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Important Structures in English

The document provides an overview of different types of sentences in English, including simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, along with examples for each type. It also discusses participles, detailing present and perfect participles with corresponding examples to illustrate their usage. The content is prepared by Ehsan Barzegar, Ph.D., for the Islamic Azad University in December 2022.

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7 views

Important Structures in English

The document provides an overview of different types of sentences in English, including simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences, along with examples for each type. It also discusses participles, detailing present and perfect participles with corresponding examples to illustrate their usage. The content is prepared by Ehsan Barzegar, Ph.D., for the Islamic Azad University in December 2022.

Uploaded by

mobina eb
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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In His Name

Important Structures in English


Islamic Azad University (Central Tehran Branch)
Prepared by: Ehsan Barzegar, Ph.D (December, 2022)

(A) Different Sentences in English

What is ‘Sentence’? It is a group of related words which expresses a complete thought. Sentence
can be of different types:

1) Simple Sentence: It is a sentence consisting of only a single independent clause1.


(a) The boys ran from school.
(b) The door broke.
(c) I fell.

2) Compound Sentence: It is a sentence consisting of two or more independent clauses and no


dependent clauses.
(a) I ran home, and fell on the way.
(b) Tom drove down to the village, but Mary stayed behind.
(c) The rains fell, and the frogs sang all night.

3) Complex sentence: It is a sentence with only one independent clause and one or more
dependent clauses.
(a) When I saw her, she was so happy.
(b) I can do whatever I want after I get home.
(c) As soon as I complete the plans, they will start to build.

4) Compound-Complex Sentence: It is a sentence with two independent clauses and one or


more dependent clauses.
(a) The snow stopped when the sun rose, but the temperature dropped below zero.
(b) The birds began to sing when the hawk had passed, and peace returned to the meadow.
(c) Navid went to the bank when the rain stopped, and Rosa stayed at home because she had
many things to do.

(B) Participles in English


(1) Present Participle
Mary saw that it was a wet day. She put on her raincoat. (Two sentences)
Mary saw that it was a wet day, so she put on her raincoat. (Two clauses)
Seeing that it was a wet day, Mary put on her raincoat. (Present participle)
Mary, seeing that it was a wet day, put on her raincoat. (Present participle)

The woman knew that he was a poor man. She offered to pay his fare. (Two sentences)
Knowing that he was a poor man, the woman offered to pay his fare. (Present participle)
The woman, knowing that he was a poor man, offered to pay his fare. (Present participle)

He turned off the light. He left the room. (Two sentences)


Turning off the light, he left the room. (Present participle)

1
Clause is any group of related words that has a subject and a verb. It can be ‘independent’ (which can be used
alone) or ‘dependent’ (which cannot be used by itself).
Independent clause: I will call him tomorrow.
Dependent clause: If I have enough time.
The bus was crowded. I had to stand. (Two sentences)
The bus being crowded, I had to stand. (Present participle)

The girl paid the fare. She got off the taxi. (Two sentences)
Before the girl got off the taxi, she paid the fare. (Two clauses)
Before getting off the taxi, the girl paid the fare. (Present participle)

He was a student of history. He was interested in museums. (Two sentences)


Because he was a student of history, he was interested in museums. (Two clauses)
Being a student of history, he was interested in museums. (Present participle)

The boy rode away. He whistled. (Two sentences)


The boy rode away, whistling. (Present participle)
Whistling, the boy rode away. (Present participle)
The boy, whistling, rode away. (Present participle)

We sat on the grass. We didn’t know that it was wet. (Two sentences)
We sat on the grass, not knowing that it was wet. (Present participle)
Not knowing that the grass was wet, we sat on it. (Present participle)

She pointed to the man. He was smiling. (Two sentences)


She pointed to the man who was smiling. (Present participle)
She pointed to the smiling man. (Present participle)
She pointed to the man, smiling. (Present participle)

My father had a long talk with his doctor. He explained why he did not want to undergo a
surgical operation on his heart. (Two sentences)
My father had a long talk with his doctor, explaining why he did not want to undergo a surgical
operation on his heart. (Present participle)

My wife had a long talk with Mr. Sampson. She described the undesirable situations some of the
children are living in. (Two sentences)
My wife had a long talk with Mr. Sampson, describing the undesirable situations some of the
children are living in. (Present participle)

(2) Perfect Participle


Roy was in China before the war. He is able to talk about Chinese customs. (Two sentences)
Having been in China before the war, Roy is able to talk about Chinese customs. (Perfect
participle)
Roy, having been in China before the war, is able to talk about Chinese customs. (Perfect
participle)

The girl had not studied for the exam. She refused to take it. (Two sentences)
Since the girl had not studied for the exam, she refused to take it. (Two clauses)
The girl, not having studied for the exam, refused to take it. (Perfect participle)
Not having studied for the exam, the girl refused to take it. (Perfect participle)

The flat had not been painted. The Browns postponed moving into it. (Two sentences)
Because the flat had not been painted, the Browns postponed moving into it. (Two clauses)
The flat, not having been painted, the Browns postponed moving into it. (Perfect participle)

Good luck!

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