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Sentence Types – BCR Notes CA Foundation
Grammar is the set of rules that govern the structure of language. Language evolves and changes over time. Knowledge of grammar helps in spoken and written communication. Three basic units which constitute the structure of language are – Phrase, Clause and Sentence. A phrase is a group of words that makes incomplete sense. It is a part of a sentence and cannot stand alone. For example.
- in the south
- a pink dress
- at ten o’clock
A clause is a group of words consisting of a subject and a predicate. It can make complete sense on its own. It may or may not be part of a sentence. Clauses are of two types :
Main or independent clause:
A main clause can stand by itself as a complete sentence. It consists of a subject and a predicate.
For example :
- She has a diamond ring
- Ashok lives in Dubai
Subordinate or Dependent Clause : A subordinate clause does not make complete sense on its own. It is dependent on the main clause. However, it consists of a subject and a predicate.
For example :
- She has a ring which is made of diamonds
- This is the place where Himalaya was buried.
The words in italics are the subordinate clauses.
Definition Of A Sentence:
A sentence means a group of words that makes complete sense. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. It always contains a finite verb. A sentence may be a statement, question, exclamation or command. It consists of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. A sentence may be short and simple or long and complex.
For example:
- She likes Sweets
- She likes Bengali Sweets
- She likes Bengali Sweets which are made of milk
- She likes Bengali Sweets which are made of milk and are tasty
Structure of A Sentence:
A sentence consists of the following parts :
1. Subject: The person or thing about which something is stated is called subject.
2. Predicate: It is that part of a sentence that tells something about the subject.
- His sister works in London
- The flight arrived late
- This is my car
- The young lady was running
- The temperature in Gulmarg is zero degree
In the above sentences the italicized words are the subjects while the other words are the predicates.
3. Direct Object: A person or thing which receives the action of the verb is the direct object. It comes after the verb and answers the question ‘What’.
For example:
- Sohan ate breakfast
- The breakfast was tasty
- Naina read the book
- He repaired his mobile
- I have written a book
In the above sentences, italicised words are direct objects.
4. Indirect Object: A person or thing that the action is done to or for is known as the indirect object. It is the receiver of the direct object. It follows the verb and answers the questions ‘Whom’. The indirect object usually comes just before the direct object.
For example :
- She made Raman dosa for breakfast
- Deepak is sending his wife an e-mail right now
- Rohan has made his mother promise to work hard
- Ms. Gupta teaches them communication skills
In the above sentences, italicized words are indirect objects.
5. Object of the Preposition: It is a noun or pronoun that provides meaning.
For example :
- The cat is looking at the mouse
In this sentence “the mouse” is the object of the preposition “at”. - They are going to ooty
Here “ooty” is the object of the preposition “to”. Object of the preposition is different from the indirect object. The former comes immediately after the preposition whereas the latter object does not come immediately after the preposition. Moreover, the indirect object is usually followed by the direct object but this rule does not apply to object of the preposition.
For example:
- Mohan gave Monika the book.
- Mohan gave the book to Monika
In the first sentence Monika is the indirect object. In the second sentence Monika is the object of the preposition “to”. The meaning of both the sentences is the same but their structure is different.
6. Verbs: A verb means that part of speech which describes an action or occurrence. Verbs are of the following types:
(i) Finite Verbs : A finite verb agrees with its subject in person and number. It forms the main clause of a sentence. It also changes according to the tense of the sentence.
For example:
- She is a professor
- They are professors
- She goes to college five days a week
- They go to college five days a week
In the above sentences, italicized words are finite verbs.
(ii) Non-Finite Verbs : A verb that does not change according to the person, number and tense of the sentence is called a non-finite verb. Non-finite Verbs are of three types :
(a) Infinitive : It is generally used like a noun. Generally the word “to” is used before the infinitive verb.
For example:
- To err is human
- To forgive is divine
- Asha loves to sing
In the above sentences, italicised words are infinitive verbs
(b) Participle : It is used both as a verb and as an adjective. Present participle ends with ing and the past participle ends with ed or t.
For example :
- She is carrying books
- The chief guest talked of ethics
- Deesha has learnt French
In the above sentences italicised words are participles
(c) Gerunds : A gerund is used both as a verb and a noun. It ends with ing.
For example:
- She likes reading poetry.
- Playing football is not allowed in this park
In the above sentences italicised words are gerunds.
(iii) Auxiliary Verbs : The verbs ‘be’, ‘have’ and ‘do’ which are used with ordinary verbs to make tenses, passive forms, questions and negatives are known as auxiliary or helping verbs. These include is, own, are, was, were, has, have, had, does, do, did.
For example:
- She is working on her dissertation
- This song was sung by Lata Mangeshkar
(iv) Modals : Modals (is, own, was, are, has, have, had, does, do did, dare to, need to, used to, ought to) are used before ordinary verbs to express meanings such as necessity, certainty, permission, possibility and obligation.
For example :
- Geeta can drive a truck (ability)
- You may go (permission)
- We should speak truth (obligation)
(v) Transitive Verbs: The Verbs always have direct objects. In other words, these give action to someone or something: Therefore, these are also called action verbs which express liable activities.
For example :
- Ramesh told a lie
- The traffic police fined the driver
- The dog licked the bread
(vi) Intransitive Verbs : An intransitive verb indicates an action that does not pass over to an object. It merely expresses a state or being.
