English learning thread

Building a sentence

A sentence is a group of words which starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!).

A sentence contains or implies a predicate and a subject.

Sentences contain clauses.

Simple sentences have one clause.

Compound sentences and complex sentences have two or more clauses.

Sentences can contain subjects and objects.

The subject in a sentence is generally the person or thing carrying out an action.

The object in a sentence is involved in an action but does not carry it out, the object comes after the verb.

For example:

The boy climbed a tree.
If you want to say more about the subject (the boy) or the object (the tree), you can add an adjective.

For example:

The young boy climbed a tall tree.

If you want to say more about how he climbed the tree you can use an adverb.

For example:

The young boy quickly climbed a tall tree.

The sentence becomes more interesting as it gives the reader or listener more information.

Parts of a sentence:

Adjective
Describes things or people.

Adverb
Alters the meaning of the verb slightly

Article
a, an - indefinite articles
the - definite articles

Conjunction
Joins words or sentences together

Interjection
A short word showing emotion or feeling

Noun
Names & things

Preposition
Relates one thing to another

Pronoun
used instead of a noun to avoid repetition

Proper noun (subject)
The actual names of people or places etc.

What makes a complete sentence?

If it helps you, think about a sentence as if it were a skeleton, the skeleton contains various bones and these bones are put together to form different parts of the body.

So are sentences formed by words, the words are the bones and they are put together in different ways to form sentences.

But just because you put words together in the right order, it doesn't mean you will have a sentence that makes sense.


Simple Sentences

A simple sentence contains a single subject and predicate.
It describes only one thing, idea or question, and has only one verb - it contains only an independent (main) clause.

Any independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

For example:

Jill reads.
Even the addition of adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases to a simple sentence does not change it into a complex sentence.

For example:

The brown dog with the red collar always barks loudly.

Even if you join several nouns with a conjunction, or several verbs with a conjunction, it remains a simple sentence.

For example:

The dog barked and growled loudly.

Compound Sentences

Compound sentences are made up of two or more simple sentences combined using a conjunction such as and, or or but.
They are made up of more than one independent clause joined together with a co-ordinating conjunction.

For example:

"The sun was setting in the west and the moon was just rising."

Each clause can stand alone as a sentence.

For example:

"The sun was setting in the west. The moon was just rising."

Every clause is like a sentence with a subject and a verb.
A coordinating conjunction goes in the middle of the sentence, it is the word that joins the two clauses together, the most common are (and, or, but)

For example:

I walked to the shops, but my husband drove.

I might watch the film, or I might visit my friends.

My friend enjoyed the film, but she didn't like the actor.

Complex Sentences

Complex sentences describe more than one thing or idea and have more than one verb in them.
They are made up of more than one clause, an independent clause (that can stand by itself) and a dependent (subordinate) clause (which cannot stand by itself).

For example:

"My mother likes dogs that don't bark."

Dependent clauses can be nominal, adverbial or adjectival.

The anatomy of a sentence

The Verb

The verb is the fundamental part of the sentence. The rest of the sentence, with the exception of the subject, depends very much on the verb. It is important to have a good knowledge of the forms used after each verb (verb patterns), for example: to tell [someone] TO DO [something]

Here we can see that the verb to tell is followed immediately by a person (the indirect object, explained later), an infinitive with 'to', and, possibly, an object for the verb you substitute for DO.

Verbs also show a state of being. Such verbs, called BE VERBS or LINKING VERBS, include words such as: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, became, seem, appear, and sometimes verbs of the senses like tastes, feels, looks, hears, and smells.

For example:

"Beer and wine are my favourite drinks." The verb "are" is a linking (be) verb.

Verbs can descibe the action (something the subject actually does) or state (something that is true of the subject) of the subject.

For example:

ACTION: I play football twice a week.
STATE: I've got a car.

Some verbs can represent both actions and states, depending on the context.

For example work:

ACTION: David's working in the bank.
STATE: David works in a bank.

Finding the Verb

When you analyze a sentence, first identify the verb. The verb names and asserts the action or state of the sentence.

For example:

"Working at the computer all day made David's head ache."

