CBSE Class 8 English Chapter 15 Structure Of Sentences

CBSE Class 8 English Chapter 15 Structure Of Sentences

1. We have learnt that a sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense. We have also learnt that every sentence consists of two parts—(1) the Subject, and (2) the Predicate.

The Subject denotes the person or thing about which something is said.
The Predicate is what is said about the person or thing denoted by the Subject.

When the Subject of a sentence consists of several words, there is always one word in it that is more important than the other words. This chief word is called the Subject-word or Simple Subject.

Thus, in the sentence – The hungry lion roars, the Noun lion is the subject word.

The Subject

The Subject is always a Noun, or a word or a group of words that does the work ofa Noun; as,

Examples

1. Birds fly.
2. He works hard
3. The poor are with us.
4. Swimming is a good exercise
5. To err is human.
6. To find fault is easy.

It will be noticed that

In sentence 1, the Subject is a Noun;

In sentence 2, the Subject is a Pronoun;

In sentence 3, the Subject is an Adjective used as a Norm;

In sentence 4, the Subject is a Gerund.

In sentence 5, the Subject is an Infinitive;

In sentence 6, the Subject is a group of words doing the work of a Noun.

Enlargement Of The Subject

Sometimes the subject-word is qualified by an Adjective, or some word or group of words that does the work of an Adjective. This is called its Enlargement or Attribute, as,

Example:

1. Lazy boys fail.
2. Barking dogs seldom bite.
3. Raman’s brother is a doctor.
4. His father is not here.
5. Bali, my brother, has passed.
6. A desire to succeed is necessary
7. Boys of bad character are shunned
8. The Predicate

It will be noticed that —

In sentence 1, the attribute is an adjective;

In sentence 2, the attribute is a participle;

In sentence 3, the attribute is a noun in the possessive case;

In sentence 4, the attribute is a possessive adjective;

In sentence 5, the attribute is a noun in apposition;

In sentence 6, the attribute is a gerundial infinitive;

In sentence 7, the Attribute is a group of words doing the work of an Adjective.

We have seen that the Predicate may consist of one word or several words. When it consists of one word, that word is always a Verb.

When it consists of several words, the essential word in the Predicate is always a Verb. Thus, in the sentence below — Harry is a lazy boy, the word is is the Verb.

Extension Of The Predicate

Just as the subject-word may be qualified by an Adjective or a word or a group of words doing the work of an Adjective, in the same way the Verb in the Predicate may be qualified by an Adverb or a word or a group of words doing the work of an Adverb, called its Extension or Adverbial Qualification; as,

1. The bulbul sings sweetly.
2. She went home.
3. He rose early next morning.
4. The teacher spoke angrily.
5. The sun having risen, we started

It will be noticed that —

In sentence 1, the Extension is an Adverb;

In sentence 2, the Extension is an Adverbial Object;

In sentence 3, the Extension is an Adverb Phrase.

In sentence 4, the Extension is a group of words doing the work of an Adverb;

In sentence 5, the Extension is an Absolute Phrase.

The Object

When the Verb in the Predicate is a Transitive Verb, it requires an Object to complete its sense.

For example, if we say—‘Birds build’, we do not make complete sense. You want to know what the birds build. The Verb build requires an Object, such as nests, to make complete sense.

Now, examine the Predicates in the following sentences —

Examples:

1. Cats catch mice.
2. He knowns here
3. The rich people should help the poor.
4. The foolish crow tried to sing.
5. The brave Rajputs loved fighting.
6. I do not know how to swim.

It will be noticed that —

In sentence 1, the Object is a Noun;

In sentence 2, the Object is a Pronoun;

In sentence 3, the Object is an Adjective used as a Noun;

In sentence 4, the Object is an Infinitive;

In sentence 5, the Object is a Gerund or Verbal Noun;

In sentence 6, the Object is a group of words doing the work of a Noun.

Enlargement Of The Object

An Object-word may have, like the Subject-word, an Attribute; as,

Examples:

1. We plucked red roses.
2. I met Raman’s father
3. He hurt his finger.
4. The policemen caught the wandering beggars.
5. All boys love Bali, the captain of our team.
6. She has money to spend.
7. The teacher found the boys making a noise.

It will be noticed that —

In sentence 1, the Enlargement of the Object is an Adjective;

In sentence 2, the Enlargement of the Object is a Noun in the Possessive Case;

In sentence 3, the Enlargement is a Possessive Adjective ;

In sentence 4, the Enlargement is a Participle;

In sentence 5, the Enlargement is a Noun in Apposition.

