A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. Every sentence must have a subject and a verb. At the A1 level, learners should focus on simple sentence patterns to build a strong foundation in English.
1️⃣ The Key Elements of a Sentence
1. Subject (Who or What the Sentence is About)
- The subject is the person, thing, or place that acts as the sentence.
- It is usually a noun (a person, place, or thing) or a pronoun (he, she, it, they, etc.).
✅ Examples:
- John plays football. (John = subject)
- The cat is sleeping. (The cat = subject)
- She likes ice cream. (She = subject)
2. Verb (The Action or State of Being)
- The verb tells us what the subject is doing (action) or being (state).
- Common verbs include eat, run, sleep, have, like, go, is, am, are.
✅ Examples:
- I run every morning. (run = action)
- He is happy. (is = state of being)
- We have a big house. (have = possession)
3. Object (Optional)
- Some sentences also include an object—the person or thing affected by the action.
- Objects usually answer “what?” or “whom?”
✅ Examples:
- She reads a book. (reads = verb, book = object)
- They eat pizza. (eat = verb, pizza = object)
- I love my dog. (love = verb, my dog = object)
2️⃣ Basic Sentence Patterns
Here are some common sentence structures for beginners:
1. Subject + Verb (SV)
✅ Examples:
- Birds fly.
- She sings.
- I study.
2. Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)
✅ Examples:
- I drink water.
- He writes a letter.
- We watch TV.
3. Subject + Verb + Adjective (SVA)
✅ Examples:
- She is happy.
- The weather is cold.
- They are tired.
4. Subject + Verb + Adverb (SVAdv)
✅ Examples:
- She runs fast.
- He drives slowly.
- We live here.
3️⃣ Word Order in English Sentences
The correct order of words is important in English. Unlike some languages, English has a fixed word order:
📌 Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)
✅ Correct:
- I (S) eat (V) pizza (O).
❌ Incorrect: - Eat pizza I.
✅ Correct:
- She (S) likes (V) music (O).
❌ Incorrect: - Likes music she.
4️⃣ Making Sentences Negative
To make a sentence negative, we add not (or contractions like don’t, doesn’t, isn’t, aren’t).
✅ Examples:
- I do not (don’t) like coffee.
- He is not (isn’t) happy.
- They do not (don’t) have pets.
5️⃣ Making Sentences into Questions
To form yes/no questions, we use “Do” or “Is/Are” at the beginning:
✅ Examples:
- Do you like tea? (Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.)
- Is she happy? (Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.)
- Are they students? (Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.)
6️⃣ Common Mistakes & How to Fix Them
❌ Wrong: Likes she ice cream.
✅ Correct: She likes ice cream.
❌ Wrong: He going to school.
✅ Correct: He is going to school.
❌ Wrong: Not I like coffee.
✅ Correct: I do not like coffee.