Pattern 1: subject + verb

The shortest sentence you can make starting with the word elephants consists of two words. For example:
Elephants exist.
This sentence consists of one clause. The clause has two parts, a subject and a verb:

The subject

The subject of a simple sentence:

• comes at or near the beginning of the sentence
• comes before the verb
• is a noun or ‘a noun-like thing’
• often gives a good idea of what the sentence is going to be about.

The verb

The verb of a simple sentence:

• normally comes immediately or shortly after the subject
• agrees with the subject:
  - in number
  (One elephant walks; two elephants walk.)
  - in person
  (I am; she is; they are)
• provides information about
  - an action (talks) or
  - a state (believes) or
  - links the subject to another part of the sentence in some other way (as am does in the sentence I am happy.)

The simple pattern of subject + verb can be used to generate thousands of sentences. They may have just two words like the sample sentence, or they may have many more:

Although the last two sentences have many more words than the first, they still have the same two clause elements: subject and verb.

© John Seely 2008