Sentence structure Introduction 138 Simple sentences * Subject + verb: s v The rice és burning. * Subject + verb + complement: s v come, She's a lawyer, s v comp. She's intelligent © Subject + verb + direct object: s v Do. T ‘ve read this book. © Subject + verb + indirect abject + direct object: 8 v Lo. D.0, My boyfriend wrote = me_—_—a Lovely letter. * Subject + verb + object + complement s v ° come. They made hima star, s v ° come, They made _—him_—_very famous. Compound sentences We can link simple sentences to form compound sentences of two or more clauses. In a compound sentence, the clauses are of equal importance. We can make the link in the following ways: * With a co-ordinating conjunction, e.g. and, but, so, yet, sometimes preceded by a comma: He loves her but she doesn’t love him. * With a semi-colon or colon: I met David yesterday; he’s just come out of hospital. or I met David yesterday: he’s just come out of hospital ‘* With a semi-colon or a colon followed by a connecting adverb. e.g. however, nevertheless, meanwhile, after all, finally: He performed very well in the interview; however, he didn’t get the job. or He performed very well in the interview: however, he didn’t get the job.Complex sentences Complex sentences have a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses Noun clauses or phrases. We can link the clauses as follows: © With relative clauses: Many people who are out of work become depressed. * With noun clauses: I've always known that he hated me. * With adverbial clauses: Did you see him when he came in? ‘* With infinitive or participial constructions: To do the job property, you'll need to get some tools. She ran out of the house calling for help. A noun clause is sometimes called a that-clause. However, noun clauses do not always use that. © Noun clause as object. Many verbs can be followed by a noun clause: ! can guarantee (that) it will be there on time. Do you think (that) she'll come? * Noun clause as subject: That you don’t love him is obvious. However, we more often use the construction: It + be/seem + adjective + noun clause It is obvious (that) you don't love him. or we use: The fact that ...: The fact that you don’t love him is obvious. * Noun clause after certain adjectives, e.g. adjectives describing feelings: pleased, sorry, happy, glad, delighted, upset, worried, concerned, surprised, grateful, and adjectives describing degrees of certainty: sure, positive, convinced, doubtful: I'm concerned (that) he won't believe me. ‘Are you sure (that) he said that? © Noun clause after a large number of abstract nouns, e.g. belief, idea, fact, hope, promise, suggestion, thought, reason, implication, something/anything. As object: ! don’t like the suggestion that we do this job together. As subject: The thought that I upset her so much is awful. * Noun clause with question words. Noun clauses that start with a question word do not start with tat. As object: I will never understand why he did that. or Why he did that | will never understand. I looked at what they'd done. As subject: What happened between us must remain a secret. * Noun clauses with if/whether (or not), As object: I don’t know iffwhether he’s coming tonight. As subject: Whether or not he’s coming tonight is still uncertain. It is still uncertain if/whether/whether or not he's coming tonight,Sentence structure Practice 52a Underline the noun clauses in the following dialogue. Angie and Helen are talking at work. Angie is Helen's boss. A: Helen, I’m delighted to hear that you've decided to accept the post of junior manager. Hz Yes. [just hope that it turns out all right, A: Oh, I'm sure it will. Is there anything in particular that you're wortied about? 11: Well, yes. I'm not sure how the staff will respond to me as a manager. After all, 1 am quite a bit younger than most of them, A: Oh, | wouldn’t worry too much about that. I expect that some of them will be a bit hostile to you at first but they'll soon get used to the fact that you're the boss. It’s important that you appear confident in your position, even if you don’t feel very confident. The reason that you got this position at your age is that you're good and you must remember that. H: Well, I hope that I will live up to your expectations of me, I will certainly try. 52b Join the sentences together using a noun clause. Make changes where necessary. 1 He's lying to you. I’m sure. I'm sure that he’s lying to you. 2 You did something. It is unforgivable. What you did te unforgivable. It is unforgivable what you did. 3. She still holds on to the belief. He isn’t dead. 4 She hasn't made a complaint. We must be grateful for that. 5 Some people are coming to the meeting. | don't know how many. 6 She didn’t lie to you about it. That suggestion is ridiculous. 141Sentence structure 7 You're going with him. 1 presume that. 8 Judith’s coming round tonight. Have you forgotten that? 9. She may have passed her exams. I don’t know. 10 He didn’t tell her the truth. She is very angry about that. 11 She may be good enough to do the job: she may not. It remains doubtful. 12 He has some emotional problems. That is quite apparent. 13 Where are we going to meet tonight? Have you arranged that? 14 How is she? Do you know? 15 They're getting married. I'm delighted. 142