Sentences · pillar 11 of 16

Sentence structure

word order · questions · negation · tags · agreement

20 lessons from A1 to C2 · 73 grammar points

Mindmap: Structure from A1 to C2

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# 11 Sentence structure ## A1 - Word order: Subject + Verb + Object - Every sentence needs a subject (It's raining) - Place before time (I go to work at 8) - Questions with be (Are you…? Is she…?) - Short answers (Yes, I am. / No, she isn't.) - Question words: what, where, who, when, why, how - how old, how much, how many, how far - Question word + be / do + subject - there is / there are - Is there…? / There isn't… / There aren't… - there is a… / there are some… - Imperatives (Sit down. Don't worry.) - let's / let's not - Always… / Never… + imperative - it for time, weather, distance and dates (It's 5 o'clock. It's cold.) ## A2 - what vs which - How long…? How often…? How far…? - What … like? (What's she like? vs What does she like?) - Prepositions at the end of questions (Who are you talking to?) - no, not, never, nothing, nobody, nowhere - Only one negative per clause (I didn't see anybody / I saw nobody) - Answering negative questions (Didn't you go? No, I didn't.) - Negative questions (Don't you like it?) - Exclamations: What a…! What + plural / uncountable! How + adjective! - so and such for emphasis (It's so cold! She's such a kind person!) - What kind / sort of …? (What kind of music do you like?) - Alternative questions (Do you want tea or coffee?) ## B1 - Subject questions (Who called you?) - Object questions (Who did you call?) - Question tags (It's cold, isn't it?) - Special tags (I'm…, aren't I? Let's…, shall we? Open the door, will you?) - Tags to check (falling) vs to ask (rising) - Indirect questions (Do you know where…? Can you tell me if…?) - Question word + to-infinitive (I don't know what to do) - it vs there - there + any tense (there will be, there has been, there used to be) - there seems / appears to be - it takes + time + to - It's + adjective + to (It's easy to learn) - Singular verb after everyone, nobody, each - one of + plural noun + singular verb - there is + singular / there are + plural - Agreement with long subjects (The price of the shoes is…) - Declarative questions (You're leaving? That's the boss?) ## B2 - How come…? (no inversion) - What … for? / Who else…? - Echo and reply questions (You did what? Oh, did you?) - Negative questions for surprise or criticism (Haven't you finished yet?) - Rhetorical questions - Collective nouns: the team is / are (US vs UK) - a number of + plural vs the number of + singular - either…or / neither…nor: the verb agrees with the nearer subject - Amounts as singular (Ten miles is a long way) - Questions with that-clauses (Who did you say you saw?) - Agreement with subjects joined by and (Ali and Sara are…; Bread and butter is…) - Distributive plural (They took off their coats) ## C1 - the majority / a lot / the rest + singular or plural - one of those who are… - more than one + singular - Notional vs grammatical agreement - Agreement with names, titles and quotations (The Netherlands is…; Gulliver's Travels was…) ## C2 - Parallel structure - Balance and multiple embedding - Garden-path sentences and how to avoid them - Scope of negation (All that glitters is not gold) - Transferred negation (I don't think he's coming) - Negative polarity items (ever, yet, any, at all, budge an inch) - barely, scarcely, hardly + any / ever - not … any vs no; not a single - Misplaced modifiers - Dangling modifiers - Structural ambiguity (I saw the man with the telescope) - Discontinuous noun phrases (A man arrived who wanted to see you)

