Formation of sentences in English table. Sentence construction in English

The order of words in an English sentence is, on the one hand, an easy topic, because the basic rules are simple, but on the other hand, it is an inexhaustible topic, because the nuances are endless. In this article we will not try to grasp the immensity, but will consider the basic rules and principles of sentence construction in the English language.

What does a sentence consist of in English?

Word order in a subordinate clause (in a complex sentence)

In subordinate clauses, the word order is simple - the same as in the affirmative,

• I know where you live. - I know where you live.
• I don't know where you live. – I don’t know where you live.
• Do you know where I live? - Do you know where I live?

For clarity, I will present the proposals in the form of a table:

A common mistake is that in the part of the sentence that begins with conjunctions (in this case, these are conjunctions) who, why, when, where words rearranged, as in an interrogative sentence.

• Wrong: I don't know why did she call me.
• Right: I don't know why she called me.

In this case, “...why she called me” is not at all the same as the interrogative sentence “Why did she call me?”, but a subordinate clause. The word order in it is direct, as in a simple affirmative sentence.

This is especially common in complex interrogative sentences. In this case, the reverse word order should only be in the main part (Do you know), but not in the subordinate clause (where I live).

• Wrong: Do you know where do I live?
• Right: Do you know where do I live?
• Wrong: Do you know who was it?
• Right: Do you know who was it?

Friends! I don't currently tutor, but if you need a teacher, I recommend this wonderful site- there are native (and non-native) language teachers there 👅 for all occasions and for any pocket 🙂 I myself took more than 80 lessons with the teachers I found there! I advise you to try it too!

Correct construction of sentences in English is impossible without knowledge of the basic laws of the formation of their structure. So, in the Russian language, to describe a situation, it is enough to take the words involved in it (names of concepts, objects, etc.) and connect them with each other using endings formed by declension in cases and numbers. However, the English language is devoid of such endings, and therefore a correct description of the situation can only be achieved if words are arranged in a certain way in sentences.

Simple sentences and their classification

Simple English sentences are divided into two types - common and common. The first ones consist only of a subject and a predicate. In this case, it is important that the subject is in first place and the predicate in second. For example: “The bus stopped.”

The second type of simple sentences, in addition to the main members, involves the inclusion of secondary ones (addition, definition, circumstance). Constructing sentences in English using minor members allows you to clarify the main situation. For example: “The yellow bus stopped at the station.” In this case, the first minor member of the sentence (yellow) acts as a definition and explains the subject (the bus), and the second is an adverbial circumstance (at the station) and refers to the predicate (stopped).

construction scheme

As mentioned above, the endings in English words remain unchanged, so each word must be in the strictly designated place for it (this is called direct word order). Otherwise, the essence of the sentence will be distorted, and the person who reads it will receive incorrect, sometimes even opposite, information. And if in Russian we can say: “I went to the cinema yesterday,” “I went to the cinema yesterday,” or “Yesterday I went to the cinema,” then the existing sentence patterns in English do not allow this.

Whereas in Russian the essence of the situation will be clear, even if the words are swapped, in English everything is different. For example, regardless of whether we say in Russian “Jack hit Jim” or “Jim hit Jack,” the information will be received correctly. But in English, two sentences such as “Jack hit Jim” and “Jim hit Jack” have the opposite meaning. The first translates to "Jack hit Jim" and the second to "Jim hit Jack." To avoid such misunderstandings, it is necessary to construct sentences in English according to the following scheme: put the subject in first place, the predicate in second, the complement in third, and the adverbial in fourth. For example: “We do our work with pleasure.” It is also acceptable to place adverbs of place and time before the subject, for example: “At the moment I am cooking dinner.”

Negative sentences with not

Negative sentences in English have the following structure:

1. Subject.
2. The beginning of the predicate.
3. Negative particle not.
4. The ending of the predicate.
5. The nominal part of the predicate.

Examples include the following negative sentences in English: “I'm not reading the book” or “I have not seen Kelly in a while.” I haven't seen Kelly in a while."

If verbs in the Present Simple or Past Simple are used in negative sentences, then they are reduced to the form “do/does/did + basic form”. For example, “I do not like mice,” “She does not need help,” or “Steven did not look tired.”

Negative sentences using negative words

In English, negative type can be expressed not only using the particle not, but also in another way. We are talking about building a construction containing negative words, which include the following: nobody (nobody), never (never), nothing (nothing), none (no), nowhere (nowhere).

