What to put in a sentence in English. Constructing narrative sentences

Everyone has probably already understood that Basic English is the simplest English for beginners. Having memorized 850 words, you just need to learn how to put them into understandable and correct sentences. And this is where the fun begins.

In Russian, you can calmly say: “Take an apple.” In this case, there is no need to specify which one (and it’s clear: the one that is offered). And meticulous Englishmen will definitely insert one short but meaningful word in front of the apple: either “a” or “the”. That is, articles. Thanks to these words, all speakers immediately understand that this means any apple on the table or the same one with a red barrel and a happy worm inside.

The article “a” (or “an” before a word that begins with a vowel) is called the indefinite article. This means that you are undecided what you mean. But to be serious: such an article denotes ANY object. For example: “Take an apple” can be translated as “Take any apple (and which one is up to the limit of your conscience).”

The article “the” is definite. That is, it is clear that this apple is clearly meant and no other. “Take the apple” will be translated as “Take THIS apple (and move away from the table).”

There is only one pitfall: you cannot put the article “a” in front of some words. The fact is that it has evolved from the numeral one (one), therefore it is placed only before countable nouns. This means that you cannot say a meal, because food is always singular.

2. Plural and ending -s (-es)

Plurals in English are very easy to indicate: just add an s to the end of the word, and everything is fine: boys, mothers, oranges.

3. Forms of the verb to be

You have probably witnessed more than once attempts by foreigners to speak in Russian: “I am John.” Whom he is going to eat or why he separately reports about his existence seems incomprehensible to us. Because in Russian a sentence can easily consist of even one noun or verb: “Morning. It was getting light." The British don't know this. They don't have sentences without a subject or predicate. They would definitely add: “There is morning. It was getting light."

Therefore, it is important to always remember: do you want to translate a sentence from Russian, but it does not have a subject? Add a pronoun. Do you want to translate a sentence from Russian, but there is no predicate? Add a verb. Most often this is one of the forms of the verb “to be”.

There are three forms in total:

Am- only for pronoun I (I)
Is- for any other word in the singular
Are- for any other word in the plural.

For example, I want to tell you: “I am Vanya.” What do you need to insert between you and Vanya? I don’t know what you were thinking about, but I’m thinking about the form am. It turns out: I am Vanya.
Guess for yourself what to put in the following sentences: “He is Vasya”, “They are Katya and Masha”. Right. In the first case - is, in the second - are.
Now you can combine words-pictures and qualities with might and main: The apple is red. Balls are new.

4. Word order in an affirmative sentence

The British are very pedantic. Their sentences are constructed in strict sequence: first the subject, then the predicate. You cannot get chairs in the morning and money in the evening. In Russian we can say: “I’m tired.” In English, this will be perceived as an interrogative sentence, because the word order is broken.

So, let's learn how to make correct English sentences: I see a flag. You like the trousers.

5. Auxiliary verbs

For some reason, those who begin to learn English are very afraid of auxiliary verbs. In vain. They just help us build the kind of proposal we need.

In Basic English the scope of these verbs was limited may, will, be, do, have:

. may helps to formulate a request. For example, you were tired of sitting at a conference, raised your hand and innocently asked: May I go? If they nod your head, you can safely pack your suitcase and go home.

. w ill can also in some way mean a request. Let's say Will you open the window, please? But in fact, most often this verb is used to form the future tense. For example, You will be there at 5.

. be We have already discussed in point 3.

. do helps form questions and negative sentences (which we’ll talk about next time).

. have forms perfect tense, and also means forced action. For example, I have to go(I have to go). In addition, this verb is very often used to make a polite request: Have a seat, please. Will you have a drink?(Please sit down. Will you drink something?)

In principle, even such knowledge is already enough to communicate at a quite decent level with foreigners and at the same time be understood. But there are no limits to perfection. That's what we'll do next time, but you can and should take grammar tests now.

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

In any language, a sentence is a correct description of real life situations. To correctly describe a situation, you need to take the words (names of objects and concepts) involved in this situation and connect them so that these words make a picture. If the words are connected correctly, it means that exactly the same picture that we had in mind will appear in the interlocutor’s head.

In Russian, the main job of connecting words in a sentence is done by endings. Therefore, foreigners studying Russian are forced to memorize a huge number of Russian endings. IN English language there are no endings. They are not needed, because all connections of words in a sentence are performed by predicates. The predicate is what should be learned first in English. But the Russian sentence also has a predicate. Yes, there is, although in terms of 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 in tandem with endings, but in English it works independently. This means that the English predicate contains something that compensates for the lack 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 necessarily determine the nature of the action of the predicate. Without this, not a single English phrase can be constructed correctly.

REMEMBER:
There are only 7 predicate formulas in English; but only they serve as the foundation on which all further study of grammar is built; in any English sentence one of the seven formulas is present, or, in other words, not a single English sentence can be constructed without using one of the seven formulas.

