1. What is an Object in a Sentence?
An object is the word affected by the verb or preposition in a sentence. Objects are usually nouns or pronouns that answer questions like “who,” “what,” “where,” and “when?” Overall, they add more details to a sentence, which makes it more interesting and informative.
There are three types of objects: the direct object, indirect object, and object of the preposition. A sentence may have one, none, or a combination of the three.
2. Examples of an Object in a Sentence
Here are a few basic examples of how objects work in sentences:
- The dog bought a present. This sentence uses a direct object to tell what the subject bought; a “present.”
- The dog bought a present for the cat. This sentence adds an indirect object to also tell whom the subject bought the present for; the “cat.”
- The dog gave a present to the cat at the This sentence adds an object of the preposition to tell where this is all happening; the “party.”
3. Types of Objects in a Sentence
As said, there can be three types of objects in a sentence: the direct object, the indirect object, and the object of the preposition. Some sentences may include all three types, while some may include only one or none at all.
a. Direct Object
A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the verb’s action. An easy trick is to know that the direct object answers the questions “what?” Now, this sentence has no direct object:
The dog cooked.
Right now, we may be asking, “what did the dog cook?” By adding a direct object, we can add more information to a sentence. Let’s add a direct object to answer that question:
The dog cooked popcorn.
In this sentence, the verb is “cooked.” So, the direct object should be what is receiving the verb’s action—in other words, what is being cooked? “Popcorn” is the direct object, because it gets cooked (verb). Here’s another:
I wrapped a present.
What did you wrap? A present. “Present” is the direct object because you “wrapped” it.
Direct objects can be single words, like “popcorn” and “present,” or, they can be a phrase or clause:
- The dog cooked buttery popcorn. The direct object is the phrase “buttery popcorn.”
- The dog ate the popcorn he cooked. The direct object is the clause “the popcorn he cooked.”
b. Indirect Object
An indirect object is the noun or pronoun that receives the direct object. It answers the question “to/for what?” or “to/for whom?” Let’s start with a sentence without a direct object:
The dog cooked popcorn.
Now, let’s ask, “for whom did the dog cook the popcorn?” Our answer is the indirect object, which we can add to the sentence:
The dog cooked popcorn for the cat.
“Cat” is the indirect object because it gets the popcorn. Here’s another example:
It was the cat’s birthday, so the dog bought her a present.
Here, “present” is the direct object, making “cat” the indirect object, because she receives the present that the dog bought.
Remember—an indirect object relies on a direct object; so, in order for there to be an indirect object, a sentence has to have a direct object first!
c. Object of the Preposition
The object of the preposition is the object that is paired with the preposition in a sentence. It answers the question “where or when did this all happen?” and follows the form preposition + object of the preposition. Here are a few examples:
- At home (place)
- During the week (time)
- In the car (place)
- After midnight (time)
- On the table (place)
- Within an hour (time)
As you can see, prepositions are the words in a sentence that show location in both place and time, like “in,” “at,” “on,” “before,” “about,” “after,” and “around” to name a few.
Though it may seem possible, “preposition + object of the preposition” is never a full sentence on its own. While you may sometimes say things like “at home” when asked “where are you?”, a full sentence would actually be “I am at home” (remember: a sentence needs a clause). So now, let’s put these into full sentences. The preposition and object are both underlined in the examples below.
The dog is at home.
Where is the dog? The answer is “at” (preposition) “home” (object of the preposition). The object of the preposition is “home,” because it is paired with the preposition “at.” Let’s try another example:
After dinner, he made popcorn for the cat.
The object of the preposition is “dinner” because it is linked with the preposition “after.” “After dinner” answers the question “when did he make popcorn?”
What’s more, a sentence can have more than one object of the preposition:
He will be at home cooking popcorn on the stovetop until dinner.
This sentence has three objects of the preposition: “at” (preposition) + “home” (object of the preposition) and “on” + “stovetop” and “until” + “dinner.” It answers where and when the dog will cook popcorn.
To conclude, here’s one more sentence using all three types of objects:
After dinner, the dog cooked popcorn for the cat.