For example: “Nobody wanted to bring chair.” It is worth noting that in English one sentence cannot contain both the particle not and a negative word. Thus, the phrase “I know nothing” is translated into English as “I know nothing” and in no case “I do not know nothing.”

Interrogative sentences

Interrogative sentences can be presented in the form of general and special questions. Thus, general questions require a “yes/no” answer. For example: “Did you like the book?” (“Did you like the book?”) or “Have you ever been in the Paris?” (“Have you ever been to Paris?”). As for special questions, it may be necessary to compose sentences in English of this type when it is necessary to obtain more specific information on a given question - color, time, name, object, distance, etc. For example: “What is your favorite movie?” (“What’s your favorite movie?”) or “How long is the flight to Prague?” (“How long is the flight to Prague?”).

In the case of expressing the predicate with the verb to have or to be, general questions are constructed as follows: first the predicate, and then the subject. In the case when the predicate includes a modal or it is placed before the subject. In the case of expressing the predicate with a verb in the Present or Past Simple, you must use do/does or did.

As for the word order in constructing a special question, it is the same as in general, except that at the beginning of the sentence there must be a question word: who (who), when (when), what (what), how long ( how long), where (where), how (how).

Imperative sentences

When considering the types of sentences in English, one cannot fail to mention imperative sentences. They are necessary to express a request, encouragement to take some action, command, as well as a prohibition when it comes to the negative form.

An imperative sentence assumes a direct word order, but the verb is placed first: “Give me my pen, please” (“Give me my pen, please”). In some cases, this construction may consist of only one verb: “Run!” (Run!). Wanting to soften an order or turn it into a request, the speaker can use would you, will you or won’t you, placing them at the end of the sentence.

Exclamatory sentences

The construction of sentences in English of the exclamatory type is carried out according to the same scheme as the usual one, however, they should be pronounced emotionally, and on the letter at the end of such a construction it is always written. For example, “You are very beautiful!” (“You are very beautiful!”) or “I’m so happy!” ("I'm so happy!").

In cases where an exclamatory sentence requires additional reinforcement, you can use the question words what and how. For example, “What a big house it is!” (“What a big house!”), “What a sad movie!” (“What a sad movie!”) or “How well Matt can dance!” (“Matt dances so well!”). It is worth noting that when using a singular subject, the indefinite article a or an is required.

Complex sentences: definition and classification

In addition to simple sentences, there are also complex ones, which are formed by combining the first ones. Complex and complex sentences are types of sentences in English that have a complex structure. The difference between them is that the former are a construction consisting of two independent simple sentences, while the latter are a main clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Compound sentences are built using words such as and, or, but, for, yet. As for unions that are used for formation, they are divided into the following groups:

• causes/effects: since (since), because (because), therefore (for this reason, therefore), so (therefore, so);
• time: before (before, before), while (while), after (after), when (when);
• others: although (despite the fact that), if (if), though (though), unless (if only).

In all simple sentences that make up complex ones, direct order must be maintained. There are a huge number of sentences in the English language, but regardless of their type, the basic rule of construction must be observed.

Types of Conditional Sentences

In English they are used to describe a situation with various characteristics. They can take different forms, but in most cases the following construction is used: “If Condition, (then) Statement.” For example, “If it is warm, many people prefer to go to the park” (“If it is warm, many people prefer to go to the park”), “If you buy this dress, I will give you free gloves” (“If you buy this dress, I'll give you free gloves").

Conditional sentences in English are divided into three types. The first is used to denote real, feasible conditions relating to any of the times (future, present, past). To construct such a construction, a verb is used in its main sentence in the future form, and in a subordinate clause - in the present form.

The second describes unrealistic conditions that relate to the future or present. To create such a sentence, the main part uses the verb should or would and the verb in the base form without the particle to, and in the subordinate part - were for the verb to be or the Past Simple form for all the rest.

And the third covers unfulfilled conditions in the past. The main part of the sentence is constructed using the verb should/would and a verb in the present tense, and the subordinate part is constructed using a verb in the Past Perfect form.

For success in mastering the English language, it is extremely important to understand its peculiarities of the arrangement of words and their order in sentences. It probably seems to you that this is not very simple and that to master their structure you need to memorize a large number of poorly understood rules. Some theoretical knowledge is, of course, necessary, but everything can be explained in an accessible and easily understandable form. We decided to present the topic of constructing English sentences in the most accessible way possible and tried to make familiarization with this material interesting. Let's get started.

