English Grammar Basics: Parts of a Sentence

After you get a good grip on the different parts of speech, it’s time to put them all together to form the proper sentence. The right words and punctuation in the right order can make all the difference in good communication. Keep in mind that you need a minimum number of parts to make a complete sentence: subject/predicate/endmark.

• Verb (also called the predicate): expresses the action or state of being

• Subject: the person or thing being talked about

• Complement: a word or group of words that completes the meaning of the subject-verb pair

• Types of complements: direct and indirect objects, subject complement, objective complement