How sentences are built in English. Schemes for constructing English sentences in groups of times Simple, Continuous, Perfect

You have probably noticed that the meaning of the sentence itself does not change from the rearrangement of words in the Russian sentence. What difference does it make if we say “There are many wolves in the forest” or “There are many wolves in the forest”. And so, and so it is said about the presence a large number wolves in the forest.

Affirmative sentences

V English language word order is strictly fixed

This means that every word has its place. Well, in fact, not everyone, but only two - the subject and the predicate. Let's remember our school years. The subject is who or what does the action; what or who the sentence is talking about. The predicate is what this person / thing does. From the latter it follows that the predicate is a verb. So, with regard to the English sentence, a central dogma operates, consisting of two points:

FIRST... The subject comes first, the predicate comes second, and everything else follows. Schematically, it can be depicted as follows:

Table. Word order in an English sentence

1ST PLACE

2ND PLACE

3RD PLACE

SUBJECT

PREDICATE

OTHER MEMBERS PROPOSALS

Daniel

toworkeveryday.

These flowers

so beautiful!

Cats

don’t eat

The following remark should be made to this table: A definition can be put in front of the subject. And second: this scheme is used for affirmative sentences, i.e. those with a dot at the end.

SECOND... An English sentence ALWAYS has a predicate, i.e. verb! Even if you don't hear this verb in the Russian translation of this sentence. For example: There are many wolves in the forest. (There is not a single verb here, although you can rewrite this sentence for a convenient translation: “There are many wolves in the forest.” In this version, there is already a verb - there is). - There are many wolves in the forest.

Interrogative sentences

This word order applies only to sentences at the end of which there is a period, that is, affirmative sentences. And there are also interrogative sentences, at the end of which there is a question mark. And this is where the difficulties with the word order and all kinds of confusion begin.

So, there are 2 basic types of questions: general and. To the first we answer "yes" or "no", and to the second we answer something definite, special (depending on what is asked in the question itself). Remember that the word order in any English sentence is FIXED, and this also applies to questions.

0 PLACE - QUESTIONAL WORD

What - what? which?
Who - who?
Who (m) - to whom? by whom?
Where - where? where?
When - when?
Why - why?
How - how?
How much (many) - how much?
Which - which?
What - what?
Whose - whose?

1 PLACE - AUXILIARY VERB

is / are / am
do / does / did
will / would / shall
have / has
can / could
may / might
ought
should

2 PLACE - SUBJECT

3 PLACE - BASIC (SENSE) VERB

3rd PLACE - OTHER WORDS

There are also several comments on this structure.

NOTE 1... How to choose an auxiliary verb? Very simple: the auxiliary verb is the one that appears first in the original sentence. For example:

Danny is a worker ---> is
Anna will drive ---> will
They have finished the report ---> have

Therefore, to ask a question, you just need to rearrange the subject and predicate in places.

What if there is no auxiliary verb? For example: We visited the museum. Here we only have the main verb - visited... Therefore, when there is no visible auxiliary verb, then he - do / does / did, depending on the time. In our case it is did, since the verb is in.

NOTE 2... The main (semantic) verb, when you ask a question, goes clean, that is, without any endings, in the initial form.

REMARK 3. How to understand 0 place? This position in the question is called so, because interrogative words are only in special questions, and in general they are not. It is by the interrogative word that you determine what to answer. For example:

Mother gave her son a tasty medicine yesterday because he was ill.

Who? - Mother
Whom? - son
Whose son? - her
What? - medicine
What medicine? - tasty
When? - yesterday
Why? - because he was ill

In general questions (those to which you answer "yes" or "no") there is no question word, that is, an auxiliary verb immediately follows.

Finally, we offer you a small test:

Correct construction of sentences in English is impossible without knowledge of the basic laws of the formation of their structure. So, in Russian, to describe a situation, it is enough to take the words involved in it (names of concepts, objects, etc.) and connect them with each other using endings formed by declension in cases and numbers. However, the English language is devoid of such endings, and therefore the correct description of the situation can be achieved only if the words are arranged in a certain way in sentences.

