Sentence Building

SVOQ S ubject – V erb – O bject - Q ualifier Sentence Builder Click on the links to use this presentation Created by Randy Robert June 2006 Copyright - Credenda Virtual High School

Subject – V – O - Q

Subjects are usually:

nouns , pronouns or noun phrases .

Subjects answers the questions: Who? or What?

They tell who or what the sentence is about.

Who?- Men …. or - She …. or - An old man…

What?- Trucks …. or - It …. or - The blue truck…

S – Verb – O - Q

S V

Sharona runs.

A verb or verb phrase is the action part of the sentence.

It answers the questions: Does or did what?

It describes the action of the subject. In other words the subject does or did what ?

As described:

The subject does or did what?

The truck rolled.

In some cases the verb does not show action and is a linking verb.

The subject (is or was) (followed by a completer)

S – V – Object - Q

The object receives the action of the subject as described by the verb.

S V O

Tom kissed Mary.

The Object answers the questions:

To Whom? or To What?

The object is usually a noun or noun phrase .

As described:

The subject does or did what to whom or to what.

The dog bit his master.

S – V – O - Qualifier

The qualifier describes the action described by the verb.

S V O Q

Martha threw the stone angrily.

The qualifier answers the questions:

When? Where? How? Why?

As described:

The Subject does or did what to whom or what when, where, how or why.

Mary raced her sister to the barn.

S – V – Completer

The completer is used to show the result, or description of a linking verb or state of being verb on the subject.

S V C

Sean was lonely.

Jay is angry.

SVOQ S ubject – V erb – O bject - Q ualifier Susan passed the puck swiftly. How many ways can a simple sentence be constructed? Or How many ways can something be said? Transmogrify  --Click here

S V O Q

S ubject – V erb – Q ualifier - O bject

Susan passed swiftly the puck.

S O Q V

S ubject – O bject - Q ualifier –- V erb

Susan the puck swiftly passed.

S V Q O

S ubject – V erb – Q ualifier - O bject

Susan passed swiftly the puck.

S V O Q

S ubject – V erb – O bject - Q ualifier

Susan passed the puck swiftly.

S Q V O

S ubject - Q ualifier – V erb – O bject

Susan swiftly passed the puck.

S O V Q

S ubject – O bject – V erb - Q ualifier

Susan the puck passed swiftly.

S Q O V

S ubject - Q ualifier – O bject – V erb

Susan swiftly the puck passed.

O S V Q

O bject – S ubject – V erb - Q ualifier

The puck Susan passed swiftly.

O V Q S

O bject - V erb - Q ualifier – S ubject

The puck passed swiftly Susan.

O Q S V

O bject - Q ualifier – S ubject – V erb

The puck swiftly Susan passed.

O S Q V

O bject - S ubject - Q ualifier – V erb

The puck Susan swiftly passed.

O Q V S

O bject - Q ualifier – V erb – S ubject

The puck swiftly passed Susan.

O V S Q

O bject – V erb – S ubject - Q ualifier

The puck passed Susan swiftly.

V S O Q

V erb – S ubject – O bject - Q ualifier

Passed Susan the puck swiftly.

V O Q S

V erb – O bject - Q ualifier - S ubject

Passed the puck swiftly Susan.

V Q S O

V erb - Q ualifier – S ubject – O bject

Passed swiftly Susan the puck.

V S Q O

V erb – S ubject - Q ualifier – O bject

Passed Susan swiftly the puck.

V Q O S

V erb - Q ualifier – O bject – S ubject

Passed swiftly the puck Susan.

V O S Q

V erb – O bject - S ubject – Q ualifier

Passed the puck Susan swiftly.

Q S V O

Q ualifier - S ubject – V erb – O bject

Swiftly Susan passed the puck.

Q S O V

Q ualifier – S ubject – O bject - V erb

Swiftly Susan the puck passed.

Q V O S

Q ualifier - V erb – O bject - S ubject

Swiftly passed the puck Susan.

QVSO

Q ualifier - V erb – S ubject – O bject

Swiftly passed Susan the puck.

QOSV

Q ualifier – O bject - S ubject – V erb

Swiftly the puck Susan passed.

QOVS

Q ualifier – O bject – V erb - S ubject

Swiftly the puck passed Susan.

S V O Q

As you saw a 4 word sentence can make 24 different sentences.

You may also have noticed:

Sometimes the meaning changed

Sometimes the sentence was awkward

Sometimes the sentence was hard to understand

Sometimes the sentence sounded like Yoda

from Star Wars was talking

S V O Q

Although some of the sentences were not acceptable, many were. Your ear will tell you if a sentence is correct or not.

As a writer, you can make your writing more interesting by varying your sentence structure.

If you can make 24 sentences from just 4 words, IMAGINE, what variety of sentences you can create with 8-10 words.

S V O Q

Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Writing is a process of exploration.

Writing – editing – rewriting is a process. Get used to doing it!

Write about things you know.

Home Improve Your Writing Document Link to Hypergrammar

Noun Phrase

Often the noun is accompanied by other words – articles like (the, a)

Or with adjectives like (old, lonely)

These are called noun phrases . Examples are:

( The old man, A sweet puppy, Lonely people)

Lonely people seek friends.

Verb Phrase

Verbs in sentences can stand alone, but sometimes they are verb phrases. I.e.

were being eaten

kept screaming

A verb phrase usually includes direct and indirect objects or any adverb, adverb phrases , or adverb clauses which happen to modify it

The predicate part of the sentence is always a verb phrase.

An example is:

We will meet at the library .

Subject Predicate

Qualifiers

Qualifiers can take many forms:

Adverb Phrases (a prepositional adverb phrase in the example)

(She bought some spinach when she went to the corner store . )

adverb

The premier gave a speech here .

adverb clause

The premier gave a speech where the workers were striking .

Completers (Subject Compliments)

There is a third kind of verb called a linking verb . The word (or phrase ) which follows a linking verb is called not an object, but a subject complement .

The most common linking verb is "be." Other linking verbs are "become," "seem," "appear," "feel," "grow," "look," "smell," "taste," and "sound," among others.