23

EQUIPO DIDÁCTICO ACADEMIA 21 INGLÉS SECUNDARIA

23. LA ORACIÓN SIMPLE: TIPOS, ESTRUCTURA Y ELEMENTOS CONSTITUYENTES. FENÓMENOS DE
CONCORDANCIA.

TOPIC 23. SIMPLE SENTENCE: CLAUSE TYPES, STRUCTURE AND CONSTITUENTS.
CONCORD.

ABSTRACT ____________________________________________________________ 2

1. SIMPLE SENTENCE: INTRODUCTION, BOUNDARIES, SUBJECT OF STUDY ________ 2

 On the Curriculum ________________________________________________________ 2

 On Sentence, Sentence types. ______________________________________________ 4

 Sentence Structure _______________________________________________________ 7

 Sentence Elements:_______________________________________________________ 8

Types of Sentence Structure. _______________________________________________ 12

 Variations according to purpose ___________________________________________ 12

2. AGREEMENT _______________________________________________________ 15

3.1 Subject-Verb Agreement. _________________________________________________ 15

3.2 Notional Concord and Proximity ____________________________________________ 16

3.3 Collective Nouns _________________________________________________________ 16

3.4. Coordinated subject _____________________________________________________ 16

3.5 Indefinite expression of amount. ___________________________________________ 17

3.6 Concord of Person. _______________________________________________________ 18

3.7 Other types of concord. ___________________________________________________ 18

CONCLUSION ________________________________________________________ 19

BIBLIOGRAPHY _______________________________________________________ 19

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ABSTRACT

With the present paper we move from single morphological elements to the category
of syntax, covering an essential element in language use: sentence. To provide a
comprehensive study, we will see the importance of this element as imbued in our
curriculum to move on to set the concept within the field of linguistics and in
comparison with other features, stating the boundaries of the term sentence itself in
relation to clause type. Then, we will mainly concentrate on the simple sentence,
though a brief review to complex and compound sentences will be included for
purposes of clarification. We will then revise main types, structure and constituents to
end up with the agreement phenomena before we move a step further into more
complex sentence types.

1. SIMPLE SENTENCE: INTRODUCTION, BOUNDARIES, SUBJECT OF STUDY

1.1 On the Curriculum
Before getting into the specific elements of simple sentence, we find it useful to place
the need of teaching this item within our current educational guidelines and scientific
research. According to the Common European Framework for Languages (CEFRL),
language learning comprises actions performed by persons who develop a range of
competences, both general and in particular communicative language competences.
Communicative language competences empower a person to act using:
1) Linguistic Competence (Knowledge)
2) Sociolinguistic Competence (Skills)
3) Pragmatic Competence (Know-how)

Linguistic competence includes grammatical, lexical and semantic knowledge and
skills that we will deal with in this topic, though clearly treated not in isolation but
linked with communicative actions and as tools for communication.

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GRAMATICAL
Therefore, linguistic competence implies LEXICAL knowledge and skills.
SEMANTIC
The Spanish Curriculum is based on a set of principles which include:
1) Language as communication
Language is conceived as a dynamic phenomenon, a system of communicative acts and
situations. Consequently, learning a foreign language implies the manipulation of
linguistic structures and the knowledge of vocabulary and phonetic features applied to
communicative situations in order to improve the students’ cognitive competence.

2) The language syllabus, which covers the knowledge of rules that govern the
combination of linguistic units to produce words, phrases, sentences and texts:
- Grammar: construction of sentences and texts.
- Lexical fields, vocabulary.
- Phonetics and spelling elements: sounds, stress, rhythm, intonation, connected
speech, etc.
Grammar therefore constitutes one of the major components of the linguistic system
and of Foreign language teaching and learning curriculum. Our students need to know
the main elements at syntactic level, starting by the simple sentence.
Grammar is made up o two main features: morphology and syntax.

Morphology: How words are organised
Eg: Cooks = the morpheme cook + the morpheme –s.
Grammar

Syntax: How words are combined into larger unit such as phrase and
sentence. Eg: She cooks everyday.

The following table shows model of the structure of English as we will analyze next:

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GRAMMAR
Morphosyntax (Form + Function)
Morphology; Form and Parts Syntax: Use and order of words in
of words a sentence
morphemes phrases

↓ ↓
words clauses

↓
sentences

1.2 On Sentence, Sentence types.
We will first deal with the greater structure, that of sentence. According to Downing,
the term “sentence” is widely used to refer to quite different types of unit.
 Grammatically, it is the highest unit and consists of one independent clause
(simple clauses) or two or more related clauses (complex clauses).
 Orthographically and rhetorically, it is that unit which starts with a capital letter
and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
Thus, we find the following sentence types:
 Simple Sentences contain only one clause, which has a subject and a verb, and
sometimes an object.
My friend invited me to a party.