English predicate formula diagram.

General concepts used in the diagram:

1. Pledge (available in Russian).

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

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

Passive- when an action is performed on a subject:

The dictation is written by the students. - the subject of the dictation is exposed to the action of the complement (students)=>Passive

2. Nature of the action (not available in Russian).

* Indefinite - a message about an action as an ordinary fact.

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

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

* Perfect Continuous - a message about an action occurring 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 can be seen from the figure, we get 21 tenses of the English language.

As stated earlier, the formula for determining time consists of three variables. This pledge, nature of action And time. So, let's look at the formulas for correctly constructing a sentence:

ACTIVE - active voice

1. Indefinite - simple action

...verb... A simple verb is used without auxiliary verbs.

Past: He worked yesterday - He worked yesterday.

Present: He works every morning.

Future: He will work tomorrow - He will work tomorrow.

2. Continuous - continued action

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

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

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

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

Past: He worked all day yesterday - He was working yesterday the whole day.

Present: He is working now - He is working now.

Future: He will be working tomorrow the whole evening.

3. perfect - perfect action (at a given point in 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 finished the work recently - He has finished the work recently.

Future: He will have finished the work tomorrow by 3 o'clock - 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: By the time you arrive, he will have 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 - The work is done.

Future: The work will be done tomorrow. - 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 buildings will be built by next year in Moscow - Five new houses will have been built by next year in Moscow.

4. PerfectContinues
does not exist

When constructing any phrase in English, we always need to choose one formula that corresponds to the situation being described. Having placed the subject first 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. Does the subject itself perform the action (Active), or does the action occur on it (Passive)? After this, all we have to do is determine 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 the action is performed on it? - herself (Active)

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

More details on the methodology for presenting grammar can be found in the book by L. Kutuzov

In the lesson below we will look at a very important grammatical topic - construction narrative sentences in English. The construction of a declarative sentence in Russian is very different from English. Therefore, be careful and pay enough attention to this topic.

First, answer the question - what is a declarative sentence? A declarative sentence is a sentence that expresses the idea of ​​the presence or absence of some actual or alleged phenomenon. Accordingly, they can be affirmative or negative. They are usually pronounced with a falling intonation.

The Russian language is characterized by free word order, i.e. we can rearrange words in a sentence and its meaning will remain the same. This is due to the fact that the Russian language has a developed system of case endings.

For example:

• The bear killed the hare.
• The hare was killed by a bear.

As you can see, the meaning of the sentence has not changed much. Only the semantic emphasis depends on which member of the sentence comes first. That is, what we want to emphasize comes first. The word "bear" is in the nominative case and is the subject of the sentence wherever it appears. The word "hare" is in the accusative case and is a direct object wherever it appears.

Now let's do the same with the English sentence:

• The bear killed the rabbit.
• The rabbit killed the bear.

Rearranging the words in an English sentence radically changed its meaning. Now the second sentence is translated as “The hare killed the bear.” And all because in English there are practically no case endings and the function of a word are determined by its place in a sentence. In English, the subject always comes before the verb. And the word after the verb will perform the functions direct object. Therefore, in the second English version and it turned out that the word “rabbit” became the subject.

Remember the rule:

The word order in an English declarative sentence is direct (i.e., the subject first, and then the predicate) and strictly fixed!

Rules for constructing narrative sentences

Scheme of word order in an English sentence

Following the rules of this scheme, when constructing sentences in English, the grammatical basis is first put, i.e., subject and predicate. The complements follow immediately after the predicate. The indirect object answers the question “to whom?”, the direct object answers the question “what?”, and the prepositional object answers “for what?” How?".

As for circumstances, the circumstances of place and time can be either at the end of the sentence, or in the zero place before the subject. Review the following table:

According to the rules, the definition can appear with any member of the sentence that is expressed by a noun. It does not have a permanent place in the sentence and also does not change the general obligatory pattern for a declarative sentence. For example:

If necessary, each member of a sentence expressed by a noun can have two definitions: left (located to the left of the word to which it refers) and right definition or attributive phrases (located to the right of the word to which it refers).

Direct word order:

Inversion in a declarative sentence

Inversion in English is a change in word order in relation to the subject and predicate. That is, the placement of the predicate (or part of it) in front of the subject is called inversion.

In declarative sentences, inversion is observed:

1. If the predicate is expressed by the phrase there is/ are (there was/ were, there’ll be, there has been, there can be, etc.).
Examples:

• There is a big lake near our house - There is a big lake near our house big lake(there is - predicate, and lake - subject)
• There was nothing on the table when I returned - There was nothing on the table when I returned

2. B short sentences, expressing confirmation or denial with the words so or neither - “So (Neither) do (have, am, can) I”, which are translated by the phrase “And I too.” In such replica sentences, the auxiliary verb do is placed before the subject (if in the predicate of the previous sentence the main verb was in the Present Simple or Past Simple) or the verbs will, be, have and other auxiliary and modal verbs (if they were contained in the predicate of the previous sentence).

