Kinds of Sentences

I can't believe it has been an entire month since I last posted.  My daughter got married Oct. 4th and the weeks before the wedding were spent getting ready and the two weeks since the wedding have been spent recuperating!

But now I am back on track.  I hope to post three times this week.  Let's see if I can get back into the swing of things!

P.  15

Collins gives us a basic grammar lesson here on independent clauses.  Sentences are independent clauses - a subject and a verb.  Sentences often have more that in them but a basic sentence like 'the cat meows' is an independent clause.

Independent clauses/sentences take three forms: 1) statement 2) question 3) command/request.

When you make a statement/question/command you can either make a direct one or an indirect one.  Collins gives examples:

Direct statement:  I visited my brother.

Indirect statement:  He said that he had visited his brother.

Direct question:  Why is the sky blue?

Indirect question:  The child asked why the sky is blue.

Direct command:  Get your feet off the sofa!

Indirect command:  His mother told him to get his feet off the sofa.

Now Collins tells us the 7 basic sentence patterns:

1) Subject/Intransitive verb:  (Eng) I am.    (Latin) Sum

2)Subject/Intransitive verb/adverb:  (Eng.) I am here  (Latin) Sum ibi

3)Subject/Transitive verb/direct object:  (Eng.) I see Peter  (Latin) Video Petrum

4)Sub/Transverb/indirect object/direct obj:  (Eng) I give Peter the book.  (Latin) Dō Petrō librum.

5)S/TV/DO/Predicate accusative:  (Eng.) I make Peter the Pope  (Latin) Faciō Petrum papam.

(Or you can use a predicate adjective I make Peter safe (Latin) Faciō Petrum salvum.)

6) Subject/Copulative verb/Predicate nominative/adj:  (Eng) I am Peter/good  (Latin) Sum Petrus/bonus.

7) Subject/passive verb/by + agent:  (Eng) I am praised by Peter  (Latin) Laudor a Petrō