Classification of sentence members.

First of all, it is necessary to understand what components a correctly constructed sentence consists of, that is, to clarify the question of which parts of the sentence are necessary for writing or pronouncing it. As you probably guess, any of the written or spoken sentences must carry a semantic load, and in order to convey it with maximum accuracy, the presence of main and, providing additional information, non-main members is considered a necessary condition. At a minimum, a sentence written in English must involve two main ones, represented by the subject and the predicate. It is impossible to do without these fundamental components, so we need to look at them more closely.

Members of the sentence

Subject

The subject is one of the most important components of a sentence, which, answering questions such as “who?” and “what?”, draws the main participant. This mission can be performed by pronouns or nouns, as well as proper names. One of the most important features of English is that the location of a word within a sentence determines its functional features. According to the rule, the subject is located before the other main participant in the process, called the predicate.

Predicate

The predicate is another basic or main member that forms the foundation and is responsible for information about the action taking place. The questions that are answered are formulated as “what does it do?” or “what are they doing?” This responsibility is entrusted to verbs. Various constructions used to show grammatical tenses may require the addition of an auxiliary verb. A simple sentence can consist of a subject and a predicate, with the latter necessarily located later than the first. To decorate the base with details, the participation of other members will be needed.

Addition

An addition is a non-main member of a sentence that answers questions in all cases except the nominative. In sentences they are located after the predicates. There is an additional division: additions that answer the questions “what?” and “who?”, which corresponds to the accusative case, are classified as direct, and all the rest are classified as indirect.

Definition

Definitions are words that appear immediately before subjects or objects and provide answers to types of questions such as “which?” or “whose?”, reveal their qualities.

Circumstance

Circumstances can find a place at the beginning and end of sentences. Sometimes they can squeeze between the main members. They tell how, why, where or when the described action happened or is happening.

For greater clarity, we will illustrate everything using examples.

Examples of subjects expressed by nouns:

A snake – snakes;

A musician – musicians;

A building – buildings.

The nouns on the left are singular, and the nouns on the right are plural.

It should be remembered that the presence of articles introduces some additional difficulties and there cannot be an indefinite article before plural nouns.

We have already mentioned that it is expressed by a verb and can be of two types:

• Auxiliary. This part of speechused to express time.And this is a very important point if necessarydraw upsentences in English. Auxiliary verb toBut it does not have such a meaning in itself and is not translated into Russian in any way. However, his presence is necessary if the temporary form requires it.

Example:

ForPresent Simple– do / does;

ForPast Perfect – had;

ForFuture Continuous – will be.

• Main or semantic verb. It is used to indicate the actions of the subject.

Example:

Sheruns. ​

Wewent. ​

Definition

Can be represented by a variety of parts of speech. Let's look at the most popular options:

Adjective

Nice- Cute;

Brave- brave.

Participle

Sold– sold;

Crying- crying.

Participial

madeofplastic – mademade of plastic;

laughingout loud –loudlaughing.

Numerals

First- first;

Thirty- thirty.

Nouns in the possessive case, etc.

Nick's- Nika;

Diana's- Diana.

You're probably interestedhow to build sentences in Englishwith the definition, and what place it occupies in it. This part of speech can come before the subject or before the object. Let's look at examples to make the scheme of this sentence clear.

1. Herwavyhairissobeautiful. – Her wavy hair is so beautiful.

2. Ireadagreatbook. – I read a wonderful book.

It should be noted thathow to construct a sentence in English, if the definition is expressed by a participial phrase. In this case, it always comes after the subject or object.

For example:

The girl speaking on stage is my sister.​

The girl performing on stage is my sister.

Addition

Always comes after the predicate. There are two types of add-ons:

1. Direct(answering questions in the accusative case):

Isawher. ​

I saw her.

2. Indirect(other):

We are proud of you.​

We are proud of you.

If both additions occur in a sentence at once, then the direct one always comes first, and only after it comes the indirect one.

Circumstance

It denotes place, time, cause, etc.

The circumstance is expressed:

Adverb (today, slowly);

Noun with preposition (inParis, behindthescenes).

It is directly related to the predicate, but can appear at the beginning of a sentence or at its end.

So, we have looked at the components of English sentences.HenceIt's time to move on to the next section. It is here that we will answer the question: “How to make English sentences correctly?" Well, let's get started.

