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Understanding Sentences Syntax The study of sentence structure is called syntax from the Greek words syn (together) and taxis (arranged). According to the respected grammarian and expert linguist David Crystal most native English speakers are taught that sentences are 'constructions which can used on their own - units of meaning which seem to "make sense" by themselves (Encyclopedia of the English language, 2nd Ed., p. 215). Unfortunately, this standard definition while useful is nevertheless inadequare once we start to examine many of the more complex and non-standard sentence structures that we happen across in everyday life.

 Major sentences, simple sentences and complex sentences These constitute the vast majority of sentence and are essentially sentences which can be broken down into a predictable pattern of elements or building blocks. In the language of grammar we call these 'patterns of elements' clauses. Sentences which only contain one pattern of elements is said to be a simple sentence whereas sentences which contain more than one clause are said to be multiple or complex sentences. 

Simple sentence Apart from a few very special cases, every sentence needs to have a subject (the person or object or event we are writing about) and a verb (an action or state of mind). A sentence that contains a subject (S) and a (V) is called a clause. Some people prefer to think about the subject as the origin of the action or the undergoer of the state, basically the person or thing that is being modified or changed by the verb. It all sounds very confusing but in its most basic form a sentence should involve something happened to

someone or something.Paul went to the shops   S       V The builders were mixing cement              S                      VIt isn't absolutely essential that you understand all the nuts and bolts of sentence construction, but it really helps. A simple sentence, then, is a short sentence with a single clause (verb + subject). They tend to be quite short and only offer a little bit of information. They're great for building tension in suspense writing, or making a list, or offering a little slice of information or description, but use too many and your writing will look simplistic and read like a shopping list.  

Compound sentence  Basically a compound sentence is made of two simple sentences joined by a conjunction (C) (e.g. and, but, as, so, or).  I   hate   dogs. (simple sentence)S    V  I   love   cats. (simple sentence)S    V  I   hate   dogs,   but   I   love   cats. (compound sentence)S    V                           S     VNotice how we put a comma before the 'but' because we are introducing the second clause (simple sentence).Remember:  Junctions join two or more roads together, so we use conjunctions to join two or more short sentences together. But remember, commas are notconjunctions and they should never be used to join short sentences together. Also, try to avoid using the same conjunction over and over again, it gets repeptitive and becomes dull to read.   BEWARE!The conjunction that you use may alter the meaning of your sentence!Conjunctions don't just stick sentences together, they show the relationship between the pieces of information.

Note the slightly different meaning in these sentences:

I walked home. I was tired.I walked home and I was tired.I walked home as I was tired.I walked home but I was tired.I walked home so I was tired.  

Complex sentence  When you make a compound sentence you are linking two or more simple sentences together with a conjunction. If you remove the conjunction the sentences would be complete and they would still make sense: I hate dogs, but I love cats (Compound sentence) If we remove the conjunction ('but') the two separate sentences will still make sense on their own: I hate dogs.    I love cats. However, this isn't the case with complex sentences. Complex sentences don't just divide into neat, complete, simple sentences if you take out the conjunctions. In complex sentences one half the sentence is dependent on the other and it won't work without it. Basically, in a complex sentence the conjunction is used to join together clauses. A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. Some of these clauses might be complete short sentences, but in a complex sentence at least one of them will depend on the conjunction for its meaning. In other words, if you take away the conjunction the two sentences won't make sense by themselves. Complex sentences often include the conjunctions 'because' and 'although'. The dinner was burned because she had forgotten it. (complex sentence)            S                  V            C        S                 V• The dinner was burned = complete, short sentence• because = conjunction (joining word)• she had forgotten it = subordinate clause. This doesn't make sense on its own.

What had she forgotten? This is called a 'subordinate clause' because without the rest of the sentence it doesn't really make sense.

Although I'm not very good, I really enjoy playing football.      C          S                   V   S              V       V

= Although + I'm not very good + I really enjoy playing football. (complex sentence)• Although = conjunction (joining word). Yes, sometimes conjunctions can appear at

the beginning of a sentence!• I'm not very good = subordinate clause. This doesn't make sense on its own. What

are you not very good at? This is called a 'subordinate clause' because without the rest of the sentence it doesn't really make sense.

• I enjoy playing football = complete short sentenceBEWARE!

As for compound sentences, commas are not conjunctions and they should never be used to join short sentences or clauses together (commas aren't sticky, so you can't use them to stick information together!).

