Expanding Sentences

The examples above are basic sentences. Basic sentences can be expanded, or lengthened,
by adding adjectives, adverbs and objects.

1. Subject-Verb

 Jack eats.
This is the basic subject-verb pattern.

 Jack quickly eats.
An adverb is added (quickly) to tell how Jack eats.  
 
 Jack quickly eats carrots.
An object is added (carrots) to tell what Jack eats.

 Jack quickly eats carrots at home.

Another adverb is added (at home) to tell where Jack eats.

 Jack quickly eats fresh carrots at home.

An adjective is added (fresh) to tell what kind of carrots Jack eats.

2. Subject-Verb-Object

 Bill kicks the ball.        

This is a basic subject-verb-object pattern.

 Bill kicks the red ball.

An adjective is added (red) to tell the color of the ball.

 Bill kicks the red ball hard.

An adverb is added (hard) to tell how Bill kicks the ball.

 Bill kicks the red ball hard every day.

Another adverb is added (every day) to tell when Bill kicks the ball.

3. Subject-Verb-Adjective

 She looks pretty.

This is the basic subject-verb-adjective pattern.

 She looks pretty tonight.

An adverb is added (tonight) to tell when she looks pretty.

 Lisa looks pretty tonight.

The subject is identified with a name (Lisa).

4. Subject-Verb-Adverb
  Apples are everywhere.
This is the basic subject-verb-adverb pattern.

 Green apples are everywhere.

An adjective is added (green) to describe the apples.

 Ripe, green apples are everywhere. 

A series of adjectives are added (ripe and green) to describe the apples.

5. Subject-Verb-Noun

 The boy is a student.

This is the basic subject-verb-noun sentence pattern.

 Jon is a student. 
The subject is identified with a name (Jon).

 Jon is a smart student.
An adjective is added (smart) to tell what kind of student Jon is.

 Jon is a smart student at school.

An adverb is added (at school) to tell where Jon is a smart student

An adverb is a word that describes or gives more information about a verb, an adjective,
another adverb, or even an entire sentence.
 
Examples:

yesterday        quickly        really        heavily        fast        sometimes

hard        suddenly        today        too        never        very 

In a previous lesson, we learned the basics of adverb word order in a sentence. You can
review that lesson here: Word Order in English: Adverbs.
 
Here is a quick review of that lesson:
 
Adverbs and adverb phrases can be placed in three places in a sentence:
 
1. At the front of the sentence, before the subject

 Yesterday, the teacher taught the students.

2. At the end of a sentence, after the object

  The students will take the test tomorrow.

3. In the middle of a sentence (before or after the verb) or in the middle of a

group of verbs

 before the verb:

She often studies before class.

 after the verb:

The student works quietly at her desk.

 in the middle of a group of verbs:

The teacher will quickly teach the students.

Adverbs are usually placed near the verb that they modify. Most adverbscan be placed in

any of the positions in a sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence. 

(But different placements emphasize different things. Placing the adverb at the
end gives more emphasis to the adverb.) 

Example:

1. Suddenly, I ran to the door.

2. I suddenly ran to the door.

3. I ran to the door suddenly. 

The placement of suddenly does not change the meaning of the sentence.

However, the placement of some adverbs can greatly change the meaning of a sentence.

Example:

 Only I love you. (I love you. Nobody else loves you.)

 I only love you. (I love you. I do not love anything else.)

 I love only you. (You are the only person I love. I do not love anybody else.)
  I love you only. (You are the only person I love. I do not love anybody else.)

The fourth sentence has the same meaning as the third sentence, but the third sentence
has a stronger emphasis.

The order of English words is important if you want to communicate your thoughts and
ideas. You can review basic English word order with this lesson: Word Order in English.

Types of adverbs
Jump directly to rules:

adverbs of manner

adverbs of place

adverbs of frequency

adverbs of time

adverb clauses of purpose / reason

adverbs of degree

order of adverbs: more than one adverb

There are many types of adverbs in English. Each type of adverb has its own rules for
placement in a sentence. Now, let us look at the rules of word order with each specific type
of adverb. 

Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner tell us how an action is done or happens. They answer the following
question: 
 How?

well    quickly    softly    loudly    beautifully    dangerously    secretly    

weakly    happily    sadly    hard    fast    quietly    slowly    roughly    

greedily    nicely    badly    hungrily    angrily    thankfully

 
Adverbs of manner are usually placed after the main verb or after theobject in
a sentence.
 
 
After the main verb

 She sings well.

 She sings loudly.

 She sings beautifully.

 
After the object 

 She sings the song well.

 She sings the song loudly.

 She sings the song beautifully.

 
An adverb of manner cannot be placed between a verb and its direct
object. The adverb must be placed before the verb or at the end of theclause.

 
Incorrect:

 She cleans quickly the house.
Correct:

 She cleans the house quickly.

 She quickly cleans the house.

Incorrect:

 He walks slowly the dog.

Correct:

 He walks the dog slowly.

 He slowly walks the dog.

 
When there is a preposition before the verb’s object, place the adverb of manner either
before the preposition, before the verb, or after theobject.
 
Before the preposition

 She listened secretly to their conversation.

 Tom climbed weakly out of bed.

 
Before the verb

 She secretly listened to their conversation.

 Tom weakly climbed out of bed.

 
After the object

 She listened to their conversation secretly.

 Tom climbed out of bed weakly.
Return to "Types of adverbs"

Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place show us the location of the action or state. They answer the following
question:

Where?

home    here    there    outside    inside    away    around 

   
anywhere    abroad    up    down    out    in    

 
Adverbs of place are usually placed after the main verb or at the end of the clause they
modify.
 
After the main verb

 He ran home.

 He ran outside to his car.

 He ran everywhere with his mom.

 
At the end of the clause

 He ran all the way home.

 He ran to his car outside by the garage.

 He ran with his mom everywhere.

 
Here and there are special adverbs of place. They have special rules.

 The winner is here.

 Put the book over there.

 She walks there every morning.

 
Here and there can also be placed at the beginning of a sentence to add emphasis. 
 
If the subject of the sentence is a noun, here and there are followed by averb.

 Here is the winner!

 Here is my sister!

 There goes our car!

 There went my fox!

 
If the subject of the sentence is a pronoun, here and there are followed by the pronoun.

 Here she is!

 Here it is!

 There it is!

 There they are!

 Return to "Types of adverbs"

Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency show us the rate of the action or state. They answer the following
question:
 How often?

always    never    sometimes    often    rarely    usually    occasionally 

Adverbs of frequency are usually placed before the main verb but afterauxiliary

(helping) verbs.
 
Exception: When the main verb is to be, the adverb is placed after the main verb.
 

Before the main verb

 I always brush my teeth after eating food.

 Nick usually washes the dishes.

 We often meet to chat.

 
Before the main verb, but after the auxiliary verb

 She has sometimes asked for my advice.

 We have rarely talked on the phone.

 Nick will never make a million dollars. 

Adverbs of frequency with the verb to be

 I am always happy.

 He is usually here on time.

 They are occasionally late.
Some adverbs of frequency can also be placed at the beginning or end of a
sentence to add emphasis to the meaning of the adverb. 

 Occasionally they are late.

 They are late occasionally.

 Sometimes I like children.

 I like children sometimes.

 
Return to "Types of adverbs"

Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time show us the time of the action or state. They answer the following
question:

When? 

now    sooner    later    yesterday    tomorrow

early        before        lately        last year

  

Adverbs of time can be used to create emphasis in a sentence.  Adverbs of time are

most commonly put at the end of a sentence, but they can sometimes be placed at the
beginning of the sentence to emphasize the time.

Examples:

 I will study now.

 Now I will study. (The time is more important.

 She will study later.

 Later she will study. (The time is more important.)

 Return to "Types of adverbs"

Adverb clause of purpose / reason 

An adverb clause of purpose (or reason) is a clause that tells us the reason the action is
happening. An adverb clause cannot be by itself as asentence. It must be part of a
sentence. 
 