How sentences are built in English: English sentence structure

It is difficult to imagine a student who has never thought abouthow to make sentences in English. And most often this thought caused stupor. We decided to tell you a simple way to understandhow to write sentences in English. This means that after a while you will be able to compose the text yourself. Separately, it should be noted that at the end of the article we have prepared exercises for you to test your knowledge. After going through them, you will be able to find out for yourself whether you have mastered the material and whether you can tellHow is an English sentence constructed?And we move on to the basic rules.

How to write sentences in English?For that, To answer this question, you should familiarize yourself with the structure of English sentences. Namely, with the order of words in them. For example, in Russian we can say the following options: I love you very much, I love you very much, I love you very much. AHow to writeBy-Englishofferwith these words?Iloveyouverymuch. This way and only this way. In English, words do not change places, but always remain in a certain order. In this regard, this language is much simpler than ours. Meanwhile, we found the first answer to the questionhow to build sentences in English. And it consists in the fact that they are built according to a scheme specified by the rules. This means it’s time to study and remember these schemes. Go.

How to write a sentence in Englishin the affirmative

We have already said that all expressions and sentences are constructed according to a certain scheme. Below we will give an exampleEnglishhow to make a proposalsimple plan and affirmative form.

The standard diagram looks like this:

Subject + predicate + addition + circumstance

My little sister will visit me in three days.

However, sometimes the adverbial is at the beginning of the word and then the diagram looks like this:

Circumstance+ subject +predicate+ addition.

YesterdayIlearnedEnglishwords.

Below we provide examples of howhow to write a sentence in English correctlyin an affirmative form.

1. Yesterday I bought a Lego construction set to my nephew.

2. We'll go home after training.

3. He is trying to find this spelling rule.

4. I have no idea how to learn to play the guitar.

How to write a sentence in Englishin a negative form

In order to turn a statement into a negation, you should use a particlenotto the auxiliary verb. By the way, it is the auxiliary verb that is a prerequisite for this category of sentences. In all other respects, the scheme is identical to the first option:

Subject + auxiliary verb withnot+ main verb + object + adverbial.

My little sister willnotvisit me in three days.

Or

Circumstance+ subject + auxiliary verb + main verb + object. in interrogative form

The word order in a simple question remains the same, only the auxiliary verb comes first. Accordingly, the scheme of such a proposal:

Auxiliary verb + subject + semantic verb + object + adverbial.

Did they go fishing the day before yesterday? -Theywentonfishingday before yesterday?

Many people are probably interested inhow to make a sentence in English from wordswhen, whatetc. You probably know that these words appear in a number of interrogative sentences. So, they are put in first place, leaving the rest unchanged. As a result, we get the following questions:

Whatdoyouthinkaboutourpresident?

When did she move to her parents?

If we are dealing with dividing questions, then the sentence looks like this:

They will not agree with their terms, will they?

As you can see, in this version it is worth moving away from the usual pattern of negative sentences. Dividing questions consist of an affirmation or denial in the first part and a short answer in the second.

We have looked at the options for forming sentences in English and we hope we have answered all your questions. As you can see, this topic turned out to be easier than you thought. All we can do is wish you good luck in mastering the English language and remind you that below we have prepared exercises for you to do on your own.

Exercises for consolidation

1. Make up three affirmative sentences in which the circumstance comes first.

_______

_____________________________________________________________________

2. Make up sentences using the combinations of words below:

onSaturday night, didn't see, at the party, you, I

____________________________________________________

aletter to her parents, Ann, writes, every week

____________________________________________________

hisname, after a few minutes, I, remembered

____________________________________________________

3. Put the sentences in interrogative and negative forms:

You have brought something for us.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

There are some tall trees in front of their house.

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

There are some good book shops in our district.

______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

In English, as in Russian, there are five categories of sentences, the rules of construction of which must be accurately known in order to successfully communicate in the language.

1. Simple sentence - complex sentence
2. Declarative sentence - interrogative sentence - exclamatory sentence

Simple sentence in English

Simple sentences are those sentences in which there is only one actor (subject) and one action (predicate). With simple sentences, things are not so simple. You need to know the fixed word order - unfortunately, in English it is strict and it is highly undesirable to deviate from it.

Applies to English offer a basic rule consisting of two points:

1. The subject comes first, the predicate comes second, and then comes everything else.

Schematically, this can be depicted as follows:

Table 1. Word order in an English sentence

SUBJECT	PREDICATE	REST OF THE PROPOSAL
		to work every day.