 Compound Sentence consists of two or more independent clauses (or simple
sentences) joined by co-ordinating conjunctions like "and," "but," and "or":
My friend invited me to a party, but I do not want to go.
 Complex Sentence contains one independent clause and at least one
dependent clause. Unlike a compound sentence, however, a complex sentence
contains clauses which are not equal
Although my friend invited me to a party, I do not want to go.

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SENTENCE TYPES

SIMPLE SENTENCE COMPOUND SENTENCE COMPLEX SENTENCE uses
Adsd two coordinate clauses subordination to link clauses
Contains a simple clause.

I love cakes I love cakes and I can cook I think this should be smaller.
them well
We travelled abroad

A sentence is the highest unit and consists of one independent clause (simple clauses) or
two or more related clauses (complex clauses). In many respects, sentences can be
analysed in the same terms as clauses, that is, separating the elements into the categories
of subject, object, verb, complement and adverbial.
The dog barks
Even the addition of adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases to a simple
sentence does not change it into a complex sentence.
The brown dog with the red collar always barks loudly.
Even if you join several nouns with a conjunction, or several verbs with a conjunction,
it remains a simple sentence.
The dog barked and growled loudly.
However, sentences are also described in terms of:
 How clauses are arranged.
 Functions of the sentence.
 Traditional patterns which are used for particular effects in
speech and writing.
Once we know what we understand by sentence, it is time to look at the parts of a
sentence and distinguish between clause and sentence. According to Swam, a clause is
a part of a sentence which contains a subject and verb, and usually joined to the rest
of the sentence by a conjunction. A sentence is made of clauses. A clause may be
short or long, but must contain at least one main, finite verb. Professor Crystal
describes a clause as:
A structural unit smaller than a sentence but larger than phrases or word.

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Simple sentences and main clauses almost always have a subject and a verb, and
sometimes have an object. In some cases a clause may appear identical with a
sentence or phrase. A short clause may in fact be identical with a verb phrase. If you
are analysing a sentence, you will look first for clauses; if you wish to see how words
have been combined in simple sequences, you will look for phrases. Clause is the main
field of written formal language.
That [she answered the question correctly] pleased him greatly.
The italicizing is intended to emphasize the similarity between subordinate (or
dependent) clauses and independent sentences.
The structures realizing sentence elements are composed of units referred as parts of
speech, which include:
I. Open Class Items: They are indefinitely extendable.
 Nouns: John, I, room, game, answer…
 Adjective: happy, free, new,large…
 Adverb: completely, steadily, very
 Verb: go, come, search, ask, study…
II. Closed-Class Items: They cannot normally be extended by the creation of
additional members.
 Article: the, a(n)
 Demonstrative: this, that.
 Pronoun: he, they, anybody, one, which
 Proposition: of, at, without, in spite of
 Conjunction: and, that, when, although
 Interjection: ah! Ugh, phew
The distinction between both types must be treated cautiously, as parts of speech tend
to be rather heterogeneous.

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1.3 Sentence Structure
According to David Crystal there are only seven basic sentence types:
1. Subject + Verb (only): S + V
I /yawned.
Maria/ is working.
It/ has been raining.
Of course, we can add extra information if we want to, but the extra
information is not necessary to make sense:
Maria is working very hard these days
I has been raining for day
2. Subject + Verb + Noun Phrase (S + V + O)
Fred/opened/the door
My friend/met/me
John/is/the best player
These sentences are not complete without the noun phrase.
3. Subject + Verb + Complement (S + V + C)
Dinner/ is/ ready
The noise/was/terrible
She/looked/beautiful
4. Subject + Verb + Adverbial (S + V + A)
Dick/ went/ to London
John/ run/ 6 miles.
5. Subject + Verb + Object + Object (Noun Phrase). S + V + O + O
Romeo / gave / Juliet / a kiss
I gave/my sister/a present
He/told/me/ a joke
Sentences of this type can be made with verbs such as: ask, bring, find, leave,
make, offer, sell, send, teach or wish.

