Sentence Pattern : Subject, Verb, Complement, and Modifier

1.        SUBJECT

The subject is the agent of the sentence in the active voice; it is the person or thing that does the action of the sentence, and it normally precedes the verb. NOTE: Every sentence in English must have a subject. (In the case of commands, the subject is understood.)

The subject may be a single noun. The subject may be a noun phrase. A noun phrase is a group of words ending with a noun. ( It CANNOT begin with a preposition).

In some sentences there is not a true subject. However, it and there can often, act as pseudo-subjects and should be considered as subjects when rules call for moving the subject of a sentence.

Examples of subjects:

·      We girls are not going to that movie.

·      George likes boats.

·      Mary, John, George, and I went to a restaurant last night.

·      The weather was very bad yesterday.

·      The chemistry professor cancelled class today.

·      The bank closed at two o’clock.

·      It is a nice day today.

·      There was a fire in that building last month.

·      There were many students in the room.

·      It is raining right now.

2.        VERB

The verb follows the subject: it generally shows the action of the sentence. NOTE: Every sentence must have a verb.

 Verb may be a single word. The verb may be a verb phrase. A verb phrase consists of one or more auxiliaries and one main verb. The auxiliaries always precede the main verb.

Examples of verbs and verb phrases:

·      She will go to Boston next week.

·      Jane is very tall.

·      She must have gone to the bank.

·      Joe has gone home.

·      Mary is watching television.

·      It was raining at six o’clock last night.

3.        COMPLEMENTS

A complement completes the verb. It is similar to the subject because it is usually a noun or noun phrase; however, it generally follows the verb when the sentence is in the active voice. NOTE: Every sentence does not require a complement. The complement CANNOT begin with a preposition. A complement answers the question what? Or whom?

Examples of complements:

·      John bought a cake yesterday. (What did John buy?)

·      Jill was driving a new car. (What was Jill driving?)

·      He wants to drink some water. (What does he want to drink?)

·      She saw John at the movies last night. (Whom did she see at the movies?)

·      They called Mary yesterday. (Whom did they call?)

·      He was smoking a cigarette. (What was he smoking?)

4.        MODIFIER

A modifier tells the time, place, or manner of the action. Very often it is a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun.

Examples of modifiers:

·      John bought a book at the bookstore. (Where did John buy a book?) (at the bookstore: Modifier of place)

·      Jill was swimming in the pool , yesterday. (Where was Jill swimming?)(When was Jill swimming?) (in the pool: Modifier of place ) (yesterday: Modifier of time)

·      He was driving very fast. (How was he driving?) (very fast: Modifier of manner)

·      The milk is in the refrigerator. (Where is the milk?) (in the refrigerator: Modifier of place)

·      She drove the car on Main Street. (Where did she drive?) (on Main Street: Modifier of place )

·      We ate dinner at seven o’clock. (When did we eat dinner?) (at seven o’clock: Modifier of time)

Referensi :

https://hidayatullahahmad.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/normal-sentence-pattern-in-english/