The following note should be made about this table: You can put a definition BEFORE the subject. And second: this scheme is used for affirmative English sentences, i.e. those with a period at the end.

2. An English sentence ALWAYS has a predicate, i.e. verb!

Even if you don’t hear this verb in the Russian translation of this sentence. For example: There are many wolves in the forest. (there is not a single verb here, although this sentence can be remade for a convenient translation: “There are many wolves in the forest.” This version already has a verb - there are). - There are many wolves in the forest.

Difficult sentence

We call a complex sentence a sentence made up of several simple sentences. As a rule, there are no difficulties with complex sentences, unless it is a complex sentence (that is, a sentence with a subordinate clause).

If you have already graduated from school a long time ago, then the term “subordinate clauses” most likely will not mean anything to you. Therefore, let’s refresh your memory: there are simple sentences (in which there is one predicate/verb), and there are complex sentences (they consist of several simple ones). In turn, complex sentences are divided into compound sentences (in them you can put the conjunction “and” between several simple sentences) and complex sentences (in them from one simple sentence to another you can ask the question “which? why? where? when? under what condition?” how?, etc.”) And subordinate clauses are precisely those simple ones to which we give a question. They are also called dependent in another way. The structure of a complex sentence looks like this:

As can be seen from the diagram, various conjunctions serve as a link between the main and dependent clauses: where, when, which, whose, because, if, etc.

This all seems so distant and incomprehensible, but in fact we use complex sentences much more often than we ourselves notice. So, the following are often used as unions:

Who used in relation to persons (=who):

I'll call George, who is good at computers.

Which refers to inanimate objects, animals, and also to the main clause in general (=which):

Don’t buy the lipstick which we saw yesterday.

She has already finished the report which will allow her a pay rise.

That refers to both animate and inanimate objects (=which):

The man that we met yesterday is my ex.

The car that Tim bought used to be mine.

Table 2. English words connectors of complex sentences

It is important to use correct punctuation (punctuation) in complex sentences.

The structure of complex sentences generally follows two possible patterns.

Main clause + conjunction + Subordinate clause

Subordinate clause + , + Main clause

Alan couldn’t come to the meeting as he was ill.

Things get more complicated if the subordinate clause begins with who, which, or where. Sometimes a comma is needed, sometimes not - it depends on how IMPORTANT this subordinate clause is for the meaning, whether emphasis is placed on it.

Main clause + conjunction + Significant subordinate clause

The driver didn’t remember the place where he had left the car.

The subordinate clause EXPLAINS the word place. Without this subordinate clause, the sentence will lose meaning, so it is meaningful. This means that there is no need for a comma in front of it - it cannot be separated in any way from the main sentence.

Main clause + , + Minor subordinate clause

The driver didn’t remember the parking lot in his neighborhood, where only expensive cars are parked.

The main sentence already contains specification - in his neighborhood. Therefore, the subordinate clause is DESCRIPTIVE, it does not provide important information. This means that it can be separated from the main clause by a comma.

Also, subordinate clauses can interrupt the main thing, “intervene” into it. In this case, we highlight or not highlight with commas on both sides.

The driver didn’t remember the place where he had left the car well.

The driver didn’t remember the parking lot in his neighborhood, where only expensive cars are parked, well.

How to make sentences in English

Declarative sentence

The classification into declarative, interrogative and exclamatory sentences is made based on punctuation marks. At the end of declarative sentences we put a period, at the end of interrogative sentences we put a question mark, at the end of exclamatory sentences we put an exclamation mark. However, they differ not only in punctuation, but also in word order. In declarative sentences, the word order is direct - we talked about them above.

Interrogative sentence

So, there are 2 basic types of questions: general and. To the first we answer “yes” or “no”, and to the second we answer something specific, special (depending on what is asked in the question itself). Remember that the word order in any English sentence is FIXED, and this also applies to questions.

0 place- QUESTION WORD

• What - what? Which?
• Who - who?
• Who(m) - to whom? by whom?
• Where - where? Where?
• When - when?
• Why - why?
• How - how?
• How much (many) - how much?
• Which - which?
• What - which one?
• Whose - whose?