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6. Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (S + V + O + C)
Henry / got / his feet / very wet
I/kept/myself/warm
It/made/him/angry
7. Subject + Verb+ Object + Adverbial S + V + O + A
Sam / put / the bottles / in the cellar
She/took/things/outside
We/put/the kettle/on the table
Clauses that function as subject, object or complement replace noun phrases, so they
are called nominal clauses. Those that function as adverbs/adjectives are
adverbial/adjectival clauses.
Let`s see in further detail the sentence elements:

1.4 Sentence Elements:
According to Quirk, a sentence may be seen as comprising five units called ELEMENTS
OF A SENTENCE (or Clause structure):
Subject (S), object (O), verb (V), complement (C), adverbial (A)

1. Subject: The subject is a noun or noun phrase, pronoun or subordinate clause.
o The dog was sick. (n)
o Pretty girls laughed out loud. (NP)
o I am happy. (pn.)
o What she said is untrue. (sub.clause)
2. Object: usually follow the verb. They may be direct or indirect.
o Direct object: I sent an e-mail.
o Indirect object: I sent an e-mail to my boss
3. Verb: This is the central and obligatory element. A clause must contain at least one
verb phrase. I have been living here for ages.
4. Complement: is anything which adds to the meaning of the subject or object.
o Subject complement follows the verb. She is a doctor
o Object complement follows the direct object. He makes me happy

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5. Adverbial: Add to or complete the meaning of the verb: I sat comfortably
Let`s see them into further detail:
1. Subject: Some of the simplest sentences and clauses consist of a verb and a
noun, a pronoun or a noun phrase acting as the verb's subject. The subject normally
stands just before the verb. In order to find the subject, once you determine the verb,
ask a wh...? question of the verb. This will locate the subject(s):

SUBJECT VERB

She won.

The girl with brown hair slipped.

Moving my arm hurts.

2. Verb: The verb is the fundamental part of the sentence because it is
essential. The rest of the sentence, with the exception of the subject, depends very
much on the verb. It is important to have a good knowledge of the forms used after
each verb (verb patterns), for example: to tell [someone] TO DO [something] . The verb is
In English, as in other languages, the rest of the sentence may be seen as an expansion
of the verb. If the verb is won, we know that the sentence is about an incident in which
someone won something.

Each of the other elements in the sentence answers some question about the verb:
Who won? She won.
What did she win? She won the first race.
When did she win? She won yesterday.
How did she win? She won by cheating.

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We can classify verbs according to different types:
a) Intensive vs Extensive verbs: Intensive verbs have subject complements.
She is a new student
The rest can be considered extensive and can be classified as:
b) Transitive vs Intransitive. Transitive verbs take a direct object whereas intransitive
verbs take an indirect object:
I love sports
I saw her
However, some verbs permit both direct and indirect objects becoming ditransitive:
I gave my parents a big surprise
A few verbs such as make, take an object complement and they become complex
transitive:
I made him work
c) We also find a difference in meaning between State vs Action Verbs. Verbs can
descibe the action (something the subject actually does) or state (something that is
true of the subject) of the subject.
For example:
 Action: I play football twice a week.
 State : I've got a car.
Some verbs can represent both actions and states, depending on the context.
For example work:
 Action: David's working in the bank.
 State: David works in a bank.

3. Object: The object is the person or thing affected by the action described in
the verb. Objects come in two types, direct and indirect.
The direct object refers to a person or thing affected by the action of the verb.
He opened the door
The indirect object refers to a person or thing who receives the direct object.
I gave him the book here
The verb - or the last verb in a chain - may be accompanied by a second noun, pronoun
or noun phrase or clause. This is the verb's object, which normally follows the verb.

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We can find transitive object, intransitive object and complements.
4. Complements: Some verbs, for example be, seem appear, get, become, sometimes
need their basic meaning to be completed. This 'complement' (c) which 'completes'
the verb normally follows both the verb and the object (if there is one).

5) Adverbial: They modify the verb's meaning by adding information about time,
place, manner etc. (a)because this is the main role of adverbs. Adverbials are not fixed
to one position but move fairly freely: they can be at the start (a1), in the middle (a2)
or at the end (a3).

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1.5 Types of Sentence Structure.
Bringing together the distinction so far made, we can present some basic sentence-
structure diagrammatically.
Intensive: She is in London (Place)
Stative He is a student (Complement)
Extensive and Transitive: I heard the noise

Intensive: She became famous (after her film)

SENTENCE
Dynamic Mono: They ate the meal
Transitive Di He offered her a drink
Extensive Complex They made him boss
Intransitive The train arrived

So far we have provided a complete vision of the main morphological and syntactic
elements of the English language. It is time now to look at the communicative
structures and situations where we can use these elements for communicative
purposes.

