The
Ten Sentence Patterns with Examples
Martha
Kolln, Robert Funk: Understanding English Grammar,
5th ed.
Boston (Allyn & Bacon, 1998).
I. Fido is in his kennel. The students are
upstairs.
Subject/
BE/adverb of time or place
II.
Fido is tired. The students are
diligent.
Subject/ BE/ predicate adjective
III.
Fido was a beautiful dog. The
students are scholars.
Subject/
BE/ predicate nominative
IV.
Fido seems anxious. The students
look diligent.
Subject/ linking verb/
predicate adjective
V. Fido proved a champion. The students became scholars.
Subject/ linking verb/ predicate nominative
VI.
Fido slept. The students
rested.
Subject/ intransitive verb
VII.
Fido chased squirrels. The students
study their books.
Subject/ transitive verb/ direct object
VIII.
Fido won Fred a prize. The students
gave him their books.
Subject/ transitive verb/ direct object/ indirect
object
IX.
Fido found it upsetting. The
students consider him intelligent.
Subject/ transitive verb/ direct object/
objective complement
(adjective)
X.
Fido feared Bo the alpha dog. The
students thought it a challenge.
Subject/ transitive verb/ direct object/
objective complement (noun
phrase)
Hints
for remembering the patterns:
•
Patterns I-III are all built around some form of the verb
BE.
•
Types II, IV, and IX end with adjectives; III, V, and X with a noun phrase
(NP).
•
The following patterns are in pairs: II and III, IV and V, IX and X.
The first pattern in each pair ends with
an adjective, the second with a noun phrase.
•
Patterns II and IV and Patterns III and V are the same, except that Patterns II
and III
are built around some
form of the verb BE, while Patterns IV and V are built around
other linking verbs. It is possible to form a sentence with
an adverb of time or place
with
BE (Pattern I) but not with other linking verbs.
•
Pattern VI is in a class by itself.
• Patterns VII and VIII are identical, except that Pattern VIII has an indirect object