How to Write English Sentences 1 - "start simple"

How to Write English Sentences 1 - "start simple"

We know from the "How to Write English Sentences Introduction" the first stage of organization is choosing the single or complete thought that you are stating, describing, explaining or asking. The thought should include 1. a subject, and 2. an action or state of being. 

The following are examples of starting with a basic thought and experimenting by adding the different English parts of speech, phrases and clauses.


How to Write an English Sentence Examples
For our example of English sentence writing we will start with a basic thought. 

Ross teaches. 

This is a simple subject and verb sentence and states the core of my thought. This sentence can be added to, modified, and enhanced using additional parts of speech, phrases and clauses. 

We can change the subject by exchanging the noun "Ross" for a pronoun "He" and keep the basic thought intact. 

He teaches. 

We can provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding an article, adjective, demonstrative, possessive or a combination to further explain details about the subject. 

The taller Ross teaches.
The blonde Ross teaches. 

We can provide a more accurate expression of my thought by showing the relationship with time by changing the verb tense. 

Ross will teach. - add a modal to create a future tense

Ross taught. - use the past participle to create the simple past 

We can provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding an adverb to explain further details about the verb. 

He teaches well.
He teaches thoroughly. 

We can provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding an object to receive the action generated by the subject. 

Ross teaches students. 
Ross teaches adults. 

We can provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding adjectives to describe the object and provide additional details about the object. 

Ross teaches international students.
Ross teaches international business professionals. 

We can provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding a phrase with additional details. 

Ross teaches in the college.
Ross teaches in Canada and the USA. 

We can add further details or indicate external relationships and provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding a clause. 

Ross was teaching when the rainstorm began. 
Ross was teaching when the hockey playoff's started. 

We can provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding phrases to describe the object. 

Ross teaches international students from Asia and Europe.
Ross teaches international business professionals from large multi-national corporations. 

We can modify the sentence to provide a more accurate expression of my thought by adding clauses to enhance the object. 


Ross teaches international students who booked classes directly from his website. 

The process of writing an English sentence is much easier when the writer starts with a basic thought and systematically experiments with all of the English parts of speech, phrases and clauses to see how to accurately express the complete thought. 

One advanced English sentence writing skill is understanding when one thought is really two thoughts that should be expressed separately. The following is an example: 

Ross teaches international students from Asia and Europe that booked classes directly from his website in Canada.(Awkward) 

In Canada Ross teaches international students from Asia and Europe. Ross's students booked classes directly from his website.(better as two sentences) 

In the next How to Write Sentences Lessons we will discuss: 
Which of the six basic English sentence construction formats best suits your sentence. 

1. No Verb Complement
2. Direct Object Verb Complement
3. Indirect and Direct Object Verb Complements
4. Predicate Nominative Verb Complement
5. Predicate Adjective Verb Complement
6. Direct Object and Objective Complement

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