1 place- AUXILIARY

• is/are/am
• do / does / did
• will / would / shall
• have / has
• can/could
• may/might
• ought
• should

2nd place- SUBJECT

3rd place- BASIC (SEMINAL) VERB

4th place- REST OF THE WORDS

There are also several comments to this structure:

NOTE 1. How to choose an auxiliary verb? Very simply: the auxiliary verb is the one that appears first in the original sentence. For example:

• Danny is a worker ---> is
• Anna will drive ---> will
• They have finished the report ---> have

Therefore, to ask a question, you just need to rearrange the subject and predicate.

What to do if there is no auxiliary verb? For example: We visited the museum. Here we only have the main verb - visited. Therefore, when there is no visible auxiliary verb, it is do / does / did, depending on the tense. In our case it is did, since the verb is in .

NOTE 2. The main (semantic) verb, when you ask a question, is pure, that is, without any endings, in the initial form.

NOTE 3. How to understand 0 place? This position in the question is called so because there are question words only in special questions, but not in general ones. It is by the question word that you determine what to answer. For example:

Mother gave her son a tasty medicine yesterday because he was ill.

• Who? -Mother
• Whom? - son
• Whose son? - her
• What? - medicine
• What medicine? - tasty
• When? - yesterday
• Why? - because he was ill

In general questions (those to which you answer “yes” or “no”) there is no question word, that is, an auxiliary verb comes immediately.

Exclamatory sentence

As a rule, exclamatory sentences begin with what (what the..., which...) or how (how...). Here, too, you need to be careful with the word order.

What..!

Table 3. Word order of English exclamatory sentences

How..!

In exclamations, it is customary to put either an adjective or an adverb after how.

How sweet! - How nice!

How lovely! - How funny!

Sometimes you can find a more detailed construction: How + adjective/adverb + subject + predicate.

How interesting it was to hear her story!

How wonderful it is to see you!

Unlike the flexible Russian language, where it is possible to start a phrase with almost any part of speech, English has a strict word order, which is subject to a number of simple rules. The reason lies in the fact that there are only a few types of endings for conveying plurals and tense forms. Therefore, to show the relationships between words in a sentence, English relies on a clear word order. This is what we will talk about. Let's get on with it!

To understand the structure of sentences in English, you first need to get a general idea of ​​the words that are used to compose it. They can be divided into 3 main groups:

Independent parts of speech (content words)

• Noun ( noun) - person, place or thing: human being - person, spoon - spoon, Thomasin - Thomasin.
• Verb ( verb) - describes an action or state: to count - to count, to shout - to shout, to mock - to imitate.
• Adjective ( adjective) - characterizes a noun: awesome - awesome, loathsome - vile, fluffy - fluffy.
• Adverb ( adverb) - describes verb forms: furiously - frantically, quickly - quickly, lately - recently.

Principal parts of the sentence

• Subject = subject ( subject) is a noun or pronoun that directly performs an action.

The cat is meowing now. - At the moment cat meows.

• Predicate = predicate ( predicate) - verbal variations meaning an action performed by the subject.

The cat is meowing now. - Currently a cat meows.

Subordinate parts of the sentence

• object = complement ( object) is a pronoun or noun to which the action is directed.

They are nominated the hamburgers hungrily. - They greedily died hamburgers.

• Definition ( attribute) - adjective, numeral, participle, etc., which characterize the subject or object.

They named the salmon hamburgers hungrily. - They greedily devoured the hamburgers with salmon.

• Circumstance ( adverbial modifier) - determines the sign, reason, place and time of the predicate.

They nominated the hamburgers hungrily. - They greedily The hamburgers were dying.

Word order in an exclamatory sentence

Exclamatory sentence ( exclamatory sentence) contains an exclamation mark at the end (“!”) and places emphasis on a sign or object. It is characterized by exactly the same word order as in an ordinary narrative sentence, i.e. the subject comes before the predicate.

Good gracious! It is so tiny! - Mommies! He's so tiny!

However, there are cases when a predicate can be omitted from an exclamatory sentence. These sentences can begin with the following words: " what», « how" And " such».

What a lovely hat, honey! - What a lovely hat, dear!
Such an impudent brother! - Such an arrogant wretch!
How cute! - How nice!

Constructing narrative sentences

Declarative sentence ( declarative sentence) is a sentence that declares something, affirming a fact or vice versa, denying it. There are two types of such sentences: affirmative + negative.

• Affirmative sentence .

The complete formula for constructing an affirmative sentence ( affirmative sentence) is the following: subject + predicate + [definition + addition + circumstance]. However, depending on what exactly you want to express, some components of this formula can be omitted: the complement, the definition and the circumstance.