Simple sentences and their classification

Simple English sentences are classified into two types - uncommon and common. The first ones consist only of the subject and the predicate. In this case, it is important that the subject is in the first place, and the predicate is in the second. For example: “The bus stopped”.

The second type of simple sentences, in addition to the main members, involves the entry of minor ones (addition, definition, circumstance). The construction of sentences in English using minor members helps to clarify the main situation. For example: “The yellow bus stopped at the station”. In this case, the first minor member of the sentence (yellow) acts as a definition and explains the subject (the bus), and the second - the circumstance of the place (at the station) and refers to the predicate (stopped).

construction scheme

As mentioned above, the endings in English words remain unchanged, so each word must be in the strictly designated place for it (this is called direct word order). Otherwise, the essence of the sentence will be distorted, and the person who has read it will receive incorrect, sometimes even the opposite, information. And if in Russian we can say: “I went to the cinema yesterday,” “I went to the cinema yesterday,” or “I went to the cinema yesterday,” then existing schemes sentences in English do not allow this.

Whereas in Russian the essence of the situation will be clear, even if the words are interchanged, in English everything is different. For example, regardless of whether we say in Russian "Jack hit Jim" or "Jim hit Jack", the information will be received correctly. But in English, two sentences like "Jack hit Jim" and "Jim hit Jack" have the opposite meaning. The first translates as "Jack hit Jim" and the second - "Jim hit Jack". To avoid such misunderstandings, it is necessary to construct sentences in English according to the following scheme: put the subject in the first place, the predicate in the second, the addition in the third, and the circumstance in the fourth. For example: “We do our work with pleasure”. It is also acceptable to place the circumstance of place and time in front of the subject, for example: "At the moment I am cooking dinner".

Negative sentences with not

Negative sentences in English have the following structure:

Subject.
The beginning of the predicate.
The negative particle not.
The ending of the predicate.
The nominal part of the predicate.

Examples include the following negative sentences in English: “I'm not reading the book” or “I have not seen Kelly in a while”. Haven't seen Kelly in a while ”).

If verbs in Present Simple or Past Simple are used in negative sentences, then they are reduced to the form "do / does / did + main form". For example, “I do not like mouses”, “She does not need help” or “Steven did not look tired”.

Negative sentences using negative words

In English, negative type is possible not only using the not particle, but also in another way. It is about building a structure containing negative words, which include the following: nobody, never, nothing, none, nowhere.

For example: “Nobody wanted to bring chair”. It should be noted that in English one sentence cannot contain both the not particle and the negative word. So, the phrase “I don't know anything” in English is translated as “I know nothing” and in no case “I do not know nothing”.

Interrogative sentences

Interrogative sentences can be presented in the form of general and special questions. So, general issues suggest a yes / no answer. For example: "Did you like the book?" ("Did you like the book?") Or "Have you ever been in the Paris?" ("Have you ever been to Paris?"). As for special questions, it may be necessary to compose sentences in English of this type when it is necessary to obtain more specific information on the question asked- color, time, name, subject, distance, etc. For example: "What is your favorite movie?" ("What's your favorite movie?") Or "How long is the flight to Prague?" ("How long to fly to Prague?").

In the case of expressing the predicate with the verb to have or to be, general questions are constructed as follows: first the predicate, and then the subject. In the case when the predicate includes a modal or it is placed in front of the subject. In the case of expressing the predicate with a verb in Present or Past Simple, you must use do / does or did.

As for the word order in the construction of a special question, it is the same as in general, except that at the beginning of the sentence there must be a question word: who (who), when (when), what (what), how long ( how long), where, how.

Imperative sentences

Considering the types of sentences in English, one cannot fail to mention the imperative sentences. They are necessary for the expression of a request, an inducement to any action, an order, and also a prohibition when it comes to the negative form.

The imperative clause assumes direct word order, but first the verb is given: “Give me my pen, please”. In some cases this design can consist of only one verb: "Run!" (Run!) Wanting to soften an order or turn it into a request, the speaker may use would you, will you or won’t you by placing them at the end of the sentence.