1.6 Variations according to purpose
According to Quirk simple sentences may be divided into four major syntactic classes:
Statements, Questions, Commands and Exclamations, which correspond with four
communicative functions: Declaratory, Interrogative, Imperative and Exclamatory.
Let`s focus then on these major syntactic classes.
1. Declarative is the simplest clause form. Here the subject is before the verb as
in: You are my friend.
2. Interrogatives can be divided into:
 Yes/no' interrogative (expecting the answer 'yes' or 'no').
Did you see that?/Are you my friend?
 'Wh' interrogative:
Who are you?/When is the party?

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3. Exclamative. Here too there is a 'wh-word' at the beginning, but the subject is
in its normal position before the verb.
What a friend you are!
How tall you are!
4. Imperative: they lack a subject, as it is clearly presupposed to be the person
addressed directly:
Go out!
 Variables according to discourse function:
When we speak or write to each other, we perform acts, such as thanking and
promising. These are “speech acts”. Certain general types of speech act are very basic
in that most, if not all, languages have ways of representing them by means of the
grammar. These are:
1) Statements: primarily used to convey information.
2) Questions: intended to seek for information of a specific point
3) Directives: aimed at instructing somebody to do something
4) Exclamations: with the idea of expressing the extent to which the
speaker is impressed by something.
The basic correspondence between clause type and speech acts is summarized as
follows:
Clause Type Basic Speech Act Example
Declarative making a statement You are careful
Interrogative asking a question Are you careful?
Interrogative asking a question How careful are you?
Exclamative making an exclamation How careful you are!
Imperative issuing a directive Be careful!

We can also deal with another type: the Passives.
Many verbs can be either active or passive, a contrast which is traditionally called
'voice'.
Active: Sam built this house.

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Passive: This house was built by Sam.

The information is the same but the focus is different.
The first sentence is about what Sam did, so Sam is the subject of the active verb. The
second sentence is about the house, and the house is the subject of the passive verb.
 Passive verbs have a different form (was built) from active verbs
 The active verb's object (the house) is the passive verb's subject.
 The active verb's subject (Sam) may be omitted in the passive, or may be
included with by.
In an active clause the "doer" or agent is always clear:
Moriati shot the stranger.
But in a passive clause it is possible not to reveal "who done it":
The stranger has been shot.
Or a doer can be identified using by :
The stranger has been shot by Dr Watson.
The passive form is the same as the past participle, and is often combined with the
auxiliary be:

We saw it It was seen

I have mended it It has been mended

We must finish it It must be finished

David is painting it It is being painted by David

Sometimes we use get instead of be:
He got arrested.
When to use the passive
 In order to leave the actor unspecified, perhaps because we don’t know 'who

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done it', or don’t want to say, or because the actor remains to be decided.
A report should be written …
Application forms must be returned.
I have been told about these rumours.
 To focus attention on the actor, by adding the by phrase, normally at the end
of the clause.
The best essay was written by the youngest pupil.
It was broken by vandals.
 To change the position of the natural subject and object, in order to link back
to what has gone before.
Q. Who ordered pizza and who wanted pasta?
A. The pizza was definitely ordered by John. I’m not sure about the pasta.

2. AGREEMENT

We will finally concentrate of the rules of agreement or concord (as stated by Quirk)
which can be found in the simple sentence. We will establish relations between the
main elements:

2.1 Subject-Verb Agreement.
It is the most important type of concord in English. The verb agrees with its subject in
number and person. For all verbs other than be the distinctions are only found in the
present tense, where the 3rd person singular has the –s whereas the rest keep the base
form.
The girl lives here
The girls live here
There are further distinctions as it is the case of the verb be, which changes with 1 st,
2nd and 3rd person. The girl is /was here
The girls are/were here
 The agreement affects the first verb in the verb phrase, whether it is a main
verb or an auxiliary verb. Modal auxiliaries do not make distinction, however,
between number or person:

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The girl is/was living here The girls are/were living here
The girl may live here The girls may live here
 Noun Phrases coordinated with and are generally plural.
The president and the Vice President were at the ceremony
 Clauses are generally singular:
Going trekking is very relaxing

2.2 Notional Concord and Proximity. According to Quirk, Notional agreement is
agreement of verb with subject according to the idea of number rather than the actual
presence of a grammatical marker for that idea. Thus, collective nouns such as “the
government” can be treated as plural or singular.
The government have broken their agreement
The principle of proximity denotes agreement of the verb with whatever noun or
pronoun closely precedes it.
No one except his own supporters agree with him
One in ten take drugs
2.3 Collective Nouns
In British English, collective nouns, notionally plural but grammatically singular, obey
notional concord in examples where American English usually shows the singular:
The public are (UK)/is (US) tired of demonstrations
The audience were (UK)/was (US) enjoying
The choice is mainly based on whether the group is being considered as a single
undivided body or as a collection of individual. Thus, plural is more likely than singular.
Contrastingly, singular has to be used in sentences like
The audience was enormous!

