GMAT Grammar Book: Basic English Sentence Structure

Question

BASIC ENGLISH SENTENCE STRUCTURE   yellow/96222 
This post is a part of  GMAT GRAMMAR BOOK ]

created by:   bb 
 edited by:   dzyubam

Subject    Verb    Complement    Modifier     Darrel  wrote  a novel  last year    They  rode  bicycles  to school

Subject 
The subject is the actor of a sentence in active voice. It is the person or thing that performs, or is responsible for, the action of the sentence. It usually begins the sentence and precedes the verb.

Every sentence in English must have a subject. Commands will not have a visible subject, however, the subject   is understood.  Example:  Run quickly! = You run quickly!  (See more under Commands in Chapter 14.)

The subject can be a single noun.

Cats  chase mice.
 Children  like candy.

The subject can also be a noun phrase, which is a group of words ending with a noun. A noun phrase CANNOT begin with a preposition.  (See more under Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases in Chapter 12).

The car  is in the garage.
 That hot red dress  looks fabulous.

Examples of subjects:

Tom  likes to go fishing.
 The English teacher  is a very nice person.
 Susan and Alex  went to the movie together.
 Those boys  are good basketball players.
 We actors  are a happy group.

Verb 
The verb follows the subject when the sentence is declarative. A verb normally reveals the action of the sentence. Every sentence in English must have a verb.

The verb can be a single word.

Mary  likes  chocolate cake.
They  play  soccer.

The verb can also be a verb phrase. A verb phrase contains one, or more, auxiliary verbs and one main verb. The main verb is always preceded by the auxiliary verbs.  (See more about verb structure in Chapter 5.)

Martha  has been talking  to her new friend.
Terry  is visiting  his aunt today.

Examples of verbs and verb phrases:

Jerry  has returned  from lunch.
The storm  made  a lot of noise.
George  is playing  in a tournament tomorrow.
I  will go  to bed soon.
Sally  was jealous  of Lisa’s new dress.

Complement (Object) 
The object may be a person or thing affected by the action described in the verb.

A complement (object) provides more information about the verb. Often, it consists of a noun, or noun phrase, and will usually follow the verb in a sentence relaying active voice.

A complement (object) CANNOT begin with a preposition.  (See more under Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases in Chapter 12).

A complement (object) answers the question what? or whom?

Examples of complements:

Jack threw  the stone  far. (What did Jack throw?)
The hungry bird ate  a worm . (What did the bird eat?)
He called  Janice  after the party. (Whom did he call?)
She was chewing  gum  in class. (What was she chewing?)
The ball hit  Mike  during the game last night. (Whom did the ball hit?)

Modifier 
A modifier tells the time, place, or manner of action. The modifier usually follows the complement. Not every sentence requires a modifier.

Prepositional phrases are commonly used as modifiers  (See more under Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases in Chapter 12).

Examples of prepositional phrases:

under the house ,  after breakfast ,  in the morning

Adverbs and adverbial phrases are also used as modifiers, or modifiers of time. A modifier of time will usually come last when more than one modifier is used.

Examples of adverbs and adverbial phrases:

yesterday ,  quickly ,  last semester ,  overhead ,  quite awful

A modifier answers the question of where? when? or how?

Examples of modifiers:

She is earning her degree  at Cornell University . (Where is she earning her degree?)
John fell  down the stairs  (Where did John fall?)
  yesterday . (When did John fall?)
The cheetah was running  quite fast . (How was the cheetah running?)
We have an appointment  at ten o’clock tomorrow . (When do we have an appointment?)
The soldier fired the gun  repeatedly . (How did the soldier fire the gun?)

Exercise 1: Identifying Subject, Verb, Complement and Modifier 
Mark the subject, verb, complement and modifier in the following sentences. Use an “S” for subject, “V” for verb, “C” for complement and “M” for modifier. NOTE: Remember that not all sentences have a complement or modifier. Also, some sentences can have more than one modifier.

Examples: 
   Juan  is eating  tacos  at the new restaurant.    S  V  C  M   
   The girls  are talking to  the boys.    S  V  C   
   Madonna  is performing  tonight.    S  V  M

Jerry opened his present.
 
 Mr. Johnson drinks coffee every morning.
 
 Birds fly.
 
