Level: elementary
Clause structure
All clauses in English have at least two parts, a noun phrase (subject) and a verb phrase:
| Noun phrase (subject) | Verb phrase |
|---|---|
| The children | laughed. |
| All the people in the bus | were watching. |
But most clauses have more than two parts:
| Noun phrase (subject) | Verb phrase | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| John | wanted | a new bicycle. | |
| All of the girls | are learning | English. | |
| This soup | tastes | awful. | |
| Mary and the family | were driving | to Madrid. | |
| She | put | the flowers | in a vase. |
The first noun phrase of a sentence is the subject. English clauses always have a subject:
His father has just retired. He was a teacher. (NOT
Was a teacher.)
I'm waiting for my wife. She is late. (NOTIs late.)
except for the imperative, which is used for orders, invitations and requests:
Stop!
Please come to dinner tomorrow.
Play it again, please.
If we have no other subject, we use there or it. We call this a dummy subject:
There were twenty people at the meeting.
There will be an eclipse of the moon tonight.
It's a lovely day.
It's nearly one o’clock.
- What's the subject?
Verb patterns
Different verbs have different patterns, so the structure of the clause depends on the verb.
Transitive and intransitive verbs
Most verbs in English are either transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb has the structure noun + verb + noun:
| Noun (subject) | Verb | Noun (object) |
|---|---|---|
| John | wanted | a new bicycle. |
Transitive verbs need an object. Common transitive verbs are:
| bring buy |
enjoy like |
make take |
want wear |
An intransitive verb has the structure noun + verb:
| Noun (subject) | Verb |
|---|---|
| John | smiled. |
Intransitive verbs do not have an object. Common intransitive verbs are:
| arrive cry |
die fall |
happen laugh |
smile work |
Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive:
| She sang a wonderful aria. We were singing. |
Transitive: N + V + N Intransitive: N + V |
| We were playing football. We were just playing. |
Transitive: N + V + N Intransitive: N + V |
Common verbs like this are:
| draw follow |
help learn |
ride study |
watch write |
- Transitive or intransitive?
Other patterns
Some verbs are both transitive and intransitive, but the object when they are transitive is the same as the subject when they are intransitive:
| Peter closed the door. The door closed. |
Transitive: N + V + N Intransitive: N + V |
| I boiled some water. The water boiled. |
Transitive: N + V + N Intransitive: N + V |
These are called ergative verbs.
There are other kinds of verb patterns. For example:
- link verbs have the structure Noun + Verb + Adjective (She looks happy) or Noun + Verb + Noun (He became a teacher).
- some two-part verbs can have the structure Noun + Verb + Particle + Noun (She gave back the money) or Noun + Verb + Noun + Particle (She gave the money back).
- double object verbs have the structure: Noun + Verb + Noun + Noun (Peter sent his mother some flowers).
- verbs followed by the infinitive (We planned to take a holiday.)
- verbs followed by the -ing form (I love swimming.)
- verbs with that, wh- and if clauses (She said that …, He explained what …, He asked if … .) These are often reporting verbs.
- Verb patterns