Sentence element

This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008)

Sentence elements are the groups of words that combine together to comprise the ‘building units’ of a well-formed sentence. A sentence element approach to grammar assumes a top-down methodology. In other words, it starts with the sentence as a whole and then divides it into its functional components.

There are five types of sentence element:

In the sentence below every type of sentence element is present and is represented in this example by a single word.

They elected him president yesterday.

They (=subject), elected (=verb), him (=object), president (=predicative), yesterday (=adverbial)

1 The subject and predicate
2 Sentence elements comprising the predicate
3 Internal structure of sentence elements
4 See also

The subject and predicate

All the sentence elements except the subject fall into the predicate of the sentence. The subject is the topic of the sentence and the predicate is the comment on the subject. Look at the example below.

Mr Jenner ate cabbage in the garden.

In this example Mr Jenner is the subject, and ate cabbage in the garden is the predicate. Mr Jenner is the topic; and the comment is that he ate cabbage in the garden.

The subject is necessarily a nominal (noun, pronoun, noun phrase or clause).

The verb governs the predicate and determines whether objects, predicatives and adverbials are required, permitted or proscribed. Look at the example below:

My older brother gave Lorna a book yesterday in the garden.

In this example the verb to give requires two objects (direct: a book, indirect Lorna) and permits temporal and locative adverbials (yesterday and in the garden respectively)

Sentence elements comprising the predicate

These elements are the verb phrase, objects, predicatives and adverbials.

verb group

Every verb group has a main verb, which may stand alone or may be preceded by auxiliary verbs which determine the mood, tense, voice or aspect of the main verb. The main verbs determine which other sentence elements are required or permitted in the predicate, (selection restriction).

Main verbs may be classified:

copular verb: this links a subject to predicative.

Miss Gold seems happy (SUBJECT + COPULA VERB + PREDICATIVE)

stative verbs: this establishes a state not an action.

We lay in our beds. (SUBJECT + STATIVE VERB + ADVERBIAL)

active or dynamic verb: the sentence describes an action (i.e. a change of state).

Mr Jenner left the room. (SUBJECT + ACTIVE VERB + DIRECT OBJECT)

objects

An object is an entity involved in the subject's ‘performance’ of the verb. Look at this sentence below:

Mr Bibby kicked the ball. (object)

Mr Bibby is the subject (the doer or performer), kick is the verb (the action) and the ball is object involved in the action.

The main verb in the sentence determines whether there can or must be objects in the sentence, and, if so, how many and of what type. This is called the verb valency. If the verb is transitive, as is the verb to kick in the example above, the action is ‘carried over’ and an object is required. If the verb is intransitive there is no objects, as in the example below.

Intransitive verbs (no object)

The train arrived.

The verb to arrive is intransitive. It cannot take an object.

Transitive verbs (one object)

Mr Jenner breaks the windows.

The verb to break is monotransitive, and requires one object. It would be ungrammatical to say Mr Jenner breaks, unless the verb to break conveys a different meaning.

Ambitransitive verbs (one or no object)

Miss Gold eats a banana every morning.

The verb to eat is ambitranistive and permits, but do not requires, an object. The sentence Miss Gold eats every morning is grammatically correct.

Ditransitive verbs (two objects)

John put the book on the shelf.

The verb to put requires two objects. Neither John put on the shelf, nor John put the book are grammatical sentences, at least in English.

Object can be direct or indirect, the latest being introduced by a preposition. Modern English does not, however, distinguish direct and indirect object for pronouns.

direct object

We threw stones.

indirect object

We listened to the radio.

objective pronoun

They advised him to open a shop.

Objects are either nominals (nouns, pronouns, noun phrases or clauses) or either prepositional phrases which consist of a preposition followed by a nominal.

predicatives (AKA subject and object complements)

Predicatives are nominals or adjectivals which tell us more about the subject or object by means of the verb.

In the following examples the predicative is telling us more about the subject. Subject predicatives (or subject complements) are obligatory sentence elements: if they are removed, a well-formed sentence cannot remain.

The bag seems heavy. (adjectival)

That man is a thief. (nominal)

In the following examples the predicative is telling us more about the object. Object predicatives (or object complements) are non-obligatory sentence elements: even if they are removed, a well-formed sentence remains.

We painted the house yellow. (adjectival)

They elected him president. (nominal)

adverbials

The subject, verb phrase, objects and predicatives form the core of a sentence. Any other element is adverbial; it concerns the circumstances of the sentence (when, where) or relates the sentence to something else. There are four adverbials in the sentence below.

Lorna arrived (1)here (2)yesterday (3)by car (4)despite the rain.

Adverbials may always be added to a sentence, but some main verbs require adverbials for a well formed-sentence, as in the following example:

Lorna put the book onto the table.

As sentence elements, there are four main types of adverbials:

adverbial adjunct – integral to sentence meaning and can be removed leaving a well-formed sentence.

Mr Bibby saw her yesterday.

obligatory adverbial – integral to sentence meaning but cannot be removed.

They treated her well.

adverbial conjunct - linking the sentence to another, and is removable.

You thought it was true; however, I thought otherwise.

adverbial disjunct - making a comment on the sentence

Stupidly, I answered the question.

Internal structure of sentence elements

Sentence elements may be one of three forms: a (single) word, a phrase, a clause.

single word sentence elements

Single word sentence elements may be directly related to parts of speech. A single word subject or object is necessarily a noun. A single word verb is a verb. A single word predicative is either a noun or an adjective. Single word adverbials are adverbs.

phrasal sentence elements

A phrasal sentence element is any group of words which collectively serve as a sentence element, but which does NOT constitute a clause.

We can identify four types of phrase.

noun: these phrases have a noun (or pronoun) head. Adjectives, determiners and relative clauses may modify the noun. Noun phrases may form the subject, object, predicative and adverbial sentence elements.

the old man who lived next door (with pre and post modification)

prepositional: these phrases have the structure of a preposition followed by a noun phrase. Prepositional phrases may form prepositional objects and adverbials.

Lorna gave the book to the old man. (SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT + PREP OBJECT)
We saw them in the evening. (SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT + ADVERBIAL)

adjectival: these phrases consist of an adjective and possible modifiers. As sentence elements adjectival phrases are predicatives.

She was very able to write a book. (with pre and post modification)

verbal: the verbal group consists of a main verb, possible auxiliary verbs and possible adverbial particles. They only occur the verbal structure of the sentence.

We will have washed up. (SUBJECT + VERBAL STRUCTURE)

clausal sentence elements

A clause consists of a subject and main verb. Not all clauses function as sentence elements. Look at the two contrasting examples below.

We know that he is a fool. (SUBJECT + VERB + CLAUSAL OBJECT)

The man who is a fool knows nothing. (The clause is qualifying the man and is not a sentence element in its own right)

The clause can function as a subject, object and adverbial sentence element.

Whether he is guilty is the issue. (CLAUSAL SUBJECT + VERB + COMPLEMENT)

We know that Mr Jenner eats cabbage. (SUBJECT + VERB +CLAUSAL OBJECT)

We arrived before they left. (SUBJECT + VERB + CLAUSAL ADVERBIAL)

Clauses, whether they are sentence elements or not, are themselves composed of sentence elements. Look at the example below.

We know that he is a fool. SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT (OBJECT = SUBJECT + VERB+ COMPLEMENT)

Contents