Page 196 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Unit 10: Basic Sentence Patterns

Sentences with transitive verbs can usually be turned into passive sentences. Note that Notes
some intransitive verbs can also be used as transitive verbs.
(a) The office manager typed the letter.

(b) Satellites monitor the country’s military bases.
(c) The country’s military bases are monitored by satellites. (Sentence 4b is changed to
a passive sentence.)

5. The fifth verb type is “Vg two-place transitive.” This “Vg” verb can be followed by one of
two structures. In the first pattern, the verb is followed by two noun phrases, with the first
noun phrase functioning as an indirect object, and the second functioning as a direct object.
The alternate sentence pattern is related to the first, but the first noun phrase is a direct
object, and the second is an indirect object placed in a prepositional phrase introduced by
“to” or “for,” or more rarely by “of.” Sentences formed from “Vg” verbs must always
have both direct and indirect objects. Although indirect objects are usually living things,
they can also be inanimate objects.
(a) Dennis bought Ann some fancy flowers.

(b) Scientists fed some nutritious food to the laboratory rats.
(c) The Governor gave the schools additional money.
(d) The senator asked a question of the Supreme Court Justice.
6. The sixth verb type is “Vc two-place transitive.” This “Vc” verb is followed by a noun
phrase that functions as a direct object, plus another noun phrase, adjective phrase, or
infinitive phrase that functions as a complement. The term “complement” refers to a
structure that completes a phrase or clause.
(a) Republicans consider Democrats big spenders.
(b) Excessive tax cuts make some people uncomfortable.

(c) Some historians believe Franklin Roosevelt to be our most effective president.
Language is a fascinating thing. From the moment we are born, we begin the process of learning
how to communicate. As babies, we cry. It is the only method we know of at that stage to get
what we need and want. As we grow, however, we experiment with sounds and words, mimicking
those around us in order to figure out a better way of expressing ourselves. We learn from our
parents how to form sentences and ask questions. Little do we know at that age that we are using
something called “grammar.”

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People use grammar without really thinking about it. They do not realize that there are ten
sentence patterns, and with each sentence that they speak, they are using one of them. Grammar
can be very simple, but it can also be very complex. A sentence may last for a whole paragraph,
and still be grammatical.
English grammar is very different from the grammar of other languages. In English, the sentence’s
meaning is derived from the order of the words. For example: I threw the ball over the fence. The
words in this sentence could be scrambled and it would no longer be a sentence: Fence the over
ball threw I the. Our sentences have specific requirements of where certain words need to go in
order to convey the meaning we wish to convey. You may be able to scramble a sentence and it
would remain a grammatical sentence, but its meaning would be completely changed.

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