for English Language Learners (ELL) – those learning to speak English as a Second Language (ESL), or English as an Additional Language (EAL)

TIP: Bookmark this FREE ENGLISH LESSON page so you can return to it for practice!

Basic Sentence Structure

The following is a simple grammar explanation to help you correctly form sentences in English.

Lesson 8 – Identifying the Parts of a Basic English Sentence

Why is it important to learn Basic Sentence Structure?

One of the most common mistakes that English Language Learners make is not having Subject / Verb Agreement in their speaking and writing.

As a BEGINNER English learner, it is important to be able to identity the subject and the verb in a sentence. This will help you as your English advances to a higher level.

Basic English sentence structure is:

A SUBJECT is someone (s.o.) or something (s.t.) that begins an action.

• The SUBJECT gives us the answer to WHO, WHAT or WHERE the sentence is about.
• e.g., my friend, dogs, or Canada

A VERB is an action or a state of being.

• What does the sentence tell us about the Subject’s actions, or feelings, or existence?
• e.g., My friend rides…, Dogs eat…, or Canada encourages…

An OBJECT is s.o. or s.t. that receives the action.

• e.g., My friend rides A MOTORCYCLE. Dogs eat BONES. Canada ENCOURAGES recycling.

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

Cris loves cookies.

Subject = Cris

Cris is the one who generates (starts) the activity of the verb. The feeling of love begins with Cris.

Verb = love(s)

LOVE is the action that Cris started.

Object = cookies

Cris’s love is given to cookies!

You may find it helpful to think of the verb as energy that moves from the subject to the object  (i.e., Cris’s love starts with her and “travels” to the cookies, where it stops!)

Note: Not all verbs require an object.   See Transitive & Intransitive Verbs.

TEST YOURSELF