grammar: sentence parts by eguriase s. m. okaka

Grammar: Sentence parts

By Eguriase S. M. Okaka There are five main parts of a sentence, namely subject, verb, object, complement and adverb/adjunct. Examples

Subject Usually the first part of the sentence, the subject is the actor or performer of an action. Examples include: Mary, we, her parents, she. The subject is a noun, pronoun, a phrase or a noun clause. Examples Mary (noun) We (pronoun) Her parents (noun phrase) That she is beautiful (noun clause) The subject is in number concord with the verb. Examples • Mary is • Her parents love • Mary sings • They come The subject may be a gerund or gerundial phrase. Examples • Smoking is dangerous. • Telling lies is dishonesty. The subject will tell you who performs the action or who is something in a sentence. Examples • I love mathematics. • Our mathematics teacher is very clever. • Some students like mathematics very much. • The cat killed the rat. The noun, pronoun, noun phrase or clause that comes before the verb in a sentence is the subject of the verb. Therefore, in the sentences above: • I is the subject of the verb love • Our mathematics teacher is the subject of the verb is. • Some students are the subject of verb like. • The cat is the subject of the verb killed. Exercise Underline the subjects in the following sentences and circle the verbs. • Many students fail because they do not study. • Our ancestors suffered but we enjoy. • The school principal detests students coming late. • I am the architect of my own life. • What a man does not know is greater than he is. Verb The verb usually comes after the subject. It is in number concord with the subject: e.g. They are…. He is….. The verb shows what the subject is or what action is performed. Examples • My mother is a trader. • She sells cloth at Oshodi. Verbs may be simple or complex. Examples • I love banana. (simple) • I am not a donkey. (simple) • Choima must have been running. (complex) • Sura is a diligent student. (simple) • She has finished her homework. (complex) Note that the verb is the center of a sentence. No sentence is made when the verb is left out. Object The object comes after the verb in the sentence. E.g., Examples

Note that the object receives the action that is performed by the subject, e. g. • Helped the girl. • Bought rice. • Sold his old car. Note also that you will know the subject of a verb or the object of a verb by asking the questions who? or what? Examples

The subject answers the questions who? or What? before the verb. The object answers the questions who? or what? after the verb. Check all the examples given above. Adverbs The adverb in a sentence answers all questions except who or what. Therefore, any part of the sentence that answers where? When? Why? How? is regarded as an adverb. Examples • He came home yesterday. (when) • We looked everywhere for the money. (where) • Lati spoke rudely to the chief. (how) Traditionally, the adverb’s position is at the end of the sentence but, because of its function and mobility, it can be anywhere in the sentence. Examples • He does his work diligently. • Karim plays roughly with his mates. • I often have eggs for breakfast. • You are quite right. Remember that a prepositional phrase can function as an adverb in a sentence. Examples • We found him at home. • He left it on the table. • Janet cut her finger with a razor blade. Exercise 1 Underline the verbs in the following sentences. • The boy shivered because of cold. • The minister visited the expressway. • The salegirl ignored the complaining customer. • The top government officials see themselves as deities. • The minister ordered the contractor to commence work immediately. • They have instilled fear in the people. • Some travellers bought drugs. • The banks were robbed. • Ten students were saved. • The team must stay focus. Exercise 2 Underline the subjects in the following sentences. • We remain eternally grateful. • The robbery happened on Friday. • The president is confident. • Some armed men were arrested. • An indication of this was given on Thursday. • The newly appointed principal has assumed duty. • A chieftain of the party revealed his plan. • A light rain fell on her heads. • The black sky opened up. • The moon disappeared behind the clouds. Exercise 3 Underline the objects in the following sentences. • Many students trouble their teachers. • Many of us speak English badly. • We need to improve our spoken English. • He had stolen something else. • He acquired the money by other means. • John had not stolen that book. • He counted the number of word in English. • Elijah does not eat oranges. • The president waved a Nigerian flag. • The protesters hurled heavy stones. Exercise 4 Underline the adverbial phrase/clause in the following sentences. • Yemisi sniffed the meat before eating it. • When I finally found my brother, I kissed him. • Pandora opened the box very slowly. • The old man died peacefully in his sleep. • Surprisingly, it did not rain yesterday. • At 2 a.m., a bat flew in through the open window. • I left because they wouldn’t allow me to rest. • Crabs usually walk sideways. • The story book is extremely boring. • The children are playing upstairs. Exercise 5 Divide the following sentences into subject, verb, object and adverb / adjunct. The first three have been done for you. Example

More on idiomatic expressions An idiom has been defined as the usage or vocabulary that is peculiar or characteristic of a particular group of people (dialect). It can also be viewed as a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language (parlance) or the style of a particular artist or school (artistic style). Exercise 1 Complete these idioms using the following preposition: at, under, from, in, out, on. • One night, --------------- of the blue, Jade resigned and travelled to Hawai. • The men were working ----------------------- cross purpose during the game. • Bola was a bit ---------------------- the weather, but he feels much better now. • The principal said we had to start ---------------------- scratch because the file had been lost. • The boy kept his parents ----------------- the dark about his poor performance in the school. • The villagers were killed ----------------- cold blood by the armed robbers. Exercise 2 Use the following idioms in the list below to fill in the blank spaces appropriately. Use your dictionary for help. a. storm in the teakettle b. close of play c. eleventh hour d. falling into place e. according to plan f. clam before the storm g. under the carpet h. like a charm i. up and running j. under the radar Idioms • The scientist’s invention worked --------------------- because many of the villagers were cured of the strange illness. • Have you started the new project? Oh yes, ‘It’s -----------------. • Did you follow the teacher’s advice in your research? Yes, the whole thing worked ---------------. • The man almost went to jail but was released at the ----------------. • The woman treated the issue of a little scratch on her like a ------------------. • The police tried to brush -------------- the case of theft of 2millioon naira because it involved the son of a police office. • The success of the Nigerian football team was achieved because the coach’s strategy went --------------------. • The atmosphere in the two warring villages looks peaceful but this is only the ----------------------. • At the --------------------- on Friday, Mr. Guria signed his appointment. • It’s often advisable to go --------------------------- when traveling to a strange place so as not to attract evil doers. Eguria.blogspot.com