2.4. Coordinated subject
When a subject consists of two or more noun phrases coordinated by and, a distinction
must be made between apposition and non-appositional coordination.
Tom and Jerry are on TV (Tom is on TV and Jerry is on TV)
What I say and what I think are my own business (what I said, and what I
think….two things)

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A singular verb , however is used with cojoinings which represent a single entity:
The hammer and the sickle (hoz y martillo) was flying from a tall flag pole
With the less common appositional coordination, no such reduction is possible, as the
coordinated structures refer to the same thing, hence using singular:
The temple of ugliness and memorial to bad taste was erected
Some latitude is allowed in the interpretation of abstract nouns:
Your fairness and impartiality has/have been appreciated.
 In some cases we may find a non-count noun subject preceded by a plural verb:
Good and bad taste are inculcated by example

 In the cases of concord involving (either…) or we find clear cases such as:
Either you or me is going to come
In cases of conflict, the principle of proximity intervenes:
Either your eyesight or your brakes are at fault

 Correlatives neither…nor behave like and as regards concord:
Neither he nor his wife have arrived

 Grammatical concord is usually obeyed for more than:
More than a thousand people attend the demonstration
More than one person has already complained.

2.5 Indefinite expression of amount.
It involves cases such as none, neither or either.
I have ordered the drinks, but none (of them) have/has arrived

Grammatical concord suggests that none is singular, but notional concord invites a
plural verb. Have is more idiomatic and Has is more conventionally “correct”.

The proximity principle abovementioned can also be applied to concord between

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CONCORDANCIA.
indefinites such as each, every, everybody, anybody and nobody which go with
a plural noun:
Nobody, not even the teachers, were listening

And with singular nouns of kind or quantity:
A large number of people have applied for the job

2.6 Concord of Person.
As well as concord of number, there is concord of person between subject and verb:
I am your friend (1st person singular concord)
He is ready (3rd person singular concord)

Following the principles of proximity, the last noun phrase of a coordinate subject
determines the person of the verb:
Either your wife or I am going

2.7 Other types of concord.
 Subject-Complement Concord Concord of number happens in SVC types:
The child was an angel
The children were angels

There are some exceptions such as:
Good manners are a rarity
What we need most is books.

 Subject-Object Concord of number, person and gender is necessary where the second
element is a reflexive pronoun:
He hurt himself with a knife/ You should ask yourself why
In British English, collective noun subjects permit plural concord:
The Navy congratulated themselves on the victory
 Pronoun concord: Personal pronouns in the 3rd person agree with their antecedents
both in number and in gender:
John hurt his foot/Jane hurt her foot

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CONCLUSION

The present topic dealt with the basic structure of the highest element in syntax, the
sentence. We provided a general review including definition, setting the boundaries of
the concept, the types, structure and constituent elements to end up with a final
revision of the most significant cases of agreement/concord problems in the English
language. Learning to make simple sentences is a first basic step for students to help
master the grammar of a language, which will make him/her possible to communicate.
Once students know how to make a simple sentence, it is possible to apply strict
mechanical "rules" to move into both compound and complex sentences, as we will
see in next topics. And with just these three sentence types, it is possible to make
good discourse, with good sentence variety, perfectly acceptable to become
competent language users in the foreign language, our main aim in teaching English.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Dawning A., Locke, P. English Grammar. A University Course. Routledge, 2006.
 Greenbaum, S and Nelson, G An Introduction to English Grammar. Pearson,
2002.
 Huddleston, R. and Pullum, G. The Cambridge Grammar of the English
Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2002.
 Leech, G. Startvik,J. A Communicative Grammar of English. Pearson Education,
2002.
 Murphy, R. English Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
 Quirk. R and Greenbaum. S. A University Grammar of English. Longman Group:
England,1993.
 Quirk, R. Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik. 1985. A
Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman. 1993.

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