{"id":163,"date":"2018-11-10T16:47:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-10T16:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/technicalwritingh5p\/chapter\/appendixe-sentencestructure\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T16:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T16:37:18","slug":"sentence-structure","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/technicalwritingh5p\/chapter\/sentence-structure\/","title":{"raw":"Appendix E: Sentence Structure","rendered":"Appendix E: Sentence Structure"},"content":{"raw":"

When building anything, it is important to be familiar with the tools you are using. Grammatical elements are the main \"tools\" you use when building sentences and longer written works. Thus, it is critical to have some understanding of grammatical terminology in order to construct effective sentences. If you would like to a review some basic parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, articles, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, conjunctions, prepositions, etc), see the Parts of Speech Overview<\/a> at the OWL.<\/p>\r\n

The two essential parts of a sentence are the subject<\/strong> and the predicate<\/strong> (verb portion). The subject refers to the topic being discussed while the verb conveys the action or state of being expressed in the sentence. All clauses must contain both a subject and a verb; phrases, on the other hand, lack one or both a subject and a verb, so they need to relate to or modify other parts of the sentence. Main clauses, also called independent<\/strong> clauses, can stand on their own and convey an idea. Dependent<\/strong> clauses, also called subordinate<\/strong> clauses, rely on another part of the sentence for meaning and can\u2019t stand on their own.<\/p>\r\nConsider the following examples:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Sentence 1<\/caption>\r\n
Independent Clause<\/th>\r\nPhrase<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
The engineers<\/strong> stood<\/span> around the table<\/span><\/td>\r\nlooking at the schematics<\/span> for the machine.<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
(subject)\u00a0<\/strong>(verb<\/span>) (phrase<\/span>)<\/td>\r\n(phrase<\/span>) (phrase<\/span>)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nSentence 1<\/strong> is a simple sentence. It has one clause, with one subject<\/strong> (The engineers) and one verb (stood). These are followed by 3 modifying phrases (\u201caround the table\u201d \u201clooking at the schematics\u201d and \u201cfor the machine\u201d).\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Sentence 2<\/caption>\r\n
Dependent Clause<\/th>\r\nIndependent Clause<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
After<\/span> they<\/strong> discussed<\/span> different options<\/span>,<\/td>\r\nthey<\/strong> decided<\/span> to re-design the components<\/span>.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Sub. Conj.<\/span> (subject) <\/strong>(verb<\/span>) (phrase<\/span>)<\/td>\r\n(subject) <\/strong>(verb<\/span>) (phrase<\/span>)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nSentence 2<\/strong> is a complex sentence, with one dependent and one independent clause, each with its own subject<\/strong>-verb combination (\u201cthey<\/strong> discussed\u201d and \u201cthey<\/strong> decided\u201d). The two clauses are joined by the subordinate conjunction, \u201cafter,\u201d which makes the first clause subordinate to (or dependent upon) the second one.\r\n\r\nBeing able to identify the critical parts of the sentence will help you design sentences that have a clear and effective subject-verb relationship. Knowing the components will also help you improve your punctuation. If you would like a more detailed review of sentence structure, visit Purdue's\u00a0 OWL (Online Writing Lab) Mechanics<\/a> page.\r\n

Sentence Structures<\/h1>\r\n

There are four main types of sentence structures: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. In the examples above, Sentence 1 is a simple sentence, while Sentence 2 is complex.<\/p>\r\nSIMPLE SENTENCES <\/strong>have one main clause (one subject + one verb) and any number of phrases. The following are all simple sentences:\r\n

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Sample simple sentences<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

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