Exclamation clauses

The construction of sentences in English of the exclamation type is carried out in the same way as in the usual one, but they should be pronounced emotionally, and in the letter at the end of such a construction is always put For example, "You are very beautiful!" ("You are very beautiful!") Or "I’m so happy!" ("I'm so happy!").

In the case when an exclamation clause requires additional amplification, you can use the question words what and how. For example, "What a big house it is!" ("Which big house! ")," What a sad movie! " ("What a sad movie!") Or "How well Matt can dance!" (“How good Matt is dancing!”). It should be noted that in the case of using the subject in singular is necessary indefinite article a or an.

Complex sentences: definition and classification

In addition to simple sentences, there are also complex ones, which are formed by combining the first. Compound and compound sentences are types of sentences in the English language that have a complex structure. The difference between them is that the former are a construction consisting of two independent simple sentences, and the latter are the main one and one or more dependent (subordinate clauses).

Compound sentences are built using such as and (and), or (or), but (but), for (since), yet (nevertheless). As for the unions that are used for education, they are divided into the following groups:

cause / effect: since (because), because (because), therefore (for this reason, therefore), so (therefore, so);
time: before (before, before), while (while, while), after (after), when (when);
others: although (despite the fact), if (if, if), though (although), unless (if only).

In all simple sentences, of which complex ones are composed, the direct order must be maintained. There are a huge number of sentences in English, but regardless of their type, the basic construction rule must be observed.

Types of conditional clauses

In English, they are used to describe a situation with various signs. They can take various forms, but in most cases the following construction is used: "If Condition, (then) Statement" (If Condition, (then) Statement). For example, “If it is warm, many people prefer go to the park”, “If you buy this dress, I will give you free gloves” (“If you buy this dress, I'll give you free gloves ").

Conditional sentences in English are classified into three types. The first is used to denote real, feasible conditions related to any of the times (future, present, past). To build such a construction in its main sentence, the verb in future form, and in the subordinate clause - in the present.

The second describes unrealistic conditions that relate to the future or the present. To create such a sentence, the verb should or would is used in its main part and the verb in the basic form without the to particle, and in the subordinate - were for the verb to be or the Past Simple form for everyone else.

And the third covers past unfulfilled conditions. main part sentences are constructed using the verb should / would and the verb in the present tense, and the subordinate clause is constructed using the verb in the form Past Perfect.

Mastering any language, including English, begins with the study of individual sounds, letters and words. But literally after a few lessons, the next question arises - how to write a sentence in English. For many, this is a whole problem, since a clearly structured English sentence is noticeably different from a fluent Russian.

Let's not waste time and start the lesson right away.

As we know from the Russian language course primary school, the main members of the sentence are the subject (noun - object, person) and predicate (verb - action). For example, "I am writing." Further, for specifics and just decorations are added different kinds words - definitions, additions, circumstances and so on: "I write beautifully", "I write with a pen", "I write a dictation" and so on.

Let's try to build the first sentence in English. For example, we want to say "I'm watching TV."

As you can see, everything is simple - English words stand in exactly the same places as the Russians. This suggests that it is very easy and simple to write sentences in English. I agree with you, but only partially. It was too simple an example, and there are some nuances in English that you need to know. Let's figure it out.

The place of each member in the English sentence is clearly marked. Remember that in an affirmative sentence (at the end of which there is a period) the predicate always comes immediately after the subject.

If in Russian we can say both “I watch TV” and “I watch TV”, then in English there is only one variant of the words - “I watch TV”. Any other word order in this sentence will be incorrect.

In most sentences in English (with rare exceptions), the verb (action) follows a noun or personal pronoun.

I see a boy.
I see (some) boy.

A dog has four legs.
(Any) dog has 4 legs.

By the way, now a little about the verb "to have". If in our Russian language we are used to using the construction “we have”, “they have”, “the dog (has)”, then in English the verb to have (to have) is used instead.

I have a book - I have a book (I have a book)
you have - you have
they have - they have (they have)
a dog has - a dog has

Another important point concerns the verb to be - to be.

If in Russian we are used to saying "the sky is blue", "I am a student", "they are from Russia", then in English this will not work. There must be a connection between a noun and its definition. This connection is expressed using the verb to be.

