SENTENCE PATTERNS
RECALL FROM THE PREVIOUS NOTE previous note:
The sentences made during communication can possess various patterns (structures) and these patterns range from 4 – 13, however, only 7 of them are considered stable. We will briefly discuss them below but firstly you must apprehend the following information:
§ The complement is simply a ‘remark’ (whether good or bad) that is made either of the subject [subject complement often represented as Cs] or the object [object complementoften represented as Co]. And the complement position can be occupied, usually, by a noun or adjective.
§ The subject is regarded as the ‘topic of the sentence’ or ‘the performer of the action’ while the object is considered to be the ‘receiver of the action’.
§ The predicate of a sentence can exist in the following forms:
- As a copular verb (copular verbs are used to join or link a subject to its complement, little wonder they are also called ‘linking verbs’) e.g. is, seems, looks etc.
- As a transitive verb [transitive verbs show a transfer of action hence they usually possess a direct object [i.e. a direct receiver]) e.g. hit, bite, give etc.
- As an intransitive verb [intransitive verbs denote action but they lack a direct object]. NOTE:Perhaps you encounter the questions ‘which of the following verbs is a SELF-SUFFICIENT VERB’, the answer is INTRANSITIVE VERBS. This is true because only intransitive verbs can stand alone with their subject.
§ The subject of a sentence can exist in the following forms:
- As a noun e.g. Peter, The School, Nigeria etc.
- As a pronoun e.g. He, It, She etc.
- As a long construct e.g. The Central Bank of Nigeria etc.
§ NOTE: Perhaps you encounter the question ‘which of the following pairs is regarded as the CONSTANTS of any good sentence?’, the answer is ‘subject & predicate’ or ‘subject & verb’. Verb is simply another word for Predicate.
NOW, the sentence patterns you must know include:
1. SV: This is the first pattern and it comprises (a) the subjectand (b) the verb [always intransitive]. Examples of sentences:
2. SVO: If you observe, this pattern is similar to SV but with the addition of O. This pattern is comprised of: (a) the subject, (b) the verb [transitive] and (c) a direct object [the direct or immediate receiver of the action performed]. Examples of sentences:
He bought a house
The armed robbers kicked the door
3. SVOO: This pattern has two objects which are: the indirect object and the direct object. Examples of sentences include:
Mr. Ayo gave his wife a car
The police officer gave the thief some slaps
NB: In the SVOO pattern, the indirect object always precedes the direct and we can define the indirect object as the beneficiary of the action performed on the direct object.
4. SVOC: This stands for subject, verb [transitive], direct object and Complement [of the object, also called object complement]. Examples of sentences include:
The Class considered her very intelligent
We elected him chairman
5. SVC: This is divided into two on the basis of the ‘verb element’. Now let’s consider each of them:
· SVC – the subject, the verb [this verb here is the copular verb] and then the subject complement. Examples of sentences here include:
Native dogs became an environmental nuisance
Lions seem proud
· SVC – here, we have the subject and the subject complement as usual but the verb element here is the verb ‘to be’. Examples of sentences here include:
Native dogs are an environmental menace
Lions are proud
6. SVA: Here, we have: the subject, the verb element [Vbe] and the adverbial [usually an adverbial of Location or Time]. Examples of Sentences here include:
Humans are everywhere
The London derby was yesterday
7. SVOA: This comprises: the subject, the verb [transitive], a direct object and an adverbial of location. Examples of Sentences here include:
Stacy kept her books on her seat
The baker put the icing on the cake
Now, on the basis of all we have done, we can rewrite the Seven [7] basic sentence patterns as follows:
(a) SVi [Subject + Intransitive Verb]
(b) SVtOd[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object]
(c) SVtOiOd[Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object]
(d) SVtOdCo[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement]
(e) SVcCs [Subject + Copular Verb + Subject Complement] and SVbeCs[Subject + Verb ‘to be’ + Subject Complement]
(f) SVbeAloc/time[Subject + Verb ‘to be’ + Adverbial of location/time]
(g) SVtOdAloc[Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Adverbial of location]
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