Construct a Clear Sentence
Explore how to construct clear and effective sentences by mastering basic sentence structure, proper placement of adjectives and adverbs, subject-verb agreement, and the use of compound and complex sentences. This lesson helps you avoid common errors and write sentences that are simple, concise, and easy to follow.
Strong, effective writing is simple and concise. While there are many ways to spruce up your text with modifiers and complex phrases, it is often better to stick to the basics. Sentences that are too complex can be messy and difficult to read.
In this lesson, we will go over how to form proper sentences and we will see some examples of the wrong way to form sentences. Please note that you may come across technical jargon in this chapter. If a term is unclear, or for a discussion on the various parts of speech, please have a look at the “Appendix A. Parts of Speech (Recommended for ESL Writers)” chapter.
Basic construction
The most basic construction of a sentence is
Take these sentences for example:
- Example → “I am leaving.”
- Example → “We are hungry.”
Longer sentences will add onto this framework.
Where do the parts of speech go?
As we know, the most basic sentence structure is ...