Mia is reading a great novel now. - Mia is reading an excellent novel now.
Christian is handsome. - Christian is attractive.
Vanilla color fits me. - Vanilla color suits me.

NOTA BENE: Each English tense corresponds to special marker words (already, currently, often etc.), so when studying tense forms, always pay attention to the position that these words occupy in the sentence.

• Negative sentence .

A characteristic feature of a negative sentence ( negative sentence) is the presence of an auxiliary verb depending on the tense (“do”, “have”, “be”) and the particle “not”. Word order in English: subject +auxiliary + not + predicate + [definition + addition + circumstance]. Some parts of the sentence can be omitted: object, definition and circumstance.

I don't like it. - I do not like it.
Sam hasn’t done it yet. - Sam hasn't done it yet.
Lawyers weren't afraid. - The lawyers were not afraid.

Word order in an imperative sentence

Word order in an imperative sentence ( imperative sentence), which is used for inducement, orders, instructions and commands; corresponds to the narrative one, but with one exception: the subject is usually not used.

Close your eyes. - Close eyes.
Give me the magazine. - Give me the magazine.
Buy two red apples. - Buy two red apples.

To convey negation before the predicate we add “ do + not = don't».

Don't close your eyes. = Don't close your eyes. - Don't close your eyes.
Don't give me the magazine. = Don't give me the magazine. - Don't give me the magazine.
Don't buy those red apples. = Don't buy those red apples. - Don't buy those red apples.

Word order in a question sentence

Interrogative sentence ( interrogative sentence) is divided into 4 main types.

• General (general): auxiliary verb + subject + predicate + [definition + addition + circumstance].

Are you engrossed in Chinese art? -Are you interested in Chinese art?

• Special ( special): question word + auxiliary + subject + predicate + [definition + addition + circumstance].

Where do you prefer eating out? - Where do you prefer to dine out?

NOTA BENE: In some cases " who" acts as the subject: Who is playing the piano right now? - Who is playing the piano at the moment?

• Alternative ( alternative): word order as in a declarative sentence, but with the conjunction " or».

Will Andrew go to New Orleans or San Diego? - Will Andrew go to New Orleans or San Diego?

• Certifying ( tag): 1st part - word order of the declarative sentence; Part 2 - word order of a general short question.

Are you an interpreter, aren't you? - You are an interpreter, aren't you?

Special cases of changing word order

• Conversational English.

Spoken English, especially slang, is replete with all sorts of juicy words and phrases. And there is absolutely nothing special about the fact that the familiar word order rules of such conservative English can in fact be safely violated. English sentence structure:

Informally: Nah! Never been into anime much. - Nope! I've never been much of an anime fan.
Formally: No! I have never been into anime. - No! I've never liked anime.

Informally: Wanna have some murk & cookies, buddy? - Would you like some coffee and a cookie, buddy?
Formally: Do you want to have some murk with cookies, buddy? - Buddy, do you want coffee and cookies?

• Stylistic devices in English.

First, the inversion ( inversion) is a syntactic phenomenon of deliberately changing the order of words in a sentence. For instance: To their baby Mia and Sam give all their time. - Mia and Sam devote all their time to their child.

Secondly, a rhetorical question ( rhetorical questions), which in fact is not even a question, but an affirmative or negative phrase in the form of a question. This type of interrogative sentence does not need an answer because it is already obvious. For instance: Me a sleepy-head? - Am I a sleepyhead? Used to enhance the expressiveness of speech. Often used in public speaking, rhetorical questions aim to capture the audience's attention by allowing coherent sentences to ring true and meaningful.

Finally, parcellation ( detachment) - a special arrangement of the members of the sentence. Parcellation is a stylistic technique based on highlighting a minor member of a sentence using punctuation: dashes, commas or periods. Being in a certain position, the component of an isolated sentence appears to be formally independent of the words to which it refers, although the word order may not be violated, however, the connections between the elements always remain.

Michael had to beg them for mercy. Hourly. - Michael was forced to beg them for mercy. For hours.

NOTA BENE: Stylistic devices are characteristic only of the stilted style of writing, which is used in works of art.

So we have looked at the rules for constructing sentences in English. Now you know not only the structure of this strange English sentence, but also the word order that is inherent in each type. We hope that now you will probably forget about the problems with constructing phrases in English, and further learning the language will bring only pleasure. Stay focused and grammatically correct!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family