: "Paul and Tommy joined the soccer team at the same time." (Paul and Tommy form the compound subject)

Subject-Verb Order:

• The subject usually precedes the verb in a sentence (examples: is, made, joined).
• Regardless of the length of the subject, it is always the noun performing the action.

Predicate of a Sentence

Definition of a Predicate:

• The predicate of a sentence includes the verb and everything that follows.
• It typically describes what the subject does (with an action verb) or how the subject is (using a linking verb and a complement).

Examples of Predicates:

• "Kelly walked down the street." (The action of Kelly)
• "They went to school." (The action of They)
• "The black cat slept all day." (The action of The black cat)
• In these examples, the words following the subject form the complete predicate.

Types of Predicates:

• Simple Predicate: Consists of only the verb.
  • Example: "Harry cried." (Cried is the simple predicate)
• Complete Predicate: Includes the verb and all words that follow, providing more information.
  • Example: "The mouse slowly ran towards the food." (Slowly ran towards the food is the complete predicate)
• Compound Predicate: Contains two or more verbs or verb phrases related to the same subject.
  • Example: "She laughed at the dog's tricks and decided to adopt him." (Laughed at the dog's tricks and decided to adopt him is the compound predicate)

Components of a Predicate:

• Predicates can be lengthy and contain various elements such as objects and complements in addition to the verb.

Optional Parts of a Sentence

Understanding Optional Elements in a Sentence:

• Beyond the two main parts of a sentence (the subject and predicate), there are optional elements that add detail and depth to sentences.
• These optional elements include objects, complements, and modifiers.

Direct and Indirect Objects

Definition of Objects in a Predicate:

• Objects are noun phrases within the predicate of a sentence.

Direct Objects:

• Direct objects are acted upon by the verb.
• They answer questions beginning with "what."

Examples:

• "Susan bought the gift." (The gift is the direct object answering 'What did Susan buy?')
• "He wrote a letter." (A letter is the direct object answering 'What did he write?')
• "The boy threw the ball." (The ball is the direct object answering 'What did the boy throw?')

Indirect Objects:

• Indirect objects provide information about the person or thing towards which the action is directed.
• They answer questions beginning with "who."

Examples:

• "Susan bought him the gift." (Him is the indirect object answering 'Who did Susan buy the gift for?')
• "He wrote me a long letter." (Me is the indirect object answering 'Who did he write a letter to?')
• "The boy threw his mother the ball." (His mother is the indirect object answering 'Who did he throw the ball to?')

Alternative Sentence Structure with Prepositional Phrases:

• Sentences can be rephrased so the indirect object follows the direct object in a prepositional phrase.

Example:

• "Susan bought the gift for him" is an alternate way of stating "Susan bought him the gift."

Subject and Object Complements

Role of Complements in Predicates:

• In predicates with linking verbs (rather than action verbs), the nouns following the verb are called complements.
• Complements can be nouns, noun phrases, pronouns, or adjectives.

Subject Complements (Predicate Nominatives):

• Subject complements, also known as predicate nominatives, modify the subject by providing further description.
• Examples:
  • "I am a mother." (Mother is a complement describing the subject 'I')
  • "The cat was the laziest creature." (The laziest creature is a complement describing the subject 'The cat')
  • "The woman is blonde." (Blonde is a complement describing the subject 'The woman')

Object Complements:

• Object complements function similarly but modify the object of the sentence.
• They typically follow transitive verbs, which express action toward an object.
• Examples:
  • "I named my son Carson." (Carson is a complement for the object 'son')
  • "The cat considers me his servant." (His servant is a complement for the object 'me')
  • "The woman dyed her hair blonde." (Blonde is a complement for the object 'her hair')

Importance of Complements:

• Complements are essential for adding explanation and detail in a sentence.
• Understanding their role becomes clearer when practicing sentence diagramming.

Adjectival and Adverbial Modifiers

Role of Modifiers in Sentences:

• Modifiers provide additional information to a sentence.
• Adjectival modifiers modify nouns and pronouns.
• Adverbial modifiers modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
• Modifiers can be single parts of speech or groups of words (phrases).

Examples of Modifiers:

• Adjectival Modifier: "The blue boat sank." (Blue modifies the subject boat)
• Adverbial Modifier: "The boat slowly sank." (Slowly modifies the verb sank)
• Phrase Modifiers:
  • "She exercised in the morning." (In the morning is a phrase modifying exercised)
  • "The boy fell asleep at school." (At school is a phrase modifying fell asleep)
  • "They bought a very expensive house." (Very expensive is a phrase modifying house)

Nature of Modifiers:

• Modifiers are optional in sentence construction.
• They provide additional information but are not as essential as the subject and verb.
• Complements, a type of modifier, play a more crucial role in conveying the meaning of a sentence.

Creating a Complete Sentence

• Essential Components of a Sentence: Recognize that every sentence must have a subject and a verb to be grammatically complete.
• Enhancing Sentences with Additional Elements: Utilize complements, adverbials, and other modifiers to add interest and detail to your writing.
• Caution in Usage: Be mindful not to overuse these elements in the same sentence, as this can lead to confusing run-on sentences.