Sentences are either active or passive.
Active: Shakespeare wrote King Lear.
Passive: King Lear was written by Shakespeare.
The active sentence has the pattern S+V+DO .
The direct object King Lear becomes the subject of the passive version,
while Shakespeare, the subject of the active version, moves to the end of the passive version.
Passive sentences are formed by adding the passive auxiliary be and by using a different form of the verb – in this case written
instead of wrote. On the verb forms.
Here are some more examples of active and passive pairs:
Active: The burglar broke a pane of glass.
Passive: A pane of glass was broken by the burglar.
Active: The curator shows the manuscript to visitors.
Passive: The manuscript is shown to visitors by the curator.
Active: The police are seeking witnesses.
Passive: Witnesses are sought by the police.
The ‘by-phrase’ (by the burglar, by the curator, by the police) is sometimes omitted, leaving an agentless passive:
Active: The burglar broke a pane of glass.
Passive: A pane of glass was broken by the burglar.
Agentless Passive: A pane of glass was broken.
Only sentences with a transitive verb can have a passive
version. However, a small number of verbs cannot be passivized, eventhough they are transitive in the active version. These include have,resemble, and suit:
Active: James has a new car.
Passive: *A new car is had by James.
Active: Paul resembles Anthony.
Passive: *Anthony is resembled by Paul.
Active: That colour suits you.
Passive: *You are suited by that colour.
The distinction between an active sentence and a passive sentence is called voice.
Adjuncts
The five sentence patterns can all be extended by the
use of adjuncts. Adjuncts (A) contribute optional, additional information
to a sentence. For example, the S+V sentence The sky darkened can be extended by the addition of adjuncts, to become:
The sky darkened suddenly. (S+V+A)
The sky darkened before the hailstorm. (S+V+A)
The sky darkened at about 9 o’clock. (S+V+A)
In the following examples, we show how each of the five sentence patterns may be extended by adding an adjunct:
Pattern 1: S+V+A
Amy laughed loudly (A).
Pattern 2: S+V+SC+A
My tea is cold as usual (A).
Pattern 3: S+V+DO+A
The soldiers destroyed the village deliberately (A).
Pattern 4: S+V+IO+DO+A
We gave David the prize in the end (A).
Pattern 5: S+V+DO+OC+A
The dye turned the water blue in just a few seconds (A).
Adjuncts can also appear at the beginning of a sentence, before the subject:
Suddenly, the sky darkened. (A+S+V)
Before the hailstorm, the sky darkened. (A+S+V)
At about 9 o’clock, the sky darkened. (A+S+V)
And finally, adjuncts can co-occur. That is, more than one adjunct can occur in the same sentence:
Before the hailstorm (A) the sky darkened suddenly (A).
Unfortunately (A) my tea is cold as usual (A).
On Sunday (A), after the game (A), we met Simon outside the
stadium (A).
In contrast with this, a simple sentence can contain just one subject, one verb, one direct object, and so on.
The meanings of adjuncts
Adjuncts contribute various types of additional information
to a sentence. The principal information types are set out below.
1 Time (when something happens):
The play opened yesterday.
Our guests arrived at seven o’clock.
We visit Greece every year.
2 Place (where something happens):
Amy attended university in New York.
We met Simon outside the restaurant.
I saw David at the swimming pool.
3 Manner (how something happens):
She sings beautifully.
The children listened intently.
Gradually the room filled with smoke.
Vocatives
A vocative is used to identify the person or persons to whom a sentence is addressed:
James, your dinner is ready.
Come inside, children.
Doctor, I need a new prescription.
The car was parked behind the building, your Honour.
I’m sorry I’m late, everyone.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for that warm welcome.
Like adjuncts , vocatives are optional elements in sentence
structure.
Sentence types
There are four major sentence types: declarative , interrogative
imperative , and exclamative.
Declarative sentences
A declarative sentence is typically used to convey information or to
make a statement:
This is Gladstone Park.
David is listening to music.
Simon bought a new house.
James retired in 1998.
In a declarative sentence, the subject usually comes first, and it is followed by the verb. Declarative sentences are by far the most common type. All the sentences we have looked at so far have been declarative sentences.
Interrogative sentences
An interrogative sentence is used in asking a question, and in seeking information:
Is this Gladstone Park?
Have you found a job yet?
Did you receive my e-mail?
Do you take sugar?
Specifically, these are called yes–no interrogatives, because they expect either yes or no as the response.
Alternative interrogatives offer two or more alternative responses:
Do you want tea or coffee?
Is that a Picasso or a Dali?
Wh-interrogatives are introduced by a word beginning with wh, and they expect an open-ended response:
What happened?
Where do you work?
Who won the FA Cup in 1999?
The word how may also introduce an interrogative:
How do you forward an e-mail?
How can I get to Charing Cross?
How is your mother?
Imperative sentences
An imperative sentence is used to issue orders or instructions:
Wait a minute.
