Steps for Toefl Grammar and Structure
The Basic Unit of Writing: Sentences and Sentence Structure
When we write, we express our ideas in sentences. But what is a
sentence, anyway?
SUBJECTS
, PREDICATES , AND OBJECTS
A sentence is the basic unit of thought in the English language.
It is composed of two essential parts—a sub- ject and a predicate—and it must express a complete thought. The subject of a sentence tells us
who or what the sentence is about. The predicate tells us something about
the subject. Thus, in the following sentence:
The snow is falling.
The word snow is the subject. It tells us what the sentence is about—who or what performed the action of the sentence. The verb phrase is falling
is the predicate. It tells us the action performed by (or information
about) the subject.
The subject of a sentence can be singular or compound (plural):
I ate a large pizza. Ted and I ate a large pizza.
singular subject compound subject (two subjects
performing the action) The
predicate can also be singular
or compound:
I ate a large pizza. I ate a large pizza and drank a liter of soda.
singular predicate compound predicate (two actions performed by the subject)
In many sentences, someone or something “receives” the action expressed in the predicate. This person or thing is called the direct object.
In the sentences below, the subject and predicate are separated by a slash
(/) and the direct object is underlined:
I / ate a large pizza. (The pizza receives the action of being
eaten.)
Jack / loves Jill. (Jill receives the action of being
loved.)
Sentences can also have an indirect object: a person
or thing who “receives” the direct object. In the sen- tences below, the direct object
is underlined and the indirect object is in bold:
I / gave Xiomara a gift. (Xiomara receives the gift; the gift receives the action of being given.)
The teacher /
threw the (The children receive the
party; the party receives the action of
children a surprise party. being thrown.)
Verbs
Verbs are the agents of action in a sentence. They are the “heart” of a sentence because they express the action or state of being of the subject:
It rains a lot in Seattle. (action)
I feel really good about this deal. (state of being)
The poor cat is
starving. (state of being)
Chester smiled broadly. (action)
Verbs have five basic forms :
1. Infinitive
base: the base form of the verb
plus the word to.
to go to be to desire
to arrange
To indicate tenses of regular verbs (when the action of the verb did occur, is occurring, or will
occur), we use the base form of the verb and add the appropriate tense endings.
2. Present tense: the verb form that expresses what is happening
now.
I am glad you
are here. Chester smiles a lot.
The present tense of regular verbs is formed as follows:
SINGULAR PLURAL
first person (I/we) base form (dream)
base form (dream)
second person (you) base form (dream) base form (dream)
third person (he/she/it, they) base
form + -s/-es (dreams)base form (dream)
3. Present participle:
the verb form that describes what is happening now. It ends in -ing and
is accom- panied by a helping verb such as is.
Chester is smiling again.
They are watching the stock market very carefully.
NOTE: Words that end in -ing don’t always function as verbs. Sometimes they act as nouns and are
called gerunds. They can also function as adjectives (called participial
phrases).
Present participle (verb): He is eating the plastic fruit!
Gerund (noun): That plastic fruit is not for eating!
Participial phrase
(adjective): The sleeping baby awoke when the phone rang.
(You will learn more about gerunds later in this chapter.)
4. Past tense: the verb form that expresses what happened in the past.
It rained four inches yesterday. The cat felt better after it
ate.
5. Past participle: the verb form that describes an
action that happened
in the past and is used with a
helping verb, such as has, have, or had.
It had rained for days.
Chester has not smiled for days.
Then please click the link below to get a more complete learning ...
Sumber : http://elibrary.bsu.az/kitablar/1095.pdf
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