The main verb of the sentence is "made", not working.

Verbs identify our activity or state.

For example:

eat, sleep, run, jump, study, think, digest, shout, walk ....

The Subject

The subject is the person or thing the sentence is 'about'. Often (but not always) it will be the first part of the sentence. The subject will usually be a noun phrase (a noun and the words, such as adjectives, that modify it) followed by a verb.

Finding the Subject

Once you determine the verb, ask a wh...? question of the verb. This will locate the subject(s).

For example:

David works hard.
Who "works hard"?=David does=the subject.

Beer and wine are my favourite drinks.
What "are my favourite drinks"? Beer and wine are=the subjects.

The subject(s) of a sentence will answer the questions, "who or what."

The Predicate

Once you have identified the subject, the remainder of the sentence tells us what the subject does or did. This part of the sentence is the predicate of the sentence.

The predicate always includes the verb and the words which come after the verb. For example:

Michael Schumaker drove the race car.

"Michael Schumaker" is the subject; "drove the race car" is the predicate.


The Object

Some verbs have an object (always a noun or pronoun). The object is the person or thing affected by the action described in the verb.

Objects come in two types, direct and indirect.

The direct object refers to a person or thing affected by the action of the verb.

For example:

"He opened the door. "- here the door is the direct object as it is the thing being affected by the verb to open.

The indirect object refers to a person or thing who receives the direct object.

For example:

" I gave him the book." - here him (he)is the indirect object as he is the beneficiary of the action.

Transitive / Intransitive verbs

Verbs which don't have an object are called intransitive.
Some verbs can only be intransitive (disagree). In addition they cannot be used in the Passive Voice e.g. smile, fall, come, go.

For example:

David disagreed. - intransitive.
Verbs that have an object are called transitive verbs e.g. eat, drive, give.

For example:

David gave her a present.
Some verbs can be transitive or intransitive e.g. sing

For example:

Xavier Nadu sings. - intransitive.
Xavier Nadu sings pop songs. - transitive.

Adverbials

An 'adverbial' or 'adverbial phrase' is a word or expression in the sentence that does the same job as an adverb; that is, it tells you something about how the action in the verb was done.

For example:

I sometimes have trouble with adverbs.
He spoke very quietly.
I've read that book three times.
She's gone to the bank.

The first tells us the frequency of the action (sometimes), the second how he carried out the action (quietly), and the third how many times the action has happened (three).
The fourth is a little different, as in this case the adverbial (gone to the bank) is more or less demanded by the verb (has).


Source: learnenglish.de
 
shansarie said:
Vipi matumizi ya neno "had had"
Click to expand...

HAD HAD

Had had is the past perfect form of have when it is used as a main verb to describe our experiences and actions.

I had had my car for four years before I ever learned to drive it.

I had had a bath, but I didn't feel clean, so I had a shower.

After he had had a good night's sleep, he felt much better.

She sacked him before he had had a chance to explain his behaviour.

If she had had children later in life, she would have been a better mother.

If I had had another ten minutes, I would have finished the examination paper.

If I had had more time, I would have been able to finish the job properly.


To understand “had had,” we need to take a look at the present perfect and past perfect tenses.

Take this sentence:

"I have had too many chocolates today.”

That sentence is in the present perfect tense.

You use that tense when you’re talking about a past action that is continuing into the present.

This sentence means that I started eating chocolates in the past but the chocolate eating is continuing up to the present.

Present perfect tense uses “has” and “have” plus the past participle, as in “have had” and “has gone.”

Now let’s put the chocolate sentence in the past tense.

To do so, we’ll use past perfect tense, which uses “had” plus the past participle, as in “had had” and “had gone.”

So in the sentence “I had had too many chocolates, so I was too full to eat dinner yesterday,” two things happened in the past.

First was eating chocolates; second was trying to eat dinner.

When you have two past-tense occurrences, you use past perfect to express the action that came first. If you are using the verb “to have” in past perfect, you need to use two “had”s.

Here’s another past perfect example: “I had eaten too many chocolates, so I was too full to eat dinner yesterday.”