• She knows Spanish very well. − So does her brother. (She knows Spanish very well. - Her brother too.)
• I like the ice-cream very much. − So do I. (I love ice cream. - Me too.)
• They came too late. − So did we. (They arrived too late. - So did we.)
• I haven’t eaten this ace-cream yet. − Neither have I. (I haven’t eaten this ice cream yet. — Me neither.)
• She can't go home now. − Neither саn I. (She can’t go home now. — Neither can I.)

3. If the sentence begins with the adverbs here - here, there - over there, now, then, and the subject is expressed by a noun.

• Here are the pencils you’d been looking for − Here are the pencils you were looking for
• Here is an example - Here is an example

If the subject is expressed by a personal pronoun, direct word order is used in the sentence.

• Nehe you are − Here you go
• Here it is − Here it is

4. C verbs had, were, should in a non-union conditional clause.

• Should you meet him in town, ask him to ring me up - If you meet him in the city, ask him to call me

5. In words introducing direct speech, when these words come after direct speech and the subject is expressed by a noun.

• “Who can read the text?” — asked the teacher — “Who can read the text?” - asked the teacher

If the subject in words introducing direct speech is expressed by a personal pronoun, inversion is not used.

• “Who can read the text?” — he asked — “Who can read the text?” - he asked

By remembering the rules for constructing narrative sentences in English, you will be able to correctly express your thoughts. The main thing is to remember what direct word order looks like in English, i.e. learn the scheme. Good luck in learning English! ( 5 Votes: 4,20 out of 5)

Word order in English differs significantly from our word order. In the Russian language, due to the presence of many endings, the order of words does not matter much, the meaning will be the same, you can only focus the interlocutor’s attention on a certain fact. For example:

A kitten ran into me yesterday afternoon
A kitten ran into me yesterday afternoon
Yesterday afternoon a kitten ran into me

We are accustomed to such freedom of speech and transfer it to the English language. However, in English this is done completely prohibited, everyone must stand in their place. Changing the word order usually completely changes the meaning of the sentence:

Anya hit Dima
Anya hit Dima

Dima hit Anya
Dima hit Anya

The main feature of sentences in English is the fixed word order. No matter how we would like to express our thoughts, we must always adhere to the following word order scheme in an English sentence:

1. (or just a verb).
2. – is located after the predicate, there may be several.
3. – can come at the beginning before the subject or at the very end.
4. – can be in any part of a sentence, thereby making it difficult to understand.

To make it clearer and clearer, this diagram can be represented as follows:

This diagram may seem incomprehensible to you, but it’s all simple:
Subject- subject and predicate(verb) - predicate(verb) are the basis of the English sentence, they are present in 99 percent of phrases, we can say that it is " backbone" of any sentence. Also after the predicate it can go addition- object. Therefore, if a sentence consists of three words and is not connected by any, then we can say with confidence that the first word is the subject, the second is the predicate, and the third is the complement. To make it clearer, look at the examples and the 2-minute video below:

We (subject) do (predicate) our work (object)
We do our job

They faced problems
They faced (many) problems

If you liked the video tutorial, subscribe to this author’s channel -.

After this, looking at the diagram again, it should be clear that circumstance can be at the beginning of a sentence or at the end (less often in the middle):

We do our work with pleasure
We do our work with pleasure

At the moment I cannot talk
IN currently I can not talk

WITH definition the situation is a little more complicated; more precisely, it complicates the definition of the members of the sentence. A definition can appear in any part of a sentence and usually comes before or after the word being defined (usually a noun).

What else do you need to know so as not to get confused?

As always in the English language, there are exceptions to everything and everywhere. Here are the main exceptions you may encounter:

• Formation of the interrogative form

Forming a question slightly disrupts the usual sentence structure, but there is nothing complicated here; as a rule, the temporary auxiliary verb is placed at the very beginning of the sentence. Look for yourself, in general the scheme of the proposal is the same:

I am an engineer
I am an engineer
Am I'm an engineer?
I am an engineer?

I can speak English
I speak English/I can speak English
Can I speak English
I speak English? /I can speak English?

• Improving sentence rhythm

This usually occurs in songs. You could even say that many of the songs are written grammatically incorrectly. The performer’s goal is usually to “get into” the rhythm and convey the meaning, sometimes the same applies to poetry and fairy tales (not adapted).

The main thing you need to remember is that changing the location of words in an English sentence leads to a change in its meaning. All this is, of course, theory and it may seem complicated, but after a little practice and studying the simplest tense forms of the English language, the correct construction of sentences will begin to be achieved on an intuitive level.

