What is English Sentence Structure? English Subject-Verb Agreement The 4 Types of Sentence Structure

1. 
   What is English Sentence Structure?
   
2. 
   English Subject-Verb Agreement
   
3. 
   The 4 Types of Sentence Structure
   

1. 
   Simple Sentence Structure
   
2. 
   Compound Sentence Structure
   
3. 
   Complex Sentence Structure
   
4. 
   Compound-Complex Sentence Structure
   

4. 
   Word order of adjectives
   
5. 
   Direct and Indirect objects
   

1. 
   What is English Sentence Structure?
   

English sentence structure requires at minimum a subject and a verb.
For example,

• 
  Joe runs.
  

In this sentence, we have our subject (Joe) and our verb (runs).

However, most sentences in English will include a subject, verb, and object.
For example,

• 
  Joe manages the local grocery store.
  

In this sentence, we have our subject (Joe), verb (manages), and direct object (store).
This basic formula is the underpinning of proper sentence structure: the ordering process of Subject > Verb > Object.
Sometimes this ordering is simply called SVO.
Practice sentences:
Order the words to make meaningful sentences.
1. send / My parents / a lot of/ on my birthday/ gifts.
.
2. to the supermarket / went/ I /with/my family.
.
3. going to / visit/ Are / you / Paris / next month?
.
4. like to / a book / I / read/ sleeping / before.
.
5. won / The team / match / the football.
.

2. 
   English Subject-Verb Agreement
   

A crucial element to a proper English sentence is subject-verb agreement. In English, subjects must match verbs in number, person, case, etc. This is done through conjugation.
In English sentences, singular subjects require singular verbs, and plural subjects require plural verbs.
For example,

• 
  The student watches the teacher write notes on the board.
  
  • 
    Student = singular subject. Watches = singular verb.
    

• 
  The students watch the teacher write notes on the board.
  
  • 
    Students = plural subject. Watch = plural verb.
    

Sometimes writers get confused about subject-verb agreement when a phrase is inserted between the subject and verb.
For example,

• 
  Incorrect: When a group of friends are making plans together, it’s important to include everyone.
  
• 
  Correct: When a group of friends is making plans together, it’s important to include everyone.
  

With a phrase between the subject and the verb, it can be difficult to get the subject-verb correct, but it still comes down to the same thing.

• 
  Singular subjects require singular verb; plural subjects require plural verbs.
  

What is our subject in this sentence? If you strip away the extra words, you can see the subject is group,which is singular.
Our sentence could be rewritten,

• 
  When a group is making plans together, it’s important to include everyone.
  

Removing the extra words and phrases allows you to see the basic sentence structure. You can add the rest in later.
For a more full discussion on subject-verb agreement, see here. See also singular nouns and plural nouns.