An adverb clause of reason usually begins with subordinating conjunctions
like because, as, since, and that.

 I exercise because I enjoy it.

 My sister says that you are kind.

 He works two jobs since he is in debt.

Using infinitive verbs to form adverbs

An infinitive is just the basic form of a verb: to + verb.

to walk        to run        to sing        to play        to sleep 

 
You can use the infinitive verb to form an adverb clause of purpose/reason.
 

 She runs fast to catch the train. (to catch = infinitive)

 Mom walks outside to get the mail. (to get = infinitive) 

 She goes home at 6:00 p.m. to cook dinner. (to cook = infinitive)

Return to "Types of adverbs"

Adverbs of degree
Adverbs of degree show us the strength or degree of the action or state. 

They answer the following questions: 

 How much? To what degree?

very     highly    totally    perfectly    partially    

almost    too    enough    just    quite    extremely

 
Adverbs of degree are usually placed before the adjective, adverb, or verbthat they
modify. 

 She is totally finished.

 She is a perfectly happy girl.

 He is extremely tired. 

There are exceptions to this rule. The words too, enough, very,and extremely are

examples of adverbs of degree. They have their own rules.
 
The adverb too has two meanings. 

 Too meaning also

 Too meaning excessively

Too = also
Too meaning also is placed at the end of the clause it modifies, often at the end of
the sentence.

 She is happy too.

 Do you want to go too?

 Tim likes Jill, and Jill likes Tim too.

Too = excessively

Too meaning excessively is placed before the adjective or adverb it modifies.

 The ice cream is too sweet.

 He is too short.

 Isn’t he too big for that shirt?

 The coffee is too hot.

 
When too is used like this, the modified word is often followed by to + infinitive.

 The ice cream is too sweet to eat fast.

 He is too short to see over the fence.

 The tea is too hot to drink.

 
The adverb very
 
The adverb very means extremely or really. 
 
The adverb very is placed before the adjective or adverb it modifies to make its meaning
stronger.  

 I am very tired.

 She is very short.

 He can run very fast.

Return to "Types of adverbs"

  

Order of adverbs: 
more than one adverb in a sentence
When there is more than one adverb in a sentence describing a verb, they usually go in
this order: manner, place (location), frequency, time,reason/purpose.

It is uncommon to use all five types of adverbs to modify the same word. If a sentence uses
two or more adverbs, it is good to follow this order to sound natural. 
 
The adverbs in the sentences below are color-coded to show order ofadverbs.  

manner, place, frequency, time, reason/purpose

 She runs quickly outside every morning before school to lose weight.

 The teacher gives instructions loudly in the classroom at the end of the day as

the students prepare to go home.

 Dad walks impatiently home every evening after work.

 Tim reads there each day after lunch.

 
When there is more than one of the same type of adverb, we order them based on how
specific the information is. The most specific adverb is placed first.

 She runs outside  at 6:30 a.m. (more specific) before school (less specific) to

lose weight.

 Tim reads on the floor (more specific) in his bedroom (less specific) after lunch.

 is the standard word order for English sentences:
 
Subject + Verb + Direct Object
 
He bought flowers.

 
You can extend this sentence with more parts of speech.
 
Subject  + Verb + Direct Object + Indirect Object + Prepositional Phrase
 
He bought flowers for his wife on Mother’s Day.

 
There are a few ways you can change the word order in standard sentences to add
emphasis or focus to a certain part of the sentence. In this lesson, we will learn some of
the ways to add emphasis in sentences in English.