In sentence 6, the Enlargement is an Infinitive;

In sentence 7, the Enlargement is a group of words doing the work of an Adjective.

Direct And Indirect Objects

Sometimes the Transitive Verb in the Predicate takes two Objects—one Object shows the person for whom something is done, or to whom something is said or given; the other Object shows what is done, said, or given to the person.

The Object showing the person for whom something is done, or to whom something is said or given, is called the Indirect Object. The Object showing what is done, said, or given to the person is called the Direct Object.

Now, examine the predicates in the following sentences—

Examples:

1. The teacher gave Harry a prize.
2. He told us a story.
3. He showed Mary a picture.

The Complement

When the verb in the predicate is an Intransitive Verb, it can make complete sense by itself. But sometimes the verb in the predicate is an Intransitive Verb that requires an additional word or words to complete its meaning, as in, The sky grew dark.

If we merely say ‘The sky grew’, the words do not make complete sense. Grew is an Intransitive Verb, and requires some word (e.g., dark) to complete its meaning.

Such a verb is called a Verb of Incomplete Predication. What is required to complete the Predicate is called a Complement. A Complement that refers to the Subject of the Verb is called a Subjective Complement.

Now, examine the predicates in the following sentences —

1. Advani is a doctor.
2. It is I.
3. The Earth is round.
4. The woman seems worried.
5. Your brother is here.
6. This house is to let.
7. This book is of great use.

It will be noticed that —

In sentence 1, the Complement is a Noun;

In sentence 2, the Complement is a Pronoun;

In sentence 3, the Complement is an Adjective;

In sentence 4, the Complement is a Participle ;

In sentence 5, the Complement is an Adverb;

In sentence 6, the Complement is an Infinitive;

In sentence 7, the Complement is a group of words doing the work of an Adjective.

Certain Transitive Verbs require, besides the Object, an additional word or words to complete their meaning; as,

The people made him king.

Here, the Pronoun him is the Object of the Transitive Verb made which requires the word king to make the sense complete.

The Complement (king) here refers to the Object him. It is, therefore, called the Objective Complement.

Now, examine the Predicates in the following sentences —

Examples:

1. We called her Pinky.
2. The police found him guilty.
3. We heard the lion roaring.
4. This will make her repent.
5. These words filled her with shame.

Exercise -1

Arrange the group of words in their proper order to make sense

Question 1. In time, a stitch, nine, saves
Answer: A stitch in time saves nine.

Question 2. Now, airmen are crossing the Atlantic, airmen, quite regularly
Answer: Airmen are now crossing the Atlantic quite regularly.

Question 3. We used, years ago, instead of electric lamps, oil lamps
Answer: Years ago, we used oil lamps instead of electric lamps.

Question 4. Plenty of money, from kind friends, he was supplied with
Answer: He was supplied with plenty of money by kind friends.

Question 5. Unanimously elected him captain of the team, the boys
Answer: The boys unanimously elected him captain of the team.

Question 6. Our mother, this interesting story, one wintry night, told us
Answer: One winter night, the mother told us this interesting story.

Question 7. At the end of the road, a beautiful statue, you will find, made of marble
Answer: At the end of the road, you will find a beautiful statue made of marble

Question 8. How to do it, again and again, they showed him
Answer: They showed him how to do it again and again.

Question 9. The arctic ocean, airmen, very often, yet, have not crossed
Answer: Airmen have not yet crossed the Arctic Ocean very often.

Question 10. A large number of foreigners, in the park, yesterday, saw, taking photographs
Answer: Yesterday, they saw a large number of foreigners taking photographs in the park.

Exercise -2

Underline the verbs in the sentences given in Exercise 1. Then make a chart of the sentences as shown in the example. One is done for you.

Answer: 

Exercise 3

Underline the Indirect object and circle the Direct object in each sentence-

Question 1. The teacher asked us to sing a song.
Answer:

Indirect Object: us
Direct Object: (to sing a song)

Question 2. I apologised to Rohan for my mistake.
Answer:

Indirect Object: Rohan (object of preposition “to”)
Direct Object: (my mistake)

Question 3. Please give this book to him.
Answer:

Direct Object: (this book)
Indirect Object: him

Question 4. The leader proposed that we follow his plan.
Answer:

Direct Object: (that we should follow his plan)
(No indirect object in this sentence)

Question 5. She told me that the film was terrible.
Answer:

Indirect Object: me
Direct Object: (that the film was terrible)