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    Learn English sentences

    What are sentences in English grammar? Sentence structure refers to the order in which the elements of a sentence appear. Learn English sentences usage and find out sentences types, examples and common mistakes.

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    About this course

    These lessons are part of the Preply Grammar Reference, crafted by a team of language experts. This comprehensive guide covers essential English grammar topics, offering clear explanations, illustrative examples, and insights into common mistakes. Benefit from the collective expertise of Preply's dedicated professionals, ensuring a valuable resource for learners at every level. Learn more about Preply.

    English Sentences: The Ultimate Guide

    Here are how-to guides for every type of word you'll find when you learn English sentences. Check out the dedicated categories:

    Clauses are group of words that form parts of sentences and contain a subject and a verb.

    Cleft sentences adjust the focus of the information in a sentence.

    An exclamation can be words or phrases that help to mark, connect and organize speech.

    Punctuation refers to special written marks that separate sentences or parts of sentences.

    A question is a type of sentence which requests information, which is provided by an answer.

    Relative clauses, also known as adjective clauses, modify noun phrases.

    Reported speech is used to summarize what someone said without giving a direct quotation.

    Verbs take certain forms because of the subject of the sentence; they must match.

    Transitional phrases link words, phrases or sentences and create coherence.

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    Frequently asked questions

    The simple rule of thumb when it comes to English sentence structure is that the subject should always come before the verb followed by the object. This rule is usually referred to as the SVO word order. Most sentences conform to this rule. For example: Subject + Verb The children listen. Subject + Verb + Object She plays the piano. English word order is generally strict and not very flexible. This means that the SVO word order in an English sentence rarely changes. Otherwise, a sentence doesn’t make sense, like this: Eats ice cream the girl. (Verb + Object + Subject) Ice cream the girl eats. (Object + Subject + Verb) The correct word order is: The girl eats ice cream. (Subject + Verb + Object) Let's quickly review the definitions of these parts of speech in English. subject = noun or pronoun The person, place or thing that the sentence is about. verb = action or state of being object = the noun or nouns that receive the action of the verb or are affected by the action of the verb To make sentences more descriptive and complex, we add adjectives, adverbs and indirect objects.
    Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) is the basic starting point in the English sentence structure. It covers affirmative, declarative sentences. Here are the basic SVO sentence structure patterns: Subject + Verb: Anna is cooking. Subject + Verb + Object: Anna is cooking chicken. Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object: Anna cooked Mario chicken. We might also complete a sentence with an adverb instead of an object: Subject + Verb + Adverb: Anna cooks well. There are other types of sentence structures too, like using linking verbs instead of action verbs: Subject + Linking Verb + Noun Phrase: Anna is a cook. Subject + Linking Verb + Adjective Phrase: Anna is very adaptable. When asking a question, we follow the following sentence structure order: Auxiliary verb/Modal auxiliary + Subject + Verb (ASV) or Auxiliary verb/Modal auxiliary + Subject + Verb + Object (ASVO) Auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliaries share the same meaning or function and many are forms of the verb “to be.” However, auxiliary verbs can change their form, but modal auxiliaries cannot. Can she play? “Can” (A) “she” (S) “play” (V) Does your child like ice cream? “Does” (A) “your child” (S) “like” (V) “ice cream” (O) Are you making the tea? “Are” (A) “you” (S) “making” (V) “the tea” (O)
    Norwegian, Swedish and Danish have a very similar sentence structure to English. While their vocabulary is more similar to German, their sentence structure, like English, generally follows the SVO principle. Another language with a similar sentence structure to English is Dutch. Dutch is another West Germanic language, so it possesses many words and phrases similar to English and has a similar grammatical structure. This makes English also quite similar to Afrikaans, a South African language based on Dutch. Overall, Germanic languages have the most similar sentence structure to English.