Kinds of Sentence

 

There are four kinds of sentences according to structure. They are Simple sentence, Compound sentence, Complex Sentence and Compound Complex Sentence.

1. Simple Sentence:

           It is a group of words which makes sense. It has a Subject and a predicate.

                (eg) The birds  fly in the sky.

                            Sub          Predicate

                        The Sun  rises in the east.

                            Sub           Predicate

                     

Clause:

The Clause is of two types

    1. Main clause or Independent clause
    2. Subordinate clause or dependent clause.

Main Clause:

A main clause can stand alone and give a complete meaning.

               (eg) She wrote a letter.

                       He is a good boy.

                       Tom likes to draw pictures.

                       Ria sang a song.

Subordinate clause:

The subordinate clause cannot stand independently. It always depend on the main clause to give a complete meaning.

               (eg) Though I am poor

                       As she was ill

                       Unless you work hard

                       I you study well

2. Compound Sentence:

        A Compound Sentence is a sentence that contains two or more main clause.

                (eg) The bell rang and the music began.

                        He ran out of money, so he had to stop playing cards. 

                        She drank her morning coffee, and then she showered and dressed.

3. Complex Sentence:

        A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one main clause and one or more subordinate clause.

                (eg) Although he was wealthy he was unhappy.

                        When he was younger, he believed in fairy tales.

                        Unless you work hard, you will not pass. 

4. The Compound-Complex Sentence:

        The Compound-Complex Sentence is comprised of at least two main clauses and one or more subordinate clauses.

                (eg) Annie doesn't like cartoons because they are loud, so she doesn't watch them.

                        The dog started barking so the cat ran away and I couldn’t keep up, so I stopped.

                        When we won the world cup, the team captain jumped for joy, and the fans

Cheered.

Question Tags

Do you Know how to use Question Tags ?

The question given at the end of the sentence are question tags. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. We use tag questions to ask for confirmation. Question tags are more common in speaking than writing. Tag questions are made using an auxiliary verb and a subject pronoun.

 

         (eg) He is a good musician, isn’t he?

                 You will come tomorrow, won’t you?

                 She hasn't eaten all the cake, has she?

                 The trains are never on time, are they?

Question tags are used after affirmative and negative sentences, but not after questions. If the statement is positive, the question tag is formed by auxiliary verb + n’t + subject.

                 It was raining that day, wasn't it?

                 They have completed their work, haven’t they? 

If the statement is negative, the question tag is formed by auxiliary + subject.

                 He isn’t honest, is he?

                 It couldn’t be true, could it?

If the Verb in the statement is in simple present tense then ‘do’ or ‘does’ is used in the question tag,

   

                 Sheela sings well, doesn’t She?

                 They know English, don’t they?

If the Verb in the statement is in simple past tense ‘did’ is used in the question tag.

                 John looked ill, didn’t he?

                 The doctors attended to the patient, didn’t they?

Rules in Auxiliary verb:

If the main sentence has an auxiliary verb or ‘be’ verb, the auxiliary verb is repeated in the question tag.

                 She can speak French, can’t she?

                 The music was quite good, wasn’t it?

                 You wouldn’t like to be cheated, would you? 

If the main sentence has no auxiliary verb, the question tag will have ‘do’ form of verb.

                 You like tea, don’t you?
                 He gave you a present, didn’t he? 

Rules:

1. The Subject of the question tag is always a pronoun and never a noun.

                 (eg)  Tom didn’t speak to you, did he?

2. Anybody, nobody, everybody, none of them take the plural ‘they’ in the question tag.

                 (eg) Everybody doesn’t know the truth, do they?

                         None of those customers were happy, were they? 

                         Nobody has called for me, have they?

3. Imperative Verbs showing request usually take ‘will you’, both in the positive and negative sentences.

                (eg) Give me that book, will you?

                        Don’t be late for the party, will you? 

4. Wont you is used to give urgency to the request.

               (eg) Have some tea, won’t you?

                       Remember to come on time, won’t you?

5. Words like little, few, hardly, scarcely, rarely and seldom are regarded as negatives. So they take a positive tag.

               (eg) Few students know the right answer, do they?

                       We could scarcely see him, could we?

                       They seldom come here, do they?

6. A few and a little have positive meaning. So they take a negative tag.

                (eg) A few students know the right answer, don’t they?