Lessons in this pillar

A1.3Every sentence needs a subject: SVO orderCoreSoonComing soon
A1.6be: questions & short answersCoreSoonComing soon
A1.7Question words: what, where, who, when, howCoreSoonComing soon
A1.14there is / there areCoreSoonComing soon
A1.20Imperatives & let'sMiniSoonComing soon
A1.34it for time, weather & distanceMiniSoonComing soon
A2.1Wh- questions: which, whose, how long, what … likeCoreSoonComing soon
A2.2Negatives & answering negative questionsCoreSoonComing soon
A2.4Exclamations: What a…! How…!MiniSoonComing soon
B1.1Subject & object questionsCoreSoonComing soon
B1.2Question tagsCoreSoonComing soon
B1.3Indirect questionsCoreSoonComing soon
B1.4it or there?CoreSoonComing soon
B1.5Subject–verb agreement 1CoreSoonComing soon
B2.1Advanced questions: How come…? Echo & reply questionsCoreSoonComing soon
B2.2Subject–verb agreement 2MiniSoonComing soon
C1.28Agreement 3: The majority is/areCoreSoonComing soon
C2.8Complex sentences: parallelism & balanceCoreSoonComing soon
C2.17Negation: expertCoreSoonComing soon
C2.27Ambiguity & precisionCoreSoonComing soon

Every grammar point

The complete checklist for this pillar. Nothing is left out.

A1

Word order: Subject + Verb + Object
Every sentence needs a subject (It's raining)
Place before time (I go to work at 8)
Questions with be (Are you…? Is she…?)
Short answers (Yes, I am. / No, she isn't.)
Question words: what, where, who, when, why, how
how old, how much, how many, how far
Question word + be / do + subject
there is / there are
Is there…? / There isn't… / There aren't…
there is a… / there are some…
Imperatives (Sit down. Don't worry.)
let's / let's not
Always… / Never… + imperative
it for time, weather, distance and dates (It's 5 o'clock. It's cold.)

A2

what vs which
How long…? How often…? How far…?
What … like? (What's she like? vs What does she like?)
Prepositions at the end of questions (Who are you talking to?)
no, not, never, nothing, nobody, nowhere
Only one negative per clause (I didn't see anybody / I saw nobody)
Answering negative questions (Didn't you go? No, I didn't.)
Negative questions (Don't you like it?)
Exclamations: What a…! What + plural / uncountable! How + adjective!
so and such for emphasis (It's so cold! She's such a kind person!)
What kind / sort of …? (What kind of music do you like?)
Alternative questions (Do you want tea or coffee?)

B1

Subject questions (Who called you?)
Object questions (Who did you call?)
Question tags (It's cold, isn't it?)
Special tags (I'm…, aren't I? Let's…, shall we? Open the door, will you?)
Tags to check (falling) vs to ask (rising)
Indirect questions (Do you know where…? Can you tell me if…?)
Question word + to-infinitive (I don't know what to do)
it vs there
there + any tense (there will be, there has been, there used to be)
there seems / appears to be
it takes + time + to
It's + adjective + to (It's easy to learn)
Singular verb after everyone, nobody, each
one of + plural noun + singular verb
there is + singular / there are + plural
Agreement with long subjects (The price of the shoes is…)
Declarative questions (You're leaving? That's the boss?)

B2

How come…? (no inversion)
What … for? / Who else…?
Echo and reply questions (You did what? Oh, did you?)
Negative questions for surprise or criticism (Haven't you finished yet?)
Rhetorical questions
Collective nouns: the team is / are (US vs UK)
a number of + plural vs the number of + singular
either…or / neither…nor: the verb agrees with the nearer subject
Amounts as singular (Ten miles is a long way)
Questions with that-clauses (Who did you say you saw?)
Agreement with subjects joined by and (Ali and Sara are…; Bread and butter is…)
Distributive plural (They took off their coats)

C1

the majority / a lot / the rest + singular or plural
one of those who are…
more than one + singular
Notional vs grammatical agreement
Agreement with names, titles and quotations (The Netherlands is…; Gulliver's Travels was…)

C2

Parallel structure
Balance and multiple embedding
Garden-path sentences and how to avoid them
Scope of negation (All that glitters is not gold)
Transferred negation (I don't think he's coming)
Negative polarity items (ever, yet, any, at all, budge an inch)
barely, scarcely, hardly + any / ever
not … any vs no; not a single
Misplaced modifiers
Dangling modifiers
Structural ambiguity (I saw the man with the telescope)
Discontinuous noun phrases (A man arrived who wanted to see you)