4. How to Write a Sentence with an Object
You can write a complete sentence without an object, but as you can see, they often have at least one. Basically, all you have to do is follow your verb or preposition with a related noun or pronoun, which is easy to do because it makes your sentence more informative. As mentioned, objects answer questions like “what?” “for whom?” and “where?”, just to name a few, and we answer those questions naturally when we are writing and speaking.
So, to write a sentence with an object, start with a subject and a verb (a clause):
Subject: She +Verb: studied = She studied
Now, let’s ask three questions that will provide us with objects:
- What did she study? Shakespeare: this is our first object, the direct object.
- For what did she study Shakespeare? Her English exam: this is our indirect object.
- When did she study? Saturday night: this is our object of the preposition.
Finally, let’s combine the answers to these three questions with our original clause:
On Saturday night she studied Shakespeare for her English exam.
Different languages across the world follow certain word orders when creating sentences. There are six main word orders in all languages:
- SOV — subject, object, verb
- SVO — subject, verb, object
- VSO — verb, subject, object
- VOS — verb, object, subject
- OVS — object, verb, subject
- OSV — object, subject, verb
The focus of this article — and the most uncommon word order across all languages — is: Object Subject Verb.
Let’s take a look in more detail!
Object Subject Verb Structure
Before we take a look at the object-subject-verb structure, here’s a quick reminder of the elements of a sentence:
-
Subject = a person or thing that carries out an action, e.g., «Lauren read a book.»
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Verb = the action, e.g., «Lauren read a book.»
-
Object = a person or thing that receives the action of the verb, e.g., «Lauren read a book.»
In sentences that follow the object-subject-verb structure, the object comes first. This is then followed by the subject and, lastly, the verb. For example, instead of saying, «Greg ate pizza,» you would say, «Pizza Greg ate.» To native English speakers, this may seem quite unusual, as we typically follow the subject-verb-object structure instead!
Object Subject Verb Languages
You may be wondering, which languages use the object-subject-verb structure?
Very few languages use object-subject-verb as their natural word order. A natural word order (also known as an unmarked word order) refers to the dominant, basic word order we use without having to add or change anything for emphasis. In English, the natural word order is subject-verb-object.
The languages that do use the object-subject-verb order naturally include:
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Xavante
-
Jamamadi
-
Apurinã
-
Warao
-
Urubú-Kapoor
-
Jupda
-
Kayabí
-
Nadëb
-
Mizo and other Kuki-Chin-Mizo Languages
We will be looking at some of these in more detail later on!
So what about the other languages that use object-subject-verb?
The languages that do not use object-subject-verb as their natural word order tend to only use it when they need to add emphasis to a certain part of the sentence (usually the object, but sometimes the subject). This is known as a marked word order, as it differs from the natural word order. Such languages include:
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Chinese
-
Korean
-
Japanese
-
Portuguese
-
Hungarian
-
Finnish
-
Hebrew
-
Arabic
-
Turkish
-
Malayalam
-
Nahuatl
As object-subject-verb is only used in marked sentences by the above languages, this means the natural word order will be something different.
Object Subject Verb Examples
Let’s first take a look at a couple of examples from languages that use object-subject-verb as their natural (unmarked) sentence structure:
Natural/Unmarked Word Order
The object-subject-verb word order is rarely used as a natural/unmarked word order. Here are just a few examples:
Apurinã
Apurinã is an Indigenous language spoken by the Apurinã people of the Amazon basin (South America). As of 2006, there were around 2800 native speakers of Apurinã.
Take the following sentence:
Apurinã: «ι-wako n-aroka.»
English translation: «His hand I wash.»
In English, we would typically write this as «I wash his hand.»
Another Apurinã example is:
Apurinã: «anana nota apa.»
English translation: «Pineapple I fetch.»
In English, we would write this as «I fetch (a/the) pineapple.»
Urubú-Kaapor
Urubú-Kaapor is a language belonging to the Tupí language family, spoken by the Ka’apor people of Brazil. As of 2006, there were around 600 native speakers.
Urubú-Kaapor: «pako xua u’ u.»
English translation: «Bananas John (he) ate.»