Take the overnight train from King’s Cross.
Release the handbrake.
Cut the meat into cubes.
Imperative sentences usually have no subject, as in these examples.
However, the subject you may sometimes be included for emphasis:
Don’t you believe it.
You fix it (if you’re so clever).
Exclamative sentences
Exclamative sentences are exclamations, and they are introduced by
what or how:
What a fool I’ve been!
What a lovely garden you have!
How true that is!
How big you’ve grown!
In exclamative sentences, what is used to introduce noun phrases while how introduces all other types.
The four sentence types – declarative, interrogative, imperative and
exclamative – have different grammatical forms. However, there is no oneto-one relationship between the form of a sentence and its role in communication.For instance, the following sentence has a declarative form:
You need more money.
However, if this is spoken with a rising intonation, it becomes a question:
You need more money?
Conversely, rhetorical questions have the form of an interrogative sentence,but they are really statements:
Who knows? (= Nobody knows.)
Fragments and non-sentences
All the sentences we have looked at so far have been grammatically
complete. Grammatically complete sentences typically contain at least a subject and a verb. However, a great deal of communication consists of incomplete sentences or fragments. In conversation, for instance, speakersoften omit the subject, especially when the subject is I:
Must set my alarm clock tonight.
Caught the early train.
Can’t see anything.
In these cases, the subject I is understood.
Fragments are also commonly used in response to questions:
Speaker A: What did you buy for Sandra?
Speaker B: A gold necklace.
Speaker B’s utterance is a fragment, which we interpret in the same way as the complete sentence I bought a gold necklace for Sandra.
Newspaper headlines are often highly compressed, so that complete
sentences are reduced to fragments:
GOVERNMENT IN PENSIONS SCANDAL
This fragment has no verb, but we interpret it as the complete sentence The Government is involved in a pensions scandal.
We refer to these as fragments because we can interpret them in the same way as grammatically complete sentences. Only some of the sentence elements are missing.
Non-sentences have no sentence structure at all, and they generally occurwithout any surrounding context. They are frequently used in
public signs
and notices:
Exit
No Parking
Motorway Ahead
Paddington, 2 miles
10% Off
Closing Down Sale
Ticket Office
Non-sentences in conversational English include bye, goodbye, hello, no,
ok, right, sure, thanks, thanks very much, yes, as well as the interjections
ouch!, ow!, phew!, yippee!, yuk!
Fragments and non-sentences are a major feature of informal spoken
English. In fact, they account for about one-third of all utterances in conversation.
Active: Shakespeare wrote King Lear.
Passive: King Lear was written by Shakespeare.
The active sentence has the pattern S+V+DO .
The direct object King Lear becomes the subject of the passive version,
while Shakespeare, the subject of the active version, moves to the end of the passive version.
Passive sentences are formed by adding the passive auxiliary be and by using a different form of the verb – in this case written
instead of wrote. On the verb forms.
Here are some more examples of active and passive pairs:
Active: The burglar broke a pane of glass.
Passive: A pane of glass was broken by the burglar.
Active: The curator shows the manuscript to visitors.
Passive: The manuscript is shown to visitors by the curator.
Active: The police are seeking witnesses.
Passive: Witnesses are sought by the police.
The ‘by-phrase’ (by the burglar, by the curator, by the police) is sometimes omitted, leaving an agentless passive:
Active: The burglar broke a pane of glass.
Passive: A pane of glass was broken by the burglar.
Agentless Passive: A pane of glass was broken.
Only sentences with a transitive verb can have a passive
version. However, a small number of verbs cannot be passivized, eventhough they are transitive in the active version. These include have,resemble, and suit:
Active: James has a new car.
Passive: *A new car is had by James.
Active: Paul resembles Anthony.
Passive: *Anthony is resembled by Paul.
Active: That colour suits you.
Passive: *You are suited by that colour.
The distinction between an active sentence and a passive sentence is called voice.
Adjuncts
The five sentence patterns can all be extended by the
use of adjuncts. Adjuncts (A) contribute optional, additional information
to a sentence. For example, the S+V sentence The sky darkened can be extended by the addition of adjuncts, to become:
The sky darkened suddenly. (S+V+A)
The sky darkened before the hailstorm. (S+V+A)
The sky darkened at about 9 o’clock. (S+V+A)
In the following examples, we show how each of the five sentence patterns may be extended by adding an adjunct:
Pattern 1: S+V+A
Amy laughed loudly (A).
Pattern 2: S+V+SC+A
My tea is cold as usual (A).
Pattern 3: S+V+DO+A
The soldiers destroyed the village deliberately (A).
Pattern 4: S+V+IO+DO+A
We gave David the prize in the end (A).
Pattern 5: S+V+DO+OC+A
The dye turned the water blue in just a few seconds (A).