Literally: “the sky is blue”, “I am a student”, “they are from Russia”.

The verb to be changes by person, which is why you did not see the word "be" in the previous examples.

I am
You are
She / he / it is
We are
They are

Now you understand what to make up correct sentence in English is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

Dima behaved well yesterday.

No matter how we say these sentences and in what order of words we put them in them, their meaning will not change. With this example, we want to show the difference between the construction of the Russians and English sentences... Indeed, it is in the latter that such variations are impossible. All due to the fact that there are no endings in English, and in order not to lose the meaning that the speaker wants to convey, English philologists have established the rules for composing a sentence in English. They are clear enough and require strict adherence.

Consider the features of constructing affirmative sentences.

We have two spelling options. The first option looks like this:

subject-predicate-object-circumstance

She doesn’t bake herself as a rule. Her boyfriend does it for her.

(She doesn't bake herself. Her boyfriend does it)

He likes this book very much.

(He really likes this book.)

They will bring this book tomorrow.

(They will bring this book tomorrow)

The second option is written like this:

circumstance-subject-verb-object

As a rule she doesn’t bake herself. Her boyfriend does it for her.

(She usually doesn't bake herself. Her boyfriend does it)

Yesterday Kevin met his classmates in the airport.

(Kevin met his classmates at the airport yesterday.)

If we talk about interrogative sentences, then it is worth noting that they also have specific traits writing.

In this article, we will learn how general and specific questions are put together.

More on interrogative sentences:
Interrogative sentences in English

We build a general question according to the following scheme:

verb-subject- addition-circumstance

Will she be at the restaurant after 2?

(Will she be at the restaurant after two?)

Did you bring that book to the library?

(Did you bring that book to the library?)

The first word in interrogative sentences, we usually put "question-word" ( who, whom, where, why, what, which, when, whose, how, how much).

In second place, we put the auxiliary verb ( am, is, are, does, did, do, will, shall, would, have, has, can, could, must, may, might, ought, need, should.) It is followed by the subject, the semantic verb, and the rest of the words.

How do you feel today?

(How do you feel today?)

How much sugar does she take in her coffee?

(How much sugar does she add to her coffee?)

Here we have provided the basic schemes for constructing sentences in English. But, there are some exceptions to the rules, and deviations from the specified schemes. We invite you to learn about all these features at our school and receive detailed information on this topic.

More significant success in building sentences in English will bring you the desire to think in English, and not just translate sentences from Russian. It will also be useful to watch films or your favorite English TV series without translation and with subtitles. Firstly, it will bring not only an opportunity for learning, but also a pastime with pleasure. Secondly, the visual memory will fix the textual accompaniment of the film, and you can always rewind the film and read unfamiliar phrases or words. The usefulness of American TV shows also lies in the fact that they use a significant amount of slang sentences, exclamations and modern expressions, which, of course, you will need for everyday speech.

Our dear students, the entire Native English School team wishes you Happy Easter, wishes you sincerity from others, bright smiles, success in your work, peace in your family and in your heart! See you! =)

No English sentence can be constructed correctly without knowing how a simple sentence is constructed.

In any language, a sentence is correct description real life situations. In order to correctly describe a situation, you need to take the words (names of objects and concepts) used in this situation and connect them so that a picture is obtained from these words. If the words are connected correctly, it means that in the head of the interlocutor there will be exactly the same picture that was conceived by us.

In Russian, the main work of connecting words in a sentence is done by endings. Therefore, foreigners studying Russian are forced to memorize a huge number of Russian endings. There are no endings in English. They are not even needed, because all combinations of words in a sentence are performed by predicates. The predicate is what should be studied in English first of all. But the Russian sentence also has a predicate. Yes, there is, although in its importance it is much inferior to the English predicate, because endings take on a huge share of the work. It turns out that in Russian the predicate works as if paired with endings, and in English it works independently. This means that the English predicate contains something that compensates for the absence of endings, which the Russian predicate does not have.

This "something" is the nature of the action! Remember this concept. When constructing any English sentence, we must definitely determine the nature of the action of the predicate. Without this, it is impossible to construct a single English phrase correctly.