This is grammatically the same as the “had had” sentence but we used the verb “to eat” instead of “to have.”

Although “had had” isn't wrong, “had eaten” definitely sounds better.

Sources:
quickanddirtytips.com
bbc.co.uk, yahoo.com.
 

1.I had looked up after I heard a sound of an aeroplane.
2.He came when they had gone.
3.She asked me about him after he had left
4.He started a campaign while it's had became too late.
5.Rose arrived at a bus stop when the bus had left.
am I right on above sentences? Please correct me sir.
 

4. He had started a campaign even though it had become too late.

To me, this sounds more correct.


NO "it's" with HAD

"While" is used with subject and a verb

The phone rang while I was watching TV.

I met him while we were studying in the library.


"have become" is present perfect.

It covers the period of time from some indefinite time in the past up to the present and is constructed with: "have" + past participle

The past participle for the verb "to become" is "become" . It has the same form as the main verb itself.

Present perfect here would describe a situation that has developed over a period of time:

The weather has BECOME hotter over recent years.

"became" is the past tense of "to become" so the combination of "have + became" is never correct.

The weather BECAME hotter over the last century. NOT "has became"

(Present perfect "has become" cannot be used here because the time period has finished and does not reach the present time i.e. "last century" finished at the end of 1999.
 
I am happy, we are learning and gaining a lot. Thank you all who devoted their time to share their knowledge with us. Be blessed.
 

Hivi present participal ni tense ya aina gani na mfano wake ukoje?
 
Open school said:
Hivi present participal ni tense ya aina gani na mfano wake ukoje?
Click to expand...

Hatuna present participal tense tuna time aspects katika present ambayo inatumia form ya HAVE and HAS i.e -She has gone.
-They have done.
Katika english tuna aina mbili tu za tense PRESENT TENSE and FUTURE TENSE basi.
 
KATASAN'KAZA said:
Hatuna present participal tense tuna time aspects katika present ambayo inatumia form ya HAVE and HAS i.e -She has gone.
-They have done.
Katika english tuna aina mbili tu za tense PRESENT TENSE and FUTURE TENSE basi.
Click to expand...

Sawa mkuu ila nipe elimu kuhusu hiyo participal na matumizi yake, nadhani kuna past participle
 
Open school said:
Sawa mkuu ila nipe elimu kuhusu hiyo participal na matumizi yake, nadhani kuna past participle
Click to expand...

Kabla ya yote nikutake radhi hapo juu nimepitosha aina za tense ni PRESENT TENSE na PAST TENSE siyo km nilivyoekeza hapo juu, kuhusu past participle huwa inachukua form ya HAD na verb yake iakuwa participal km done, gone, ila main verbs nyingine huwa zibabaki na past tense ya kawaida. i.e
- Hamis had done his homework.
-
 
Open school said:
Sawa mkuu ila nipe elimu kuhusu hiyo participal na matumizi yake, nadhani kuna past participle
Click to expand...

The Past perfect tense is used to show that an action was completed before another action started in the past. This TENSE is made of HAD+ PARTICIPLE OF THE VERB. To indicate two action in which one started before another we use "when" after"
 
Open school said:
Sawa mkuu ila nipe elimu kuhusu hiyo participal na matumizi yake, nadhani kuna past participle
Click to expand...

The Past perfect tense is used to show that an action was completed before another action started in the past. This TENSE is made of HAD+ PARTICIPLE OF THE VERB. To indicate two action in which one started before another we use "when" "after" "before"or while. example: 1.I had eaten when he arrived
2.I had lived in Tanga before the war began
3.They had played football when it rained
 
Katika yote nimegundua kwamba kila mtu anafundisha anachotaka hapa.Wengine wamekuja na advanced english hapa wakati wahusika wengine hapa ni beginners.Mwingie kaja na tenses kidogo halafu kaenda kwenye parts of speech.
Watu hawasomi hivyo.