                         A little progress has been made, hasn’t it?

7. If the main verb or auxiliary verb in the statement is ‘am’, the positive question tag is ‘am I’? but the negative question tag is usually aren't I?

                 (eg)  I'm never on time, am I?

                          I'm going to get an email with the details, aren’t I?

 

Subject Verb Agreement - Concord

Subject Verb Agreement - Concord

       The subject of a sentence should always match the verb describing its action. The subject-verb agreement is easy in simple sentences and it can become tricky in complex sentence. By learning this rules we can avoid the common mistakes made in our conversation.  

  

Rule:1

        Singular Subject always take a singular verb. 

               

                (eg) He is writing.

                        I am reading book.

Singular	Verb
I           He           She            It	Am                Is              was

       

Rule:2

       Plural Subject always take a plural Verb.

                (eg) We are writing. 

                       Yesterday they were playing cricket.

Plural	Verb
You             We            They	Are (present tense)   Were (past tense)

        

Rule: 3

        When any two dissimilar subjects are connected by AND, the subject agrees with a Plural Verb.

                  (eg) Ram and I are going to Nagercoil.

                          The dog and its puppies are going there.

Rule: 4

        When any two similar objects are connected by AND, the Subject agrees with a singular.

                  (eg) Our CM and AIADMK Secretary is going to Delhi. (one person) 

                          Our secretary and treasurer is Dr. James. (one person)

Rule: 5

        When any two Subject are connected by phrases like along with, together with, with its or as well as, the Verb agrees with the first Subject.

                (eg) The tree along with its branches is cut down.

                        The dog with its puppies is going there.

                        The cups as well as the saucers are broken.

 

Rule: 6

        When any two dissimilar Subjects are connected by ‘OR’ the Verb agrees the ‘nearby’ Subject.

                 (eg) Mr. Chockalingam or some other trainees are expected in our class. 

                         Some Other trainees or Mr. Chockalingam is expected in our class.

Rule: 7

        Indefinite pronouns (Somebody, someone, anyone, everyone, none, nobody, none, everything, many, few, several, both) always agrees with the Plural Verb. 

                (eg) None are so deaf as those who will not hear.

                        Both of the twins are intelligent.

Rule: 8

        Many, always, all takes a plural Verb.

                (eg) Many computers were bought.

                        All of them are good.

Rule: 9

        Either, neither, each, everyone, many a, and must should be followed by a singular Verb.

                 (eg) Either of the applicants was suitable.

                         Neither of the two men was very strong.

                         Each of these substances is found in India.

                         Everyone of the prisons is full.

                         Many a man does not know his own good deeds.

Rule: 10

        Some nouns which are plural in forms but singular in meaning, take a singular Verb.

                 (eg) The news is true.

                         The wages of sin is death.

                         Mathematics is a branch of study in every school.

Rule: 11

        When a plural noun denotes some specific quantity or amount considered as a whole, the Verb is generally Singular.

                (eg) Fifteen minutes is allowed to each Speaker.

                        Ten Kilometers is a long walk.

                        Fifty thousand rupees is a large sum.

                        Three parts of the business is left for me to do.

Rule: 12

        Two nouns qualified by each or every, even though connected by and, require a Singular Verb.

               (eg) Every boy and every girl was given a packet of sweets.

                       Every man and every woman was given a packet of sweets.

Rule: 13

        When using numbers, percentages or proportions, the correct form of verb agreement depends on exactly what you’re referring to.    

        

            (eg) Only 25% of the measurements are reliable.

                       Three meters of wire surrounds the core.

                        Over 300 civilians reside in the area.

Rule: 14

        Abbreviations and acronyms usually take a singular verb. If you’re unsure, check if the full version of the acronym or abbreviation is a singular, plural or collective noun, and refer to the rules above. It’s most important to use one form of agreement consistently.    

                (eg) The country’s GDP correlates with its birth rate.

                        TCS is thinking of redoing the website.

                        The RPM falls rapidly.

Rule:15

      Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but are considered singular and take a singular verb. Some examples are "group," "team," "committee," "family," and "class."

                (eg) The group meets every week.

                        The committee agrees on the quality of the writing.

                       

                                                                                                     dedicated to

                                                                                                                   Mr. Chockalingam