REMEMBER:
In English, there are only 7 predicate formulas; but only they serve as the basis on which all further study of grammar is built; any English sentence contains one of the seven formulas, or, in other words, no English sentence can be constructed without using one of the seven formulas.

Scheme of English predicate formulas.

General concepts used in the scheme:

1. Pledge (available in Russian).

Active (valid)- when the subject ( main member sentences) itself performs the action:

Students write a dictation - the subject itself performs the action=> Active

Passive- when the action is performed on the subject:

Dictation is written by students. - the subject of the dictation is acted upon by the complement (students)=>Passive

2. The nature of the action (not available in Russian).

* Indefinite - reporting the action as a regular fact.

* Continuous - a message about an action that, in the described situation, requires a certain amount of time.

* Perfect - completeness of the action (optional) + the importance of the message for the interlocutor + the ability for the interlocutor to use the message about the performed action.

* Perfect Continuous - a message about an action that occurs over a period of time (the period of time is indicated or

Implied).

3. Time (available in Russian).

* Past - past

* Present - present

* Future - future

As you can see from the figure - we get 21 times of the English language.

As mentioned earlier, the formula for determining the time consists of three variables... it pledge, nature of action and time... So, consider the formulas for correct construction suggestions:

ACTIVE - active voice

1. Indefinite - simple action

... verb ... Used just a verb without auxiliary verbs.

Past: He worked yesterday.

Present: He works every morning.

Future: He will work tomorrow.

2. Continuous - continued action

To be + ... verb ... + ing. The verb with the auxiliary to be is used and the ending ing is added to the main verb.

In the past (( Past) tense verb to be to become was (were - plural)

Present ( Present) tense verb to be becomes is (are - plural)

To the future ( Future) tense the verb to be becomes will be (shall - if the first person, i.e. I, We)

Past: He was working yesterday the whole day.

Present: He is working now.

Future: He will be working tomorrow the whole evening.

3.perfect - perfect action (to this moment time)

To have + ... verb ... ed (3rd form)

Past: He finished the work yesterday by 6 o'clock - He had finished the work yesterday by 6.

Present: He has finished the work recently.

Future: He will have finished the work tomorrow by 3.

4.perfect continuous - perfect continuous action

To have been + ... verb ... + ing

Past: He had been working for 2 hours when we returned.

Present: He has been doing the work for 3 hours already.

Future A: By the time you arrive, it has been working for 2 hours. - When you come he will have been working for 2 hours already.

PASSIVE - passive voice (passive).

When an action is performed on a subject.

1. Indefinite
to be + ... verb ... + ed (3rd form)

Past: The work was done yesterday.

Present: The work is done.

Future: The work will be done tomorrow.

2. Continues
to be being + ... verb ... + ed (3rd form)

Past: was or were + be + ing + III f.ch. This house was being built for a whole year.

Present: have or has + being + III f.ch. This house is being built now.

3. Perfect
to have been + ... verb ... + ed (3rd form)

Past: had + been + III f.ch. Five new houses had been built by last year in Moscow.

Present: have or has + been + III f.ch. This house has been built recently.

Future: will + have + been + III f.ch. Five new houses will have been built by next year in Moscow.

4. PerfectContinues
does not exist

When constructing any phrase in English, every time we need to choose one formula corresponding to the situation described. Putting the subject in the first place in the sentence, we begin the search for the desired formula - we are looking for one formula out of seven. First, we determine which collateral: Active or Passive. Is the subject itself performing an action (Active), or is the action being performed on it (Passive)? After that, it remains for us to determine only the nature of the action. There are only 4 or 3 options left (depending on the deposit).

For example:

Mom is sleeping now. - performs the action itself or is the action performed on it? - itself (Active)

We do not need Passive formulas for this situation; further we continue to search only for four Active formulas.
Next, we determine the nature of the action Indefinite (Simple), Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous. The choice of the nature of the action is the most difficult moment in the analysis of the English predicate, because in Russian we do not do this, which means we have no experience.

More details on the grammar presentation technique can be found in the book by L. Kutuzov