The dinner was burned, she had forgotten it. = incorrect            S                  V         S                V               The dinner was burned because she had forgotten it. = correct            S                  V             C       S                 V     

Word, phrase, clause, sentence For us to be able to talk about these different kinds of complexity we use the term level, which allows us to recognise that a sentence is not a simple, straight forward string of items, rather that these items are grouped together into units which work in relation to other units. Native speakers are instinctively awareof these units and levels even if they can't explain what they are and how they work since this is the nature of learning a language from birth, but to truly understand how grammatical sentences are constructed we need to be aware of how these units and levels fit together. David Crystal helps us here by providing a breakdown of the units of a major sentence: The sentence The big dogs enjoyed their unexpected bones quickly shows us evidence of different levels of complexity. You would be forgiven for thinking that the smallest possible level of complexity in this sentence, if we were to break it down ino the smallest possible units, would be individual words. However, there exists even smaller units: dog + -s, enjoy + ed, un- +expect + -ed, and bone + -s. The use of suffixes and prefixes shows that there is a level of structure within the word, what we call the morphological level. The first three words, and the last three, both combine into larger units called phrases, and they show that there is a level of strucutre between the word and the sentence.It would be possible to make the sentence bigger by linking it to a similar sequence of words: The big dogs enjoyed their unexpected bones, and the little puppies liked the scraps. The sentence now consists of two clauses, showing that there can be a further level of

structure between the phrase and the sentence. These four levels - word, phrase, cluase, sentence - demonstrate the different levels of complexity in which a major sentence can operate.  

Minor Sentences Minor sentences are not constructed in a regular way. They use unusual and abnormal patterns which cannot be clearly analysed into a sequence of clause elements in the same way that major sentences can. There are only a few minor setence types but we find them all the time in conversation and when conversations are represented in fiction, or in signs and notices, headlines, websites and similar settings where a message has been represented as what Crystal calls a 'block' (p. 216). Minor sentences do not obey the same grammatical rules as major sentences which is why appear so odd when we analyse them. Examples include componets of conversation such as 'hello', and 'how do you do?', or emotional or functional noises such as 'Ow!', 'Ugh!', 'Shh!' and 'Eh?' as well as proverbs and sayings like 'easy come, easy go,' and words and phrases used as exclamations, questions, and commands, such as 'nice day!, Taxi?, and All aboard!' 

Subject, Object, Verb, Complement, Adverb 

Subject  The subject usually appears before the verb in statements and after the verb in questions: The Boy yawnedAre you going? The subject controls whether the verb is singular or plural in the third person of the present tense: 

She looks fineThe look fine The subject controls the form of certain objects and complements: I shaved myselfThey shaved themselves. some pronouns have a distinctive form when used as a subject: I can see her.She can see me. Subjects can be noun phrases (including single nouns), pronouns, or certain kinds of subordinate clause: The train was late.Mary went home.Beer, crisps and cheese are for saleI like fishing.What he said was funny (i.e. it was funny.) In this analysis, a series of noun phrases is analysed as a single clause element, not as a sequence of different elements. There is only one subject recognised as a clause. 

Object Object elemets usually follow the subject and the verb in a clause. There are two types: direct and indirect. The direct object is the common one, typically referring to some person or thing directly affected by the action expressed by the verb. The child lost her ball.I remember the occasion. The indirect object typically refers to an animate being which is the recipient of the action. In these cases, a direct object is usually present in the clause as well. 

She gace the dog a stroke.I told them  my news. In these contructions, the indirect object precedes the direct. In such clauses as I gave my paper to the boy, the order is reversed. Some pronouns have a distinctive form when used as an object: She saw him.They asked me. Objects can be noun phrases (including single nouns), pronouns, or certain kinds of subordinate clause. I saw our new house.We asked Fred.Now hear this.She said I'd been foolish. (i.e. she said this.) As with subjects, a set of connected noun phrases in analysed as a single element, in this analysis : He saw a cat, a dog, and a cow is subject + verb + object. 

Verb The verb plays the central role in clause structure. It is the most onligatory of all the clause elements, as can be seen from such clauses as: That farmer     drinks        beer        by the bucketful.    subject                 verb              Object              adverb We cab omit the adverbial (that farmer drinks beer), the object (that farmer drinks by the bucketful), and even the subject, in the casual style (drinks beer by the bucketful, nodding in his direction), but we cannot omit the verb (That farmer beer by the bucketful). There is just one type of exception - 'verbless' clauses such as if possible (i.e. if it is possible), arrive early. The verb element must be a verb phrase (including a single verb): 

The bus is coming.The dog ate the crisps.I'm sorry. In this analysis, only one verb element is allowed per clause, though this may may consist of a sequence of auxiliary verbs as well as a main verb, all of which combines to express a single grammatical meaning. The choice of verb largely determines what other elements are used in the clause, such as whether an object is present or not.