1 .Establishing why your topic (X) is important

X is the main / leading / primary / major cause of ..
Xs are a common / useful / critical part of…
Xs are among the most widely used / commonly discussed / well-known / well-documented /
widespread / commonly investigated types of …
X is recognized as being / believed to be / widely considered to be the most important

2.Outlining the past-present history of the study of X (no direct references to the literature)
Last century X was considered to be / viewed as / seen as the most …
Initial / Preliminary / The first studies of X considered it to be
Traditionally X / In the history of X, the focus has always been …

3.Outlining the possible future of X

The next decade is likely to see / witness a considerable rise in X
In the next few years X will become / is likely to have become
Within the next few years, X is set / destined / likely to become an important component in …

4.Indicating the gap in knowledge and possible limitations

Few researchers have addressed the problem / issue / question of …
Previous work has only focused on / been limited to / failed to address …
A basic / common / fundamental / crucial / major issue of …

In spite of / Despite its shortcomings, this method has been widely applied to …
However, there is still a need for / has been little discussion on …
Moreover, other solutions / research programs / approaches have failed to provide …
Most studies have only focused / tended to focus on …
To date / Until now this methodology has only been applied

5.Stating the aim of your paper and its contribution

In this report / paper / review / study we …
This paper outlines / proposes / describes / presents a new approach to …
This paper examines / seeks to address / focuses on / discusses / investigates how to solve …
This paper is an overview of / a review of / a report on / a preliminary attempt to …
The present paper aims to validate / call into question / refute Peng’s findings regarding …
X is presented / described / analyzed / computed / investigated / examined / introduced / discussed in

6.Explaining the key terminology in your field

Several authors have attempted to define X, but as yet / currently / at the time of writing there is still
no accepted definition.
In broad / general terms, X is / can be defined as a way to …
The broad / general / generally accepted use of the term X refers to …
X is sometimes equated with / embodies a series of …
X, Y and Z are three kinds / types / categories / classes of languages.

7.Explaining how you will use terminology and acronyms in your paper
The acronym PC stands for / denotes …
The subjects (henceforth named / hereafter ‘X’) are…
The subject, which we shall call / refer to as ‘X’, is …
Throughout this paper / section we use the terms ‘mafia’ and ‘the mob’ interchangeably, following /

8.Giving the structure of paper - what is and is not included

This paper is organized as follows / divided into five sections.
The first section / Section 1 gives a brief overview of …
The second section examines / analyses …
In the third section a case study is presented / analyzed …
A new methodology is described / outlined in the fourth section …

9.Giving general panorama of past-to-present literature

There is a considerable / vast amount of literature on …
In the literature there are many / several / a surprising number of / few examples of …
What we know / is known about X is largely based on …
Much / Not much / Very little is known about …
Many / Few studies have been published on … [Ref]
Various approaches have been proposed / put forward / suggested / hypothesized to solve this issue
[Ref].
X has been identified / indicated as being … [Ref]
X has been shown / demonstrated / proved / found to be … [Ref]

10.Reviewing past literature

In their seminal / groundbreaking / cutting edge paper of 2001, Peters and Jones …
Initial / Preliminary work in this field focused primarily on …
Some preliminary work was carried out in the early 1990s / several years ago …
Doyle in 2000 was among / one of the first to …
The first investigations into / studies on X found that …

11.Reviewing subsequent and more recent literature

Experiments on X were conducted / carried out / performed on X in 2009 by a group of researchers
from …
In a major advance in 2010, Berlusconi et al. surveyed / interviewed …
Jeffries and co-workers [2011] measured / calculated / estimated …
In [67] the authors investigated / studied / analyzed …
A recent review of the literature on this topic / subject / matter / area [2012] found that …
12.Reporting what specific authors have said
In her analysis / review / overview / critique of X, Bertram [2] questions the need for …
In his introduction to / seminal article on / investigation into X, Schneider [3] shows that …
Dee [4] developed / reported on a new method for X and concluded that …
Southern’s group [5] calls into question some past assumptions / hypotheses / theories about X.
Burgess [6], an authority on X, notes / mentions / highlights / states / affirms that …
She questions / wonders / considers / investigates whether [or not] X can …

13.Highlighting limitations of previous studies - authors not mentioned by name

Research has tended to focus on X rather than Y. An additional problem is that / Moreover X is …
The main limitation / downside / disadvantage / pitfall / shortfall of X is …
One of the major drawbacks to adopting / using / exploiting this system is …
This is something of a pitfall / disadvantage …
A well-known / major / serious criticism of X is …
A key problem with much of the literature on / regarding / in relation to X is that …
This raises many questions about / as to / regarding whether X should be used for …
One question / issue that needs to be asked / raised is …
Unfortunately, it does not / fails to / neglects to explain why …