In any language, the order of words in a sentence helps to logically express a thought, and also performs a grammatical and often expressive function. Knowing this, you can correctly translate someone else’s speech, construct your own statements, place logical emphasis, etc. From this article you will learn what the order of words in a sentence in English is and what it depends on.

General information

First, let's get acquainted with the basic principles on which we will rely when considering this topic.

The word order in an English sentence is fixed. This means that each of its members is located in a certain place. And if it moves, then also according to the rules.

In an affirmative statement, the subject always comes first, then the predicate. For example: She likes sandwiches. The subject can be expressed not only by a pronoun, but also by a noun, including with dependent words.

People dance in the street.

A happy boy smiled.

Please note that an English sentence cannot do without a subject. It is contained even in those statements that in Russian could be called impersonal and vaguely personal.

Hot - It’s hot.

He is cold - He is cold.

Schematic illustration

The word order in an English sentence can be represented in the form of the following standard scheme: subject + predicate + minor members (what? whom? + where? where? + when?).

If you look closely at the examples below, you will see exactly this sequence. One or another minor member of the sentence may be absent, but the order is preserved.

A woman visits her mother in a hospital on Sunday.

I made a cake last night.

The men in white clothes traveled to China in August.

The word order in a sentence in English is such that the main members occupy a fixed position. Secondary ones can move, but they do so according to certain rules.

Where is the add-on?

This part of the sentence can be direct or indirect. The first type answers the questions: “What?” and “Who?” The second type of additions answers various questions: “To whom?”, “For whom?” “With whom?”, “With what?”, “About what?”, “About whom?” etc. For example, in the sentence You gave me a book The direct object is the word book, and the indirect object is me.

If there are such members, then the order of words in an English sentence may change slightly. In the above example, you should first indirect object, and then direct. But they can also change places if the preposition to is used. Then the sentence will look like this: You gave a book to me.

What position does the circumstance take?

This part of the sentence is quite flexible. He can have three fixed positions based on what question he is answering.

1. The adverb of place (“Where?”) can be placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

In the cinema I met Jack.

I met Jack in the cinema.

2. The adverb of time (“When?”) can occupy the same two positions: end and beginning.

I met him yesterday.

Yesterday I met him.

3. The circumstance of the manner of action (“How?”) is usually placed after the direct object, but before the indirect one.

You play tennis very well.

She smiled happily at him.

This position changes only in rare cases to create an expressive effect. Then the circumstance of the manner of action is placed first in the sentence.

Interrogative and negative sentences occupy an important place in the English language. They will be discussed further.

How to ask a question

The word order in an English interrogative sentence has its own nuances. And it depends on the type of question: general, special, alternative, dividing and a question to the subject. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

1. The question to the subject is the simplest, since the word order in it does not change. All you have to do is replace the subject with a suitable question word. For example:

He is happy - Who is happy?

They went swimming - Who went swimming?

The only thing that is difficult about this type of sentence is not to confuse it with a special question. After all, they are similar only at first glance.

2. Special question also uses question words. But it is asked to any member of the sentence except the subject. And the word order in such a sentence is reversed. First the predicate (more precisely, its part expressed by an auxiliary verb), then the subject.

Where do you go?

What are you doing?

3. The general question also has reverse order words This is quite common in interrogative sentences in English. First place in in this case are put special types verbs: auxiliary (do, does, did, is, are, was, were, will, etc.) or modal (can, may, must, should, etc.)

Do you like reading?

Is this a pen red?

Will he come today?

Can you run fast?

In cases where to be acts as a semantic verb, there is no need to add an auxiliary to it:

Was she at home last night?

Will you be happy?

4. Alternative question assumes reverse word order. Starts like a general question, but adds an or structure at the end:

Do you like winter or summer?

5. The dividing question consists of two parts: the sentence itself (without changes) and the “tail” (translated into Russian as “isn’t it?”). If the first part of the question is in the affirmative, then the second must be in the negative (and vice versa):

You live here, don't you?

He isn’t your brother, is he?

Thus, it is the type of question that determines the word order in interrogative sentences. In English, each variety has its own characteristics.

There is one more type of sentence left - negative. Let's see what word order is used in them.

How to formulate a negative

Everything here is quite simple: the negative particle not is added to the auxiliary and modal verbs we already know. And the following forms are obtained: do not (don't), does not (doesn't), am not, is not (isn't), are not (aren't), was not (wasn't), were not (weren't), will not (won't), would not (wouldn't), cannot (can't), must not (mustn't), etc.

Word order in negative sentences straight. An auxiliary (modal) verb with the particle not is placed before the predicate.

She isn't sad.

They can't understand.

He mustn't worry.

Many factors influence the word order in an English sentence, but it has only two varieties - direct and indirect. Each part of the sentence has its own place.