In English, we would write this as «John ate bananas.»
Nadëb
Nadëb is a Nadahup language (specifically the Macuan sub-family) spoken in the Brazilian Amazon. As of 2011, there were around 370 native speakers.
Nadëb: «samuuy yi qa-wùh.»
English translation: «Howler-monkey people eat.»
In English, we would write this as «People eat howler monkeys.»
Xavante
Xavante is a Macro-Gê language spoken by the Xavante people in the surrounding areas of Eastern Mato Grosso (Brazil). As of 2006, there were around 9600 native speakers.
Xavante: «aro te tsub- dza’ra.»
English translation: «Rice they winnow.»
In English, we would write this as «They are winnowing rice.»
Fig. 1 — Most languages that use object-subject-verb as their natural word order are spoken in or around Brazil.
Marked Word Order
Now let’s take a look at some languages that use object-subject-verb as a marked word order:
Finnish
The Finnish word order is very lenient, and object-subject-verb is often used to emphasize the object in a sentence. Take the following sentence:
«Sinuan minä tarvitsen.»
English translation: «you I need.»
Here, as the object «you» is placed at the beginning of the sentence, this adds emphasis to whoever «you» is referring to. This implies that the subject («I») needs a specific person («you») instead of someone else.
Another example is:
«Oranssin minä syön.»
English translation: «Orange I eat.»
This example emphasizes that the orange is being eaten; it does not necessarily matter who is doing the eating.
Korean
The typical word order of Korean is subject-object-verb. In some cases, however, object-subject-verb is used. It is important to know that, as well as subjects and objects, Korean also has «topics.» The topic of a sentence is the main focus of the sentence and can refer to either the subject or the object. To differentiate between subject, object, and topic, each one uses different particles (also known as markers) at the end of the word:
Subject: 이 / 가
Object: 을 / 를
Topic: 은 / 는
When an object is the topic of a sentence, it is placed at the beginning. When this happens, the object-subject-verb structure is followed. For example:
그 가방은 제가 좋아해요
English translation: «The bag, I like.»
Or more specifically, «(As for) the bag, I like (it).»
Japanese
Following on from Korean, Japanese is almost exactly the same:
Japanese: «そのりんごは私が食べました。»
English translation: «The apple, I eat.»
More specifically: «(As for) the apple, I eat (it).»
Hungarian
Unlike the previous examples, Hungarian uses object-subject-verb to add emphasis to the subject of the sentence. For example:
Hungarian: «A virágokat Kristof szereti.»
English translation: «Flowers Kristof likes.»
Meaning: Kristof likes flowers, not anyone else.
Turkish
Turkish also uses object-subject-verb to emphasize the subject. For example:
Turkish: «Yemeği ben pişirdim.»
English translation: «The food I cooked.»
Meaning: I cooked the food, not anybody else.
Subject Verb Object English
Let’s move away from Object- Subject- Verb now and take a look at the typical word order of English, which is:
Subject Verb Object
For example:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| Sophie | writes | a poem. |
Subject-verb-object is the second most common word order across all languages — the first being subject-object-verb, which is used in languages like Korean, German, and French.
Subject Verb Object Sentences
What would subject-verb-object sentences look like if they followed the object-subject-verb word order instead?
Take a look at some examples of English sentences, first written in the typical subject-verb-object word order and then in the object-subject-verb order:
| Subject-verb-object | Object-subject-verb |
| Harry painted the fence. | The fence Harry painted. |
| I watched a movie. | A movie I watched. |
| They walk the dogs. | The dogs they walk. |
| I want to eat some chocolate. | Some chocolate I want to eat. |
| She tied her shoelaces. | Her shoelaces she tied. |
| I opened the cupboard. | The cupboard I opened. |
| He is a doctor | A doctor he is. |
| We danced with our friends. | Our friends we danced with. |
And finally…
What better way to end an article than give a quote from an iconic movie character, Yoda from Star Wars:
«The greatest teacher, failure is.»
Do you notice anything about this quote? It uses the object-subject-verb structure!
| Object | Subject | Verb |
| The greatest teacher | failure | is. |
Fig. 2 — Yoda speaks in a very unique way, using a range of sentence structures.
