THE VERB:
The verb defines an action. Verbs are, by default, in the passive voice; that is, they show to what an action happens before they what performed the action.
THE OBJECT AND SUBJECT:
The object tells what received an action, while the subject tells what performed the action. Every sentence must have either a subject or an object.
NOUN PHRASES:
The noun phrase defines a noun. There are two basic elements of a noun phrase: article, and noun. Adjective phrases can also be used to further describe a noun.
The article both defines the noun and describes it, as definite, indefinite, or proper. Articles are required for noun phrases.
The noun is the “subject” of a noun phrase; it states that which is being defined. Nouns can be any noun/adjective or any name. Nouns are required for noun phrases.
The adjective phrase helps to describe the noun. It is an alternative to using an adjective after the noun, and is the only way to show possession. For more information, see the section on adjective phrases.
The proper structure of the noun phrase is as follows:
Article, adjective phrase, noun
The noun phrase can be followed by a verb, some form of punctuation, or a solitary adjective.
ADJECTIVES:
The adjective is used to further describe a noun. The adjective is any noun/adjective without an article. Names cannot be adjectives. The adjective must be preceded by a noun phrase or another adjective (not in an adjective phrase).
ADJECTIVE PHRASES:
The adjective phrase can be used inside the noun phrase to describe a noun. It is preceded by an article, and followed by a noun. The adjective phrase has two parts: the adjective and the preposition.
The adjective describes the noun and can be any noun/adjective. The adjective can also be replaced with a name or a pronoun in an adjective phrase, and as a result is the only way to show possession by a proper noun.
The preposition is used to define the relationship between the adjective and the noun.
The proper structure of the adjective phrase phrase is as follows:
Adjective, preposition
ADVERB PHRASES:
An adverb phrase describes an action. It is comprised of a noun phrase and a preposition.
The noun phrase is used to describe the manner in which the action takes place, by drawing a correlation to a trait that is characteristic of the action.
The preposition defines the correlation between the verb and the noun phrase.
The proper structure of the adverb phrase is as follows:
Noun phrase, preposition
Adverb phrases describing an action can be placed either at the beginning of a sentence, or at the end. If the phrase is placed at the end, it must be separated by a comma.
Adverb phrases may also be used to describe adjectives, in which case they are placed before the adjectives.
SENTENCE STRUCTURE:
- Basic (passive):
- Adverb phrase, object, verb, subject
- Furthermore, any noun or adjective not in an adjective phrase may be followed by an adjective (not shown), adverb phrases may be used before any adjective, and multiple adjective or adverb phrases may be used.
- Indefinite object:
- Verb, subject
- The indefinite object sentence allows one to describe an action without saying on what the action is performed. Example: If one wanted to say “He eats,” without saying what he eats, then one would write “Eaten by him”. The object is implied to mean “things”, resulting in a sentence interpreted as “[Things are] eaten by him.”
- Indefinite subject:
- Object, verb
- The indefinite subject sentence allows one to describe an action without saying who performs the action. Example: If one could say “It was eaten,” without saying who it was eaten by.
- Active voice:
- Subject, "is defined by", (noun phrase), relative pronoun, object, verb
- The active voice allows the emphasis of the sentence to be placed on the performer of an action. Example: to say “He ate it,” one could write “He is defined as (the person) who it was eaten by.”
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