 The dog chased the cat up the tree.
 
 The wind blew violently.
 
 Jimmy scored a goal at the soccer match last Saturday.
 
 They ran inside quickly.
 
 Bill, George and Alice bought CDs at the music store today.
 
 The barrel rolled down the hill.
 
 Terry is watching television.

Think something is missing? Let us know - Help Improve GMAT Club's Grammar Book Project!   
  This post is a part of  GMAT GRAMMAR BOOK ]

sag · Answer

First of all i would like to thank bb and dzyubam for this Grammar Book.. gr8 initiative..
Isn't in the above sentence , Tonight answers the Question :  When  so it should be a Modifier and not a Complement.

cchilakapati · Answer

easy to understand

dzyubam · Answer

Thanks, corrected. +1.

anshumanbhatia · Answer

In the above statement isnt to the boys a complement? It answers the girls are talking "to whom".

dzyubam · Answer

I've corrected that one to be "C". I'm not 100% sure though...

resh · Answer

Just a suggestion. Would it help identify "Object" a bit more easily if we add the following to define object.   "The object is the person or thing affected by the action described in the verb."

Eg: "He opened the box. "- here the box is the object as it is the thing being affected by the verb to open.

dzyubam · Answer

Thanks,  resh ! +1 Kudos. I will add it to the post.

utin · Answer

Hi I have a confusion in answer to question 7 They ran inside quickly.

according to me "inside" should be a modifier not an object/complement as it answers "where?".Please explain.

Also with question 9:The barrel rolled down the hill.

Here please explain why can't i think that hill is object and down is modifier.Please help me clear my doubt.

dreambeliever · Answer

I have the same question. Why is inside a Complement and not a Modifier?

I can understand that the question can be "What did they do?" "they ran inside". In which case it is a complement.

But if we ask "where did they run to?" then the ans is "inside". In this case it seems more likely to be a Modifier. This is what came more naturally to me. So i thought there are 2 modifiers in this statement - inside and quickly.

Can someone pls help clarify what i'm doing wrong?

ravsg · Answer

I have the same question for #7 
Similar to "They ran home in terror" answers where? Home and manner? in terror.

denver · Answer

I agree. I believe "inside" should be modifier.

Also if you were to ask what did they do? Answer would be they ran. This question is really asking what did the subject (they) do? The answer would be the verb (ran) , which makes sense no?

Where did they ran? Inside (this should be modifier and not an object).

Could someone please clarify?

tkkarthick · Answer

Where are the answers for the 10 questions in Exercise 1. I need to review my answer.

kingme · Answer

Hi Guys,

Thanks a ton for the excellent post. I have the same question as above, where can i get the answers?

take care.

-Rupok

Anonymous · Answer

Please,download the PDF version of the book. You will get all the answers of the exercise. 
Or check out the following answers:

1. Jerry / opened / his present.
 S V C
2. Mr. Johnson / drinks / coffee / every morning.
 S V C M
3. Birds / fly.
 S V
4. The dog / chased / the cat / up the tree.
 S V C M
5. The wind / blew / violently.
 S V M
6. Jimmy / scored / a goal / at the soccer match / last Saturday.
 S V C M M
7. They / ran / inside / quickly.
 S V M M
8. Bill, George and Alice / bought / CDs / at the music store / today.
 S V C M M
9. The barrel / rolled / down the hill.
 S V M
10. Terry / is watching / television.
 S V C

andih · Answer

Thanks, that was helpful!

chetu · Answer

In Question 7 They ran  inside  quickly. shouldn't "inside" be a modifier

amirzohrevand · Answer

Hi 
can you put the pdf version of the book on your website directly?
i have a lot of trouble downloading it from fb,
tnx

tatz · Answer

Yes.."to the boys" answers the question -"To whom girls are talking". But at the same time I would like to inform that there is a rule which says
"A complement (object) CANNOT begin with a preposition."...."To" is a preposition so boys are Prepositional Object rather than verb's object.

Hence, "to the boys" is a modifier.

anurag26 · Answer

So this needs to be corrected in above post?

GMAT Grammar Book: Basic English Sentence Structure

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Subject	Verb	Complement	Modifier
Darrel	wrote	a novel	last year
They	rode	bicycles	to school

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