Lazima kuwe na systematic study ama syllabus. Level zenu pia ni tofauti. Au mhusika aseme shida yake na asaidiwe katika hilo eneo

Ambaye ana uhitaji mkubwa na yupo serious anifute 0755 489 473 kuanzia kesho ama courses@pctl.co.tz
 
Naona darasa zuri kabisa ngoja na mie ngosha nijifunze lugha ya mkoloni
 
Open school said:
Mkuu kwani wewe unachangia kiasi gani cha pesa unaoitumia jf?
Click to expand...

Asanteni sn kwa darasa zuri sn ambalo wengi tunaweza kunufaiki kwa kujifunza na kuelewa hii lugha ya mkoloni!

Kwa uelewa wangu mdogo ktk maswala naona tumelukia mambo makubwa sn tena yakiwa ya mbele sn na kuacha vitu vya msingi vya awali ambavyo ni msingi Wa lugha yenyewe na kupitia kwayo hivyo vitu km MTU anavielewa vzr basi maswala ya "Nyakati" "Tenses" hayawezi kumsumbua!

Kwa mfano mwanzo Wa mazungumzo siku zote hua ni "Salamu" kwa lugha ya mkoloni wanaita "greetings ". Salamu siku zote hufungua mazungumzo au hua ni mwanzo Wa mazungumzo. Ata mtoto mdogo huanza kujifunza kuongea kwa kusalimia kwanza!

Najua ktk hili kuna wengi wanaona ni jambo rahisi sn tena La kupuuzia lkn kwa upande wangu Mimi naona ni jambo muhimu sn hasa ktk kujifunza lugha ambayo sio yako ktk asili!

Kuna salamu za msingi kuu tatu ktk lugha au kabila karibu zote duniani!

(1) Habari za asubuhi (good morning) hii salamu huanza SAA 0:01AM usiku au alfajiri mpk SAA 11:59. AM.

(2) Habari za mchana. (Good afternoon) hii salamu huanza SAA 12:00 PM hadi SAA 3:00. PM.

(3) Habari za jioni. (Good evening) hii salamu huanza SAA 3:00 pm hadi SAA 23:59 pm.

Hizi ndio salamu kuu tatu! Na ata ktk lugha yangu ya kisukuma unazipata hizi salamu ktk ubora kabisa!

Nimependa kuanzia awali ili kuweza kutanua uwezo Wa kuelewa salamu ktk mbinu nyingi maana kufahamu salamu tatu tu za msingi sio ukomo Wa salamu! Napenda tujifunze vitu kwa upana Zaidi.

Kwa mfano ktk lugha ya kiswahili tuna salamu tatu za msingi na pia tuna salamu nyingi tu za kawaida. Salamu hizo km ktk lugha ya kiswahili tunaweza kua Nazi basi bila shaka ata ktk lugha ya mkoloni zitakuwepo za kumwaga! Maana hiyo lugha ni tajiri ktk maneno kuliko kiswahili!

Kwa mfano.

Mambo?
Mzima?
Inakuaje?
Salama lakini?
Niambie?
N.k.

Salamu hizi ata ktk lugha za wenzetu zipo! Kwa maana hiyo basi ningewaomba walimu waliotangulia hapo nyuma kutoa masomo mazuri hapo basi watusaidie kujenga salamu zingine nyingi ktk mifumo tofauti tofauti ili tukimaliza hili swala La salamu nilete kitu kingine tena tujifunze!

Natanguliza shukrani zangu kwa wote.

Asanteni!


N.B

Nimeona kuna baadhi ya wadau wamependekeza mjadala uendeshwe kwa lugha ya mkoloni! Hilo ni sawa lkn siku zote masomo ya lugha hufundishwa kwa kutumia lugha inayoeleweka ktk Jamii! Kwa mfano kwa mtanzania kujifunza Kifaransa inakua rahisi sn kufundisha km tayari anaelewa kiingereza kwasababu fasili za lugha ya kifaransa ziko ktk kiingereza! Kwahiyo tunapojifunza kiingereza ni vema tukatumia na kiswahili pia kwasababu tayari ni lugha tunayoielewa!
 
Nimependa wazo la kujifunza lugha ya Kiingereza ila sijapenda namna ulivyotumia Kiiswahili kuwasilisha mada wakati lengo ni kujifunza Kiingereza inaoneha mleta mada hujajiandaa.
 
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