Chapter 1: The Simple Sentence
This first chapter of your textbook starts with the building blocks of writing: words and simple sentences. A simple sentence includes a subject and a verb and an idea that makes the foundation for all the other types of sentences we write. It is crucial for you to understand what a verb is and what a verb is not. It is equally important for you to be able to accurately identify the subject of a sentence. Once you know how to accurately identify the verb and the subject, you can create all types of sentences that will make your writing even better. (来源:专业英语学习网站 http://www.EnglishCN.com)
The easiest point to start with is the verb. Verbs can be either action words or being words. Verbs often need helpers so this chapter includes a list of helping verbs. In addition, verbs often appear in other forms like -ing. These forms are not main verbs and this chapter explains how to identify these verbs.
Once you have located the verb(s) in a sentence, the next step is to find the subject. Finding the subject is as easy as asking the question "Who or what is doing that action?" Just as verbs have a few exceptions so do subjects. In this chapter you will learn about prepositional phrases and their role in a sentence. Chapter 1 also looks at complex word order and how to identify the subjects and verbs in a sentence when the word order is a little unusual.
Once you have mastered the basic building blocks of a sentence you will be ready to start writing sentences in various ways that will make your writing interesting.