Studying Sentence Patterns to Improve Your Writing, Part One
2025-01-10
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1Many English learners have spent a lot of time studying the parts of speech: adjectives, nouns and verbs, for example.
2But sometimes studying the English sentence from a larger perspective is useful.
3One way to get a bigger view of English is to study common sentence patterns.
4The English language has many patterns.
5In the book Rhetorical Grammar, author Martha Kolln describes seven common sentence patterns.
6In other writings, she says that 95 percent of sentences in English fit into basic patterns.
7Understanding and mastering common patterns will not only help you do better on grammar tests, but improve your writing skills, too.
8For example, here is a passage written by Ernest Hemingway, a famous American author.
9It comes from the short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."
10The story is one of the most famous ones that Hemingway wrote.
11"This is a clean and pleasant café. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves."
12Do you notice patterns in these sentences? If you do not recognize them, you will by the end of this report!
13In this installment of Everyday Grammar, we are focusing on two of the most common patterns in English.
14Consider a line from the song "Beautiful," by Christina Aguiliera:
15"I am beautiful."
16The line shows the foundation of most sentences in English:
17A sentence equals a subject, or a noun phrase, plus a predicate, or a verb phrase.
18A phrase is a group of words that act as a unit.
19A noun phrase has an important noun, the headword noun, along with words and phrases that give more information about it.
20The subject of a sentence is the whole noun phrase - not just the noun!
21The predicate is a verb phrase with a main verb and the words and phrases that give more information about it.
22If you take the sentence from the Aguilera song, you can analyze it like this:
23The subject is "I," and the predicate is "am beautiful."
24In this sentence, the adjective beautiful acts as the subject complement. It describes "I," the subject.
25So, the song lyric is the first important sentence pattern in English.
26Pattern number one is: subject plus "be," plus subject complement.
27The subject complement can be either an adjective or a noun phrase.
28For example, consider this line from the music group Queen.
29"We are the champions. We are the champions."
30In that line, the subject is "we."
31The predicate, "are the champions," contains the "be" verb along with a subject complement, "the champions."
32This noun phrase is describing the subject, "we."
33You might find sentences that appear more complicated but use the same basic structure.
34Consider this song by the Beatles:
35Baby, you're a rich man
36Baby, you're a rich man
37Baby, you're a rich man
38At first, the sentence appears complicated, but the basic structure of the sentence remains the same: subject plus "be," plus subject complement.
39The difference is that the sentence has added information, a noun that is the same as the subject of the sentence.
40Baby, you're a rich man. Or noun, subject, plus "be," plus subject complement.
41The subject plus "be," plus subject complement pattern is not the only pattern you will find with the verb "be."
42Consider these two sentences:
431) My friends are at the concert.
442) The test was yesterday.
45In these examples, the subject and the "be" verb are followed by adverbials, which are, in this case, words or phrases that tell where or when.
46In the first sentence, the adverbial structure is the prepositional phrase "at the concert."
47In the second sentence, the adverbial structure is the adverb "yesterday."
48These examples show another common "be" structure: subject plus "be," plus adverbial.
49Think back to the Hemingway passage from the beginning of this story.
50"This is a clean and pleasant café. It is well-lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves."
51The second sentence clearly uses a pattern one structure:
52The subject is "it," the "be" verb is "is," the subject complement is well-lighted.
53The sentence is: It is well-lighted.
54But if you look closely, you will see every sentence in the passage uses pattern number one.
55Two of the sentences use conjunctions, but they still depend on the same basic pattern.
56Hemingway was famous for his short, declarative style.
57However, he did not write using basic pattern one and two sentences only!
58Good writers know how to make their sentences come to life.
59They do not write the same sentences over and over again!
60To help you start recognizing these patterns, I am going to give you four more sentences written by Ernest Hemingway.
61Your homework is to identify which of the two basic patterns he is using.
62Please remember that sometimes Hemingway uses additional words.
63Just focus on finding the basic structure - pattern one or pattern two.
64We will give you the answers next week in the comments section and on our Facebook page.
65Here are the sentences:
661. "He is a good lion, isn't he?"
67- from The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
682. "He must be eighty years old."
69- from A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
703. "He was only in a hurry."
71- also from A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
724. "The treatment is for tomorrow."
73- from Great News from the Mainland
74I'm Jonathan Evans.
75I'm Jill Robbins.
76And I'm John Russell.