Object Subject Verb — Key takeaways
- In sentences that follow the object-subject-verb structure, the object comes first. This is then followed by the subject and, lastly, the verb.
- The object-subject-verb word order is the most uncommon word order in the world.
- Very few languages use object-subject-verb as a natural (unmarked) word order. Most of the languages that do are spoken in or around Brazil.
- The languages that use object-subject-verb as a marked word order tend to do so when adding emphasis to a certain part of the sentence (usually the object, sometimes the subject).
- The English language uses subject-verb-object as its unmarked word order. It is the second most common word order in the world.
When creating sentences, different languages follow particular word orders. This refers to the order of the subject, verb, and object in a sentence. The six main word orders (from most to least common) are as follows:
- SOV — subject, object, verb
- SVO — subject, verb, object
- VSO — verb, subject, object
- VOS — verb, object, subject
- OVS — object, verb, subject
- OSV — object, subject, verb
The focus of this article is the second most commonly used word order, which is subject, verb, object. This is often shortened to SVO. We’ll be taking a look at the definition and grammar of subject, verb, object, along with some examples and the languages that use it as their dominant word order (including the English language!)
Subject Verb Object Definition
Check out the definition of subject verb object below:
Subject verb object is one of six main word orders across all languages.
In sentences that follow the subject verb object structure, the subject comes first. This is then followed by the verb and, lastly, the object.
Subject Verb Object Grammar
Before taking a look at some examples, it is important to focus on grammar and understand the purpose of the subject, verb, and object in a sentence. Let’s take a look at each element in more detail:
Subject
The subject in a sentence refers to the person or thing carrying out an action. For example:
«We watched a scary movie.»
In this sentence, the subject is «we.»
Verb
The main verb in a sentence is the action itself. You may have heard it being referred to as a «doing word» in school; that is essentially its purpose! For example:
«She writes a book.»
In this sentence, the verb is «writes.»
Object
The object in a sentence refers to the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. For example:
«James and Mark are painting a picture.»
In this sentence, the object is «a picture.»
It is worth noting that an object is not always needed in a sentence for it to make grammatical sense. The subject and verb, however, are necessary to create a meaningful sentence. For example:
«James and Mark are painting.»
This sentence does not include an object, but still makes grammatical sense.
If the sentence did not have either the subject or the main verb, it would not make sense. For example:
No subject: «are painting.» Who are painting?
No main verb: «James and Mark are.» James and Mark are doing what?
Fig. 1 — The object in a sentence is not always needed, but the subject and verb are.
English Subject Verb Object
The English language uses subject verb object as the natural word order. A natural word order (also known as an unmarked word order) refers to the dominant, basic word order a language uses without having to change or add anything for emphasis. In English, the word order is fairly strict, meaning most sentences follow the same SVO structure.
However, there are exceptions, which are due to the different grammatical voices we can use to create sentences. Grammatical voice refers to the relationship between the action of a verb and the subject and object.
In English grammar, there are two grammatical voices:
1. Active voice
2. Passive voice
The most commonly used voice is the active voice, which occurs in sentences where the subject actively performs the action. Sentences in the active voice follow the subject-verb object word order. For example:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| John | built | a treehouse. |
In this example, it is clear that the subject, John, is the person carrying out the action of building.
On the other hand, the passive voice is less commonly used. In sentences that use the passive voice, the subject is being acted upon, and the object assumes the position of the subject. The passive voice does not follow the SVO word order; instead, the structure is as follows:
Subject → Auxiliary verb ‘to be’ → Past participle verb → Prepositional phrase. For example:
«The treehouse was built by John.»
In this sentence, the focus has been shifted from the person/thing carrying out the action to the person/thing affected by the action.
Fig. 2 — The passive voice places focus on the object instead of the subject.