Adjuncts can also appear at the beginning of a sentence, before the subject:
Suddenly, the sky darkened. (A+S+V)
Before the hailstorm, the sky darkened. (A+S+V)
At about 9 o’clock, the sky darkened. (A+S+V)
And finally, adjuncts can co-occur. That is, more than one adjunct can occur in the same sentence:
Before the hailstorm (A) the sky darkened suddenly (A).
Unfortunately (A) my tea is cold as usual (A).
On Sunday (A), after the game (A), we met Simon outside the
stadium (A).
In contrast with this, a simple sentence can contain just one subject, one verb, one direct object, and so on.
The meanings of adjuncts
Adjuncts contribute various types of additional information
to a sentence. The principal information types are set out below.
1 Time (when something happens):
The play opened yesterday.
Our guests arrived at seven o’clock.
We visit Greece every year.
2 Place (where something happens):
Amy attended university in New York.
We met Simon outside the restaurant.
I saw David at the swimming pool.
3 Manner (how something happens):
She sings beautifully.
The children listened intently.
Gradually the room filled with smoke.
Vocatives
A vocative is used to identify the person or persons to whom a sentence is addressed:
James, your dinner is ready.
Come inside, children.
Doctor, I need a new prescription.
The car was parked behind the building, your Honour.
I’m sorry I’m late, everyone.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for that warm welcome.
Like adjuncts , vocatives are optional elements in sentence
structure.
Sentence types
There are four major sentence types: declarative , interrogative
imperative , and exclamative.
Declarative sentences
A declarative sentence is typically used to convey information or to
make a statement:
This is Gladstone Park.
David is listening to music.
Simon bought a new house.
James retired in 1998.
In a declarative sentence, the subject usually comes first, and it is followed by the verb. Declarative sentences are by far the most common type. All the sentences we have looked at so far have been declarative sentences.
Interrogative sentences
An interrogative sentence is used in asking a question, and in seeking information:
Is this Gladstone Park?
Have you found a job yet?
Did you receive my e-mail?
Do you take sugar?
Specifically, these are called yes–no interrogatives, because they expect either yes or no as the response.
Alternative interrogatives offer two or more alternative responses:
Do you want tea or coffee?
Is that a Picasso or a Dali?
Wh-interrogatives are introduced by a word beginning with wh, and they expect an open-ended response:
Where do you work?
Who won the FA Cup in 1999?
The word how may also introduce an interrogative:
How do you forward an e-mail?
How can I get to Charing Cross?
How is your mother?
Imperative sentences
An imperative sentence is used to issue orders or instructions:
Wait a minute.
Take the overnight train from King’s Cross.
Release the handbrake.
Cut the meat into cubes.
Imperative sentences usually have no subject, as in these examples.
However, the subject you may sometimes be included for emphasis:
Don’t you believe it.
You fix it (if you’re so clever).
Exclamative sentences
Exclamative sentences are exclamations, and they are introduced by
what or how:
What a fool I’ve been!
What a lovely garden you have!
How true that is!
How big you’ve grown!
In exclamative sentences, what is used to introduce noun phrases while how introduces all other types.
The four sentence types – declarative, interrogative, imperative and
exclamative – have different grammatical forms. However, there is no oneto-one relationship between the form of a sentence and its role in communication.For instance, the following sentence has a declarative form:
You need more money.
However, if this is spoken with a rising intonation, it becomes a question:
You need more money?
Conversely, rhetorical questions have the form of an interrogative sentence,but they are really statements:
Who knows? (= Nobody knows.)
Fragments and non-sentences
All the sentences we have looked at so far have been grammatically
complete. Grammatically complete sentences typically contain at least a subject and a verb. However, a great deal of communication consists of incomplete sentences or fragments. In conversation, for instance, speakersoften omit the subject, especially when the subject is I:
Must set my alarm clock tonight.
Caught the early train.
Can’t see anything.
In these cases, the subject I is understood.
Fragments are also commonly used in response to questions:
Speaker A: What did you buy for Sandra?
Speaker B: A gold necklace.
Speaker B’s utterance is a fragment, which we interpret in the same way as the complete sentence I bought a gold necklace for Sandra.
Newspaper headlines are often highly compressed, so that complete
sentences are reduced to fragments:
GOVERNMENT IN PENSIONS SCANDAL
This fragment has no verb, but we interpret it as the complete sentence The Government is involved in a pensions scandal.
We refer to these as fragments because we can interpret them in the same way as grammatically complete sentences. Only some of the sentence elements are missing.
Non-sentences have no sentence structure at all, and they generally occurwithout any surrounding context. They are frequently used in
public signs
and notices:
Exit
No Parking
Motorway Ahead
Paddington, 2 miles
10% Off
Closing Down Sale
Ticket Office
Non-sentences in conversational English include bye, goodbye, hello, no,
ok, right, sure, thanks, thanks very much, yes, as well as the interjections
ouch!, ow!, phew!, yippee!, yuk!
Fragments and non-sentences are a major feature of informal spoken
English. In fact, they account for about one-third of all utterances in conversation.
