Sentence Construction

A sentence is a collection of words that convey sense or meaning and is formed according to the logic of grammar. Clear, short
sentences are preferable, and more effective, than long, complex ones.
The simplest sentence consists only of a noun, a naming word, and a verb or action word. For example, in the sentence Mary
walked, Mary is the naming noun and walked is the action verb.
Get the words in the right order. The most common order for parts of a sentence is: subject, verb, object (if present).

Mary is the proper noun in the example sentence above but can be substituted in following sentences by the
pronoun she. A pronoun is a word that can be used instead of a noun when a noun has already been mentioned. Other pronouns
are he, we, they and it.
Ex: Write a sentence using a proper noun. Then write another using a pronoun.

Steve kicked the ball.

In this sentence, the subject is Steve, the verb is kicked and the object is the ball. To help you remember this structure, try making
an example with someone you know well as the subject and something they do often for the verb and object.

What Is the Object of a Sentence?

The object of a sentence is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. It is the who or what that the subject does
something to. That sounds complicated, but we'll understand it more after we practice.
Terry carried out the trash.
In this sentence:
'Terry' is the subject: it is the one performing the action and the one the sentence is about
'carried' is the verb: it is the action being performed by the subject
'trash' is the object: it is 'what' is being carried and it is 'what' the subject is doing something to.

Direct objects and indirect objects

There are two different types of object: direct objects and indirect objects. A direct object is, as its name suggests, directly affected by
the action of the main verb. In the following two sentences, a drink and a story are direct objects: a drink was bought and a story
was being read.
Jonathan bought a drink.
[subject] [direct object]
He was reading a story.
[subject] [direct object]
An indirect object is usually a person or thing that benefits in some way from the action of the main verb. Take a look at the following
sentences:
Jonathan bought Catherine a drink.
[subject] [indirect object] [direct object]
He was reading his daughter a story.
[subject] [indirect object] [direct object]
Catherine has received a drink, but it is the drink that has been bought. His daughter is hearing the story, but its the story that is
being read. You can often reword such sentences to make it easier to identify the direct object:
Jonathan bought a drink for Catherine.
He was reading a story to his daughter.
Ex. I bought some flowers for my mother.

Adjectives describe nouns. Adjectives usually come before the noun.

They are sometimes known as 'describing words'. When two adjectives are used to describe one noun, they are set apart with the use
of a comma.
For example:
The lazy dog dozed.
The hairy, lazy dog dozed.
Adverbs describe verbs. The adverb should always follow the verb.
For example:
Mary walked slowly. or Peter ran away quickly.
Activity: Write a few sentences using adjectives and adverbs.

Tense
Verbs, or action words, are expressed in tenses; past, present or future. The tense of a verb is its setting in time.
For example:
Mary walked (past tense)
Mary walks (present tense)
Mary will walk (future tense)
There are also other, more complex tenses not covered here. An important point is to be consistent in your use of tense. Decide
whether you are explaining an event in the past, present or future and then be consistent in the use of that tense until there is a good
reason for changing.
The incorrect use of tenses is one of the most common mistakes of grammar. For example, consider the following sentence:
Marianne describes the new techniques, how they varied in approach and attitude.
The verb describes is in the present tense but varied is in the past tense. The correct tensing of the sentence should be:
Marianne describes the new techniques, how they vary in approach and attitude.

Write two examples of nouns and verbs, and then combine them to form sentences.