Subject Verb Object Examples
Check out some examples of sentences written in the subject verb object word order below. The SVO word order is used with any tense, so let’s begin by looking at some examples written in the simple past tense:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| Marie | ate | pasta. |
| I | opened | the box. |
| We | attended | the party. |
| Liam | drank | beer. |
| Grace and Martha | sang | a duet. |
| They | closed | the door. |
| She | cleaned | the floor. |
| He | drove | his car. |
Now here are some examples written in the simple present tense:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| I | kick | the ball. |
| We | bake | a cake. |
| You | brush | your hair. |
| They | grow | plants. |
| She | holds | the kitten. |
| He | reads | his essay. |
| Polly | decorates | her bedroom. |
| Tom | makes | a smoothie. |
Finally, here are some examples written in the simple future tense:
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| She | will write | a poem. |
| He | will win | the competition. |
| They | will play | the cello. |
| You | will finish | you exams. |
| Katie | will walk | her dog. |
| Sam | will open | the window. |
| We | will pick | flowers. |
| I | will drink | hot chocolate. |
Subject Verb Object Languages
We know that the English language uses subject verb object as the natural word order, but what about the other languages that use it too? It is the second most common word order, after all!
Below is a list of languages that use SVO as their natural word order:
- Chinese
- English
- French
- Hausa
- Italian
- Malay
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Thai
- Vietnamese
Some languages are more flexible in terms of word order, so don’t stick to just one «natural» order. For example, Finnish, Hungarian, Ukranian and Russian use both the subject verb object and subject object verb word orders equally.
Below are some example sentences of the SVO word order in different languages, along with the English translations:
| Example sentences | English translation |
| Chinese: 他 踢 足球 | He plays football. |
| Spanish: Hugo come espaguetis. | Hugo eats spaghetti. |
| French: Nous mangeons des pommes. | We eat apples. |
| Italian: Maria beve caffè. | Maria drinks coffee. |
| Hausa: Na rufe kofar. | I closed the door. |
| Portuguese: Ela lavou a roupa. | She washed her clothes. |
Subject Verb Object — Key takeaways
- Subject verb object is one of six main word orders across all languages. It is the second most common word order (behind subject object verb).
- In sentences that follow the subject verb object structure, the subject comes first. This is then followed by the verb and, lastly, the object.
- The subject and verb are needed to create a meaningful sentence, but the object is not always necessary.
- The English language uses subject verb object as the natural (dominant) word order.
- In English, sentences in the active voice use the subject object verb word order. Sentences in the passive voice do not.
A sentence is a statement that consists of at least a subject and a verb. Optionally, it contains an object.
- The subject is what the sentence is about.
- The verb is what the subject does.
- The object is acted upon by the subject and the verb.
I’m Tutor Phil, and in this tutorial I’ll teach you the three main parts of a sentence – the Subject, the Verb, and the Object – and how to use them.
I often refer to these parts of a sentence in my tutorials, and I discovered that not everyone knows what exactly they are and what they mean. So, let me explain.
First, let’s understand what a sentence really is.
What is a sentence?
The word “sentence” comes from the Latin word “sententia,” which means “thought.” And when you think, when you engage in this very important human activity, you must think about something.
That something is your Subject.
In other words, the Subject is what the sentence is about. For example:
“A woman is reading a book.”
In this sentence, “a woman” is the Subject. What or who is the sentence about? It’s about a woman.
Now, the next part of the sentence is the word “reading.” This is the Verb. The Verb tells us what you’re trying to say about the Subject.
So, the Subject is “a woman,” and what about her? Well, she is reading.
And here’s something very important. If we just say, “a woman is reading,” this would be a complete sentence. Remember – any sentence must have at least a Subject and a Verb. Otherwise, it’s not a sentence.
Which means that the Object is optional.
And now we know what a sentence is and what the Subject, the Verb, and the Object are.
Subjects come in different shapes and sizes.
A subject can be just one word or it can consist of many words. Look at this example and notice how a subject can grow in length:
“A woman was reading a book.”
“A woman” is, of course, the subject.
“A woman in a red dress was reading a book.”
“A woman in a red dress” is the subject.
“A woman in a red dress who likes her toast with butter on one side was reading a book.”
You get the point. Everything that comes before the verb in this sentence is still the subject.
A subject that is a gerund
What is a gerund? A gerund is a verb in its “-ing” form that is used as a noun. For example:
“Walking a dog is an enjoyable pastime.”
