PUNCTUATION
Basic Sentence Structure
Before you start, look at the ‘Full Stops and Sentences’ sheet.
What’s a sentence? When we are talking, we often speak in odd words or bits
and pieces. When we write, though, we write in sentences.
Sentences


start with a capital letter and end with a full stop.
can be short or long.
Example:
The sun shone.
The sun shone brightly over the craggy bay.
The dog ran.
The dog ran swiftly to catch the stick.
Every sentence needs a subject and an action.
Example:
Look at the sentence Birds fly.
Birds is the subject.
fly
is the action or what the birds do.
Look at the sentence The chef shouted at his staff.
The chef is the subject.
shouted
is the action or what he did.
 Exercise 9
1
2
3
4
5
6

Underline the subject in following sentences:
The dog barked.
The cat ran away.
I hope our team win.
Kerry and Liam have been to London.
Chris fell off his bike and hurt his head.
Amy is nine months old.
Check your answers. (See page 12.)
continued
Now that you have found the subjects of these sentences, you need to be able
to recognise the action (or what the subject is doing).
Exercise 10
Match the subject with the action in the following:


Birds
The dog
I
She
The boy
The potato
laughed.
love ice cream.
tasted good.
fly.
barked.
is happy.
Check your answers. (See page 12.)
These are basic sentences.
Often sentences are more complicated and this is when you need to know what a
verb is. A verb is a doing word which describes the action. The verbs in the
sentences above are: fly, barked, love, laughed, is, tasted.
In these examples, the verbs are just one word in each sentence. Sometimes a
verb can consist of more than one word:
Example:
I am having a good time.
am having is the verb, consisting of two words.
Exercise 11
Find the subject and the verb in the following sentences:

1
Joe cleaned the garage.
Subject __________
Verb
__________
2
We were going to town.
Subject __________
Verb
__________
3
Gale was looking for the cat.
Subject __________
Verb
__________
continued

4
They were packing their cases for their holiday.
Subject __________
Verb
__________
5
She had smoked her last cigarette.
Subject __________
Verb
__________
6
Chris and John are going to the nightclub.
Subject __________
Verb
__________
Check your answers. (See page 12.)
Exercise 12
Put in a missing word to make the following into sentences. Write them
out in full.

1
Tamika to stay in this country.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................
2
Wesley to the door.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................
3
The bedroom untidy.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................
4
David to the bus stop.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................
5
Town busy.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................
6
The shop bargains.
.......................................................................................................................................................................................
continued
The words you have put in are likely to be verbs.

Check your answers with a tutor. (See page 13.)
NB. This worksheet is only a brief introduction to sentence structure,
subjects and verbs, which is quite a big topic. If you need to know more
about grammar and parts of speech, discuss it with your tutor who may
recommend further work.
Exercise 13
What word is missing in the incomplete sentences below? Write out the
sentence in full and say if the word is the subject or the verb:

1
went to college today.
................................................................................................................................................................ subject/verb
2
Veejay the children to bed.
................................................................................................................................................................ subject/verb
3
It today and we got wet.
................................................................................................................................................................ subject/verb
4
The house very cold.
................................................................................................................................................................ subject/verb
5
jammed on his brakes and swerved to avoid the dog.
................................................................................................................................................................ subject/verb
Remember: A sentence needs a subject (who or what is doing the action) and an
action, which is usually a verb that tells you what is happening.

Check your answers. (See page 13.)
Discuss your work with a tutor and decide what you want to work on
next
Answers
Exercise 9
1
The dog barked.
2
The cat ran away.
3
I hope our team win.
4
Kerry and Liam have been to London.
5
Chris fell off his bike and hurt his head.
6
Amy is nine months old.
Exercise 10
Birds
The dog
I
She
The boy
The potato
fly.
barked.
love ice cream.
is happy.
laughed.
tasted good.
Exercise 11
1
Joe cleaned the garage.
Subject
Joe
Verb
cleaned
2
We were going to town.
Subject
We
Verb
were going
3
Gale was looking for the cat.
Subject
Gale
Verb
was looking
4
They were packing their cases for their holiday.
Subject
They
Verb
were packing
5
She had smoked her last cigarette.
Subject
She
Verb
had smoked
6
Chris and John are going to the nightclub.
Subject
Chris and John
Verb
are going
Exercise 12
1
Tamika wants to stay in this country.
2
Wesley ran/ went/ rushed to the door.
3
The bedroom was/ looked/ seemed untidy.
4
David ran/ walked/ strolled to the bus stop.
5
Town is/ was/ looked busy.
6
The shop sold/ sells bargains.
Exercise 13
1
I went to college today. subject
2
Veejay put the children to bed. verb
3
It rained today and we got wet. verb
4
The house was very cold. verb
5
He jammed on his brakes and swerved to avoid the dog. subject