1Many English learners have spent a lot of time studying the parts of speech: adjectives, nouns and verbs, for example. But sometimes studying the English sentence from a larger perspective is useful. 2One way to get a bigger view of English is to study common sentence patterns. 3The English language has many patterns. In the book Rhetorical Grammar, author Martha Kolln describes seven common sentence patterns. In other writings, she says that 95 percent of sentences in English fit into basic patterns. 4Understanding and mastering common patterns will not only help you do better on grammar tests, but improve your writing skills, too. 5For example, here is a passage written by Ernest Hemingway, a famous American author. It comes from the short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." The story is one of the most famous ones that Hemingway wrote. 6"This is a clean and pleasant café. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves." 7Do you notice patterns in these sentences? If you do not recognize them, you will by the end of this report! In this installment of Everyday Grammar, we are focusing on two of the most common patterns in English. 8Pattern #1: Subject + BE + Subject Complement* 9Consider a line from the song "Beautiful," by Christina Aguiliera: 10"I am beautiful." 11The line shows the foundation of most sentences in English: 12A sentence equals a subject, or a noun phrase, plus a predicate, or a verb phrase. 13A phrase is a group of words that act as a unit. A noun phrase has an important noun, the headword noun, along with words and phrases that give more information about it. The subject of a sentence is the whole noun phrase - not just the noun! 14The predicate is a verb phrase with a main verb and the words and phrases that give more information about it. 15If you take the sentence from the Aguilera song, you can analyze it like this: 16The subject is "I," and the predicate is "am beautiful." 17In this sentence, the adjective beautiful acts as the subject complement. It describes "I," the subject. 18So, the song lyric is the first important sentence pattern in English. 19Pattern number one is: subject plus "be," plus subject complement. 20The subject complement can be either an adjective or a noun phrase. 21For example, consider this line from the music group Queen. 22"We are the champions. We are the champions." 23In that line, the subject is "we." 24The predicate, "are the champions," contains the "be" verb along with a subject complement, "the champions." This noun phrase is describing the subject, "we." 25You might find sentences that appear more complicated but use the same basic structure. 26Consider this song by the Beatles: 27Baby, you're a rich man 28Baby, you're a rich man 29Baby, you're a rich man 30At first, the sentence appears complicated, but the basic structure of the sentence remains the same: subject plus "be," plus subject complement. 31The difference is that the sentence has added information, a noun that is the same as the subject of the sentence. 32Baby, you're a rich man. Or noun, subject, plus "be," plus subject complement. 33Pattern #2: Subject + BE + Adverbial 34The subject plus "be," plus subject complement pattern is not the only pattern you will find with the verb "be." 35Consider these two sentences: 361) My friends are at the concert. 372) The test was yesterday. 38In these examples, the subject and the "be" verb are followed by adverbials, which are, in this case, words or phrases that tell where or when. 39In the first sentence, the adverbial structure is the prepositional phrase "at the concert." 40In the second sentence, the adverbial structure is the adverb "yesterday." 41These examples show another common "be" structure: subject plus "be," plus adverbial. 42What does this have to do with Hemingway? 43Think back to the Hemingway passage from the beginning of this story. 44"This is a clean and pleasant café. It is well-lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves." 45The second sentence clearly uses a pattern one structure: 46Subject BE Subject Complement 47The subject is "it," the "be" verb is "is," the subject complement is well-lighted. 48The sentence is: It is well-lighted. 49But if you look closely, you will see every sentence in the passage uses pattern number one. Two of the sentences use conjunctions, but they still depend on the same basic pattern. 50Hemingway was famous for his short, declarative style. However, he did not write using basic pattern one and two sentences only! Good writers know how to make their sentences come to life. They do not write the same sentences over and over again! 51What can you do? 52To help you start recognizing these patterns, I am going to give you four more sentences written by Ernest Hemingway. 53Your homework is to identify which of the two basic patterns he is using. Please remember that sometimes Hemingway uses additional words. Just focus on finding the basic structure - pattern one or pattern two. We will give you the answers next week in the comments section and on our Facebook page. 54Here are the sentences: 551. "He is a good lion, isn't he?" 56- from The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber 572. "He must be eighty years old." 58- from A Clean, Well-Lighted Place 593. "He was only in a hurry." 60- also from A Clean, Well-Lighted Place 614. "The treatment is for tomorrow." 62- from Great News from the Mainland 63I'm Jonathan Evans. 64I'm Jill Robbins. 65And I'm John Russell. 66John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. 67*To learn more about these patterns, read Martha Kolln's Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. 68We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 69__________________________________________ 70Words in This Story 71adjective - n. a word that describes a noun or a pronoun 72perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general) 73phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence 74predicate - n. the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject 75analyze - v. to study (something) closely and carefully 76complement - n. a word or group of words added to a sentence to make it complete 77champion - n. someone or something (such as a team or an animal) that has won a contest or competition especially in sports 78additional - adj. more than is usual or expected