Here, the subject is “walking a dog,” and the verb is “is.”
Here is another example:
“Smoking kills.”
“Smoking” is a gerund and the subject in this sentence. “Kills” is the verb.
So, don’t get confused because it seems that the sentence contains two verbs. No, one of them is simply a gerund.
Verbs can take all kinds of forms.
Complicated verbs are challenging and can confuse the reader. But if you realize that it’s just the verb, comprehension becomes easier.
Let’s take a look…
“My friend earns good money.”
“Earns” is the verb.
“My friend has been earning good money.”
“Has been earning” is the verb.
“My friend has been able to earn good money.”
“Has been able to earn” is the verb. This form contains three(!) auxiliary (helping) verbs:
- to have (has)
- To be (been)
- To be able to (a form of the verb ‘can’)
So, verbs can be long and complicated. But always look for the main verb. In this sentence, the main verb, the one that really describes the action is the verb “to earn.”
The rest are the helping verbs that enable the writer to describe an action that becomes possible and takes place over a specific period of time.
When you write, just be aware that a verb can get a little out of hand in a sentence.
Objects come in different shapes and sizes, too.
Indeed, objects can sometimes be incredibly long, as I’m about to show you.
Consider this example:
“A woman was reading a book.”
“A book” is, of course, the object.
“A woman was reading a book by an author who died in the last century but had left an extraordinary legacy.”
In this sentence, everything that comes after the verb “was reading” is a 17-word object.
An extreme example of a long object is an English nursery rhyme “The House that Jack Built.” Here is the last sentence of the rhyme:
“This is the farmer sowing his corn, That kept the cock that crow'd in the morn, That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tatter'd and torn, That kissed the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt That lay in the house that Jack built.” (Source: University of Pittsburgh).
In this sentence, “This” is the subject, “is” is the verb, and everything that follows is a 68-word object.
I definitely do not encourage you to write such long subjects or objects or needlessly complicated verbs.
But it’s good to be aware of what can really happen in a sentence.
Objects can be direct or indirect
“I made my son a sandwich.”
The subject and the verb in this sentence are easy to spot: “I made.”
But what is the object in this sentence?
In fact, this sentence has two objects – a direct one and an indirect one.
“A sandwich” is the direct object because I made it. I made the sandwich.
And I made it for my son. So, “my son” is an indirect object.
That is because I did not act directly on my son. But I did act directly on the sandwich.
Here is another example:
“The broker offered my father a deal.”
Here, “a deal” is the direct object, and “my father” is an indirect object.
You can check which object is the direct and which is the indirect one by omitting each one from the sentence one at a time.
“The broker offered my father.”
This doesn’t work because my father is not really the direct object. The broker didn’t offer my father to anyone.
“The broker offered a deal.”
This works because “a deal” is the direct object. We don’t know to whom he offered the deal, but the sentence makes sense.
Only some of the verbs in English can have indirect objects. Some of these verbs are:
- To make
- To offer
- To throw
- To pass
- To write
Tips on Writing Your S-V-O Sentences Well
Begin your sentences with the Subject.
You can prevent many errors just by beginning your sentences with the subject and following up with the verb.
If you start your sentence with the word “By,” for example, you should really have a good grip on your sentence writing. For instance:
“By examining each part of the vehicle revealed that the spark plugs misfired.”
A similar mistake occurred in an essay I checked recently. The sentence above is not a sentence at all. It is a sentence fragment. Why?
Because it lacks the subject. It only has a verb.
The verb here is “revealed.”
But what really revealed the problem with the spark plugs? Nothing. Because everything that comes before the verb in this sentence is not a subject.
Now, let’s remove the word “By,” and we have:
“Examining each part of the vehicle revealed that the spark plugs misfired.”
Now, “Examining each part of the vehicle” is the subject, and “revealed” is the verb. And the sentence works. In fact, only now has it become a sentence.
The word “examining” is a gerund, which is a form of a verb that is used as a noun in its “-ing” form, as we already learned.
This sort of a mistake is very common in student writing. And the key tip here is to simply make sure that you begin your sentences with a subject.