14.Highlighting limitations of previous studies - authors mentioned by name

Peng [31] claimed / contended that X is … but she failed to provide adequate proof of this finding.
Peng’s findings do not seem / appear to support his conclusions.
This has led authors such as / for example / for instance Mithran [32], Yasmin [34] and Hai [35] to
investigate ..
The shortcomings / pitfalls / flaws of their method have been clearly recognized.
A serious weakness / limitation / drawback with this argument, however, is that …
Their approach is not well suited to / appropriate for / suitable for …
The main weakness in their study is that they make no attempt to … / offer no explanation for … /
they overlook …
Their experiments

15.Describing purpose of testing / methods used

In order to identify / understand / investigate / study / analyze X …
To enable / allow us to … , we …
To see / determine / check / verify / determine whether …
To control / test for X, Y was done.
So that we could / would be able to do X, we …

16.Describing the apparatus and materials used and their source

The instrument used / utilized / adopted / employed was …
The apparatus consists of / is made up of / is composed of / is based on …
The device was designed / developed / set up in order to …
X incorporates / exploits / makes use of the latest technological advances.
The system comes complete / is equipped / is fully integrated / is fitted with a …

17.Reporting software used

The software application / program / package used to analyze the data was SoftGather (Softsift plc,
London).
The data were obtained / collected using SoftGather.
Data management / analysis was performed by / using SoftGather.
X was carried out / performed / analyzed / calculated / determined using SoftGather.
Statistical significance was analyzed by using / through the use of SoftGather.

18.Formulating equations, theories and theorems

This problem can be outlined / phrased / posed in terms of …
The problem is ruled by / governed by / related to / correlated to …
This theorem asserts / states that …
The resulting integrals / solution to X can be expressed as …
… where T stands for / denotes / identifies / is an abbreviation for time.
By substituting / Substituting / Substitution into …
Combining / Integrating / Eliminating .. we have that: …
Taking advantage of / Exploiting / Making use of X, we …
On combining this result with X, we deduce / conclude that …
Subtracting X from Y, we have that / obtain / get …
Equation 1 shows / reveals that
This gives the formal solution / allows a formal solution to be found …

19.Explaining why you chose your specific method, model, equipment, sample etc.
The aim / purpose of X is to do Y. Consequently we / As a result we / Therefore we / We thus …
This method / model / system was chosen because it is one of the most practical / feasible / economic
/ rapid ways to …
We chose this particular apparatus because / on account of the fact that / due to / since …
It was decided that the best procedure / method / equipment for this investigation / study was to …
An X approach was chosen / selected in order to …

20.Explaining the preparation of samples, solutions etc.

We used reliable / innovative / classic / traditional techniques based on the recommendations of …
Xs were prepared as described by / according to / following Jude [2010].
Xs were prepared in accordance with / in compliance with / as required by….
Y was prepared using the same / a similar procedure as for X.
All samples were carefully / thoroughly checked for …

21.Indicating the time frame (past tenses)

Initial studies were made / performed / done / carried out / executed using the conditions described
above over / for a period of …
X was collected / used / tested / characterized / assessed during the first / initial step.
Prior to / Before doing X, we did Y.
First we estimated / determined the value of X, then / subsequently we studied / analyzed / evaluated

22.Indicating the time frame in a general process (present tenses)

In the first step / During the first phase / In the initial stage of the process …
Once / As soon as / After X has been done, we can then do Y.
This sets the stage / We are now ready for the next step.
At this point / Now X can be …
After / When / As soon as these steps have been carried out, X …
With the completion of these steps / When these steps have been completed, we are now ready to …
This condition cannot be reached until / unless X has been …
When / As soon as X is ready, the final adjustments can be made.

23.Describing benefits of your method, equipment etc.