For example:
- The watchman remains awake throughout the night (state)
- There is a snag in this machine (being)
- She danced for two hours (action)
7. Phrases : A phrase means a group of words that makes some sense but not complete sense. It acts as a single part of speech. It may not have a subject, or a predicate or both. Phrases are of the following tyres :
(i) Prepositional Phrase : It is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun or gerund.
For example :
- He gave the rose to her
- Her car is struck in traffic jam
- The army works for the entire country
A prepositional phrase is generally used as an adjective or adverb. When used as an adjective, it comes after the noun or pronoun which it is describing. The objective case of a pronoun (me, him, her, us, them, whom) is used a prepositional phrase.
Mughal Garden is part of the Rashtrapati Bhawan Estate
In this sentence ‘of is the preposition Rashtrapati Bhawan Estate is a noun’ and is the object of the preposition.
The phrase decided the word ‘part’
(ii) Noun Phrase : A noun phrase consists of a noun or pronoun and its modifiers. It does the function of a noun. It may be used as a subject, an object or a complement.
For example:
- The dark, foul smoke engulfed the locality (noun phrase as subject)
- Namita does a lot of office work at home (noun phrase as object)
- The constitution club is a great place for a press conference (noun phrase as complement)
(iii) Verb Phrase : In a verb Phrase, a main verb and one or more helping verbs are linked together. It serves as the predicate of a clause or sentence. It defines the different times of the action.
For example:
- I have read a book
- I was reading a book
- I have already read a book
- I must have been reading a book
8. Complements: A word or a group of words that completes the meaning of a subject, an object, or a verb is known as complement
(i) Subject complement: A subject complement modifies or refers to the subject and follows a verb.
It may be a noun or an adjective for example:
- Taj Mahal is Magnificent: (The adjective magnificent is a subject complement that describes the subject Taj Mahal).
- Mr. Anoop Jalota is a bhajan Singer (The noun phrase bhajan singer describes Mr. Anoop Jalota).
(ii) Object Complement: It modifies and follows an object.
For example :
- Voters elected her a member of the Parliament (Member of Parliament describes the direct object her).
- I consider smoking harmful to health (Smoking is the direct object, harmful to health describes it).
(iii) Verb Complement: Direct or Indirect object of a verb is called verb complement. It may be a noun, pronoun, or word/group of words acting as a noun.
For example :
Naina gave Mohan my umbrella (Mohan is the indirect object, my umbrella is the direct object of the verb gave. Both are verb complements).
Types of Sentences:
1. Declarative Sentences : These sentences make a declaration in the form of a statement, an opinion, a suggestion, a proverb or a universal truth. These can be positive or negative but always end with a full stop.
For example:
- The teacher is going to the class room (simple statement)
- Sunita is a good singer (opinion) (declaration)
- It is surrounding
- A friend is need is a friend indeed (universal truth)
- Barking dogs seldom bite (proverb)
2. Imperative Sentences : These sentences express an order, command, advice, request, proposal or suggestion. These may end with a full stop or exclamation depending on the imperative word.
For example:
- Get out (Command)
- Always Speak the truth (Advice)
- Please be patient (request)
- Let’s go to the book fair (suggestion)
3. Interrogative Sentences : These sentences ask questions. ‘Wh’ and a verb are used to frame an interrogative sentence. A question mark comes after such a question.
For example:
- Who is your father?
- When are you going to London?
- Which is your school?
- Why are you crying?
4. Exclamatory Sentences : These sentences express strong emotions or feelings such as joy, surprise, wonder, regret, etc. An exclamatory sentence ends with an exclamation mark.
For example:
- Alas, India lost the match! ( )
- Hurray! My daughter passed the ITT examination! (joy)
- Oh my god! it is raining! (surprise)
- What a shame! (regret)
- What a beautiful scene! (wonder)
5. Simple Sentences : There is only one subject one predicate and one finite verb in a simple sentence. It contains only one main clause.
For example:
- She sings (She is the subject and sings is the predicate)
- The dog ran after the ball (Dog is the subject and ran after the ball is the predicate).
6. Compound Sentences : There are two or more independent/main clauses in a compound sentence. A comma, a colon, a semi-colon is used to join these clauses. Conjunctions used to join similar elements (e.g. two nouns, two verbs, two modifiers) are called coordinating conjunctions (us, for, and, but, yet, nor, so, etc.) conjunctions used to join word/groups of words of equal weight are known as cumulative conjunctions either …….. or, not only ……… but, neither ………. her both ……… and, whether …………. or, just as …………. so, no sooner ………….. than, rather ……….. than).
For example :
- It rained heavily throughout the day; consequently, the city was flooded
- The thief ran to escape but the police caught him
- The winter set in, it was cold and we took out woollens from the cupboard
- She is neither honest nor sincere.
7. Complex Sentences : There is one main clause and one or more subordinate (dependent) clauses in a complex sentence. The subordinating conjunction indicates time, place, manner, reason, conditions or concession and provides a link between the clauses.
For example:
- The robber ran away when he saw the police
- When the robber saw the police, he ran away because he was terrified
In the above sentences, italicised words constitute the main clause. The remaining words are subordinate clause (D).
8. Complex Compound Sentences : A Complex compound sentence consist of two or more independent clauses plus one or more dependent clauses.
For example:
- Smita smiled brightly and laughed delightedly when he saw her new scootey.
- Although it was raining, I left my house, as I had to attend an important meeting.