You can add an introductory phrase.
An introductory phrase describes the setting in which the subject and the action occur. In other words, it sets the stage for the rest of the sentence. Here’s an example:
“Despite the bad weather, the captain decided to sail.”
What is the subject? “The captain.”
What is the verb? “Decided.”
What are the first four words in this sentence? They are an introductory phrase. It creates the setting for the subject and the verb.
The captain made his decision in spite of the bad weather. We could simply state that he decided to sail. But by using the introductory phrase, we made the sentence more specific and added meaning.
Some introductory phrases indicate an expansion or a transition:
Expansion indicators:
- “In addition,”
- “Moreover,”
- “Furthermore,”
Transition indicators:
- “However,”
- “Nevertheless,”
- “Unfortunately,”
- “Despite…”
You can add a parenthetical expression.
Like an introductory phrase, a parenthetical expression adds some specifying information to the sentence without being essential to the sentence.
In other words, it is a nonessential, optional part of a sentence that you can use to add some information. Parenthetical expressions are usually enclosed within commas.
“The captain’s daughter, against her father’s advice, decided to sail with the crew.”
“Against her father’s advice” is a parenthetical expression in this sentence.
In this case, this phrase is probably better off as an introductory phrase. It can also be used after a comma at the end of the sentence.
Here is another example:
“Smoking kills. Healthy eating, however, can extend life.”
The first sentence just sets the context here. The word “however” is a parenthetical expression. As you can see, it can be used in the beginning of a sentence perfectly well.
Parenthetical expressions are just a way to have a variety in your writing style. For instance, if you have used “however” in a sentence or two as an introductory phrase, you can now use it in the middle of a sentence as a parenthetical expression.
It will simply give your sentences a variety. You have this option.
Just make sure that the subject and the verb are present and crystal clear in your sentences, whether you choose to use introductory phrases or parenthetical expressions.
By the way, if you like videos, here is the main lesson in a short video I made for you:
Hope this was helpful!
Tutor Phil.
The subject is the actor of the sentence, the person or thing doing the action. The verb is the ‘doing word’, the action of the sentence. The object is the element of the sentence that is acted on, that the verb is directed towards.
A simple example:
Jenny loves painting.
“Jenny” is the subject, “loves” is the verb, and “painting” is the object.
Whilst “painting” is itself a verb, in this sentence it plays the part of the object because it is that which the verb (“loves”) is directed towards.
Most sentences are not as simple as “Jenny loves painting”, however, and will contain a number of verbs, actors and objects. In your native language, you will probably know that a sentence is incomplete, even if you cannot explain why. This is because you have grown up surrounded by that language and have absorbed its rules in practice, even if you do not know what those rules are in theory. But when you are writing sentences for an academic essay, you will probably find that you are using more complicated sentences. Thus it will help you to write correct and clear sentences if you are able to identify the main subject, verb, and object of a sentence, i.e. the essential information the sentence is conveying.
For example:
Even though she enrolled on the course because she wanted to learn print-making, it is painting that Jenny really loves.
Despite the additional information and other verbs (“enrolled”, “wanted”, “learn”), the main verb is “loves” and the main object is “painting”.
Bear in mind that the main verb may be connected to “to do”, or “to be”, which in English are irregular verbs. The different forms of “to be” are notoriously difficult – here is a helpful guide to its conjugations.
If a sentence does not have a subject or a complete main verb, then it is grammatically incorrect. Your word-processing software may underline it in green and say “Fragment (consider revising)”!
For example:
Art of all kinds on display.
This can be made correct by completing the verb: “Art of all kinds was on display”, or by changing “art of all kinds” from the subject to the object by adding a subject: “I saw art of all kinds on display”.
A common grammatical error is subject-verb disagreement, when plural subjects take a singular verb and vice versa. Even first language English speakers may make mistakes in sentences with multiple clauses (see below) or those with compound subjects (i.e. “Jenny and her friends”): here is a US university’s guide to getting it right. You may also struggle with consistency of verb tenses, i.e. making sure that the present, past or future tense of a verb is consistent with the other verbs in the sentence. Purdue University’s resource has good advice on this.