This method represents a viable / valuable / useful / groundbreaking / innovative alternative to …
This equipment has the ability / capacity / potential to outperform all previous Xs.
This apparatus has several / many interesting features / characteristics.
Our method has many interesting / attractive / beneficial / useful / practical / effective / valuable
applications.

24.Explaining how you got your results

To assess X / evaluate X / distinguish between X and Y, Z was used.
X analysis was used to test / predict / confirm Y.
Changes in X were identified / calculated / compared using …
The correlation / difference between X and Y was tested.
The first set of analyses investigated / examined / confirmed / hig

25.Stating what you found

These tests revealed / showed / highlighted that …
Strong / Some / No evidence of X was found …
Interestingly / Surprisingly / Unexpectedly, for high values of X, Y was found ..
There was a significant positive / no correlation between …
On average / Generally speaking / Broadly speaking, we found values for X of …
The average / mean score for X was …
This result is significant only / exclusively at an X level.
Further analysis / analyses / tests / examinations / replications showed that …
26. Stating what you did not find
No significant difference / correlation was found / identified / revealed / detected / observed /
highlighted between ….
There were no significant differences between X and Y in terms of Z / with regard to Z / as far as Z is
concerned.
The analysis did not show / reveal / identify / confirm any significant differences between …
None of these differences were / Not one of these differences was statistically significant.
Overall / Taken as a whole / Generally speaking / With a few exceptions, our results show X did not
affect Y.
27. Highlighting significant results and achievements
The most striking / remarkable result to emerge from the data is that …
Interestingly / Curiously / Remarkably / Inexplicably, this correlation is related to ….
Significantly / Importantly / Crucially / Critically, X is …
The correlation between X and Y is interesting / of interest / worth noting / noteworthy / worth
mentioning because …
The most surprising / remarkable / intriguing correlation is with the …
The single most striking / conspicuous / marked observation to emerge from the data comparison
was …

It is interesting / critical / crucial / important / fundamental to note that …

We believe that / As far as we know / As far as we aware this is the first time that X …
We believe that / We are of the opinion that / In our view the result emphasizes the validity of our
model.
This result has further strengthened our confidence in X / conviction that X is / hypothesis that X is
…
Our technique shows a clear / clearly has an advantage over …
The importance of X cannot be stressed / emphasized too much.
This underlines / highlights / stresses / proves / demonstrates just how important X is.
The utility of X is thus underlined / highlighted / stressed / proved / demonstrated.
This finding confirms / points to / highlights / reinforces / validates the usefulness of X as a …
Our study provides additional support for / further evidence for / considerable insight into X.
These results extend / further / widen our knowledge of X.
These results offer compelling / indisputable / crucial / overwhelming / powerful / invaluable /
unprecedented / unique / vital evidence for …
28.. Stating that your results confirm previous evidence
Our experiments confirm / corroborate / are in line with / are consistent with previous results [Wiley
2009].
The values are barely / scarcely / hardly distinguishable from [Li 2010] who …
This value has been found to be / is typical of X.
This is in good agreement / in complete agreement / consistent with …
This fits / matches / concurs well with [65] and also confirms our earlier / previous findings [39, 40,
41].
This confirms / supports / lends support to / substantiates previous findings in the literature …
These values correlate favorably / satisfactorily / fairly well with Svenson [2009] and further
support the idea / role / concept of …
Further tests carried out with X confirmed / corroborated / concurred with our initial findings.
As proposed / suggested / reported / indicated / put forward by Dong [2011], the evidence we found
points to …
Our results share / have a number of similarities with Claire et al.’s [2012] findings …
29. Stating that your results are in contrast with previous evidence
It was found that X = 2, whereas / on the other hand Kamatchi [2011] found that …
We found much higher values for X than / with respect to those reported by Pandey [2000].
Although / Despite the fact that Li and Mithran [2014] found that X = 2 we found that X = 3.
In contrast to / contradiction with earlier findings [Castenas, 2009], we …
This study has not confirmed previous research on X. However / Nevertheless / Despite this, it
serves to …