Major Clause Patterns in English

The importance of learning common clause patterns

Knowledge of clauses is important primarily because they constitute units of meaning. This is reflected in the fact that they are punctuated as such; a single clause may constitute a full sentence terminating in a full stop but combined clauses need to be separated by commas.

There is a limited number of common clause patterns which are commonly used in academic English and they are worth learning because once you do you'll notice them in your reading, your reading will become faster, and you'll start to be able to use these patterns with ease in your writing. This may be especially important if your native language is not an SVO language.

These clause patterns rarely stand alone as complete sentences; in normal academic writing they are embedded in other structures and there can be deep levels of embedding. Often, the only time you see them stand alone is in a grammar book in made-up examples.

The examples presented in these pages are all taken from authentic texts. For each example the important features are highlighted and there are links to further explanations. Mouse over the sentences to see information about the syntax.

1. subject – verb pattern (SV)

And indeed, as you go deeper into the Earth the temperature increases. (Huang 2023) (info)
Go to the subject – verb pattern page.

2. subject – verb – adverbial pattern (SVA)

The answer to this question lies in how our brains are hardwired to think. (Anderson-Sieg 2021) (info)
Go to the subject – verb – adverbial page.

3. subject – verb – direct object pattern (SVO_d )

Solar panels on this roof create energy. (Abbas 2019)
Go to the subject – verb – direct object page.

4. subject – verb – subject predicative pattern (SVP_s )

The mimic octopus is particularly clever. (Spencer and Papastamatiou 2022) (info)
Go to the subject – verb – subject predicative page.

5. subject – verb – prepositional object pattern (SVO_p )

Unstable atoms turn into stable atoms over time at a steady and predictable pace. (Skromne 2022)
Go to the subject – verb – prepositional object page.

6. subject – verb – direct object – adverbial pattern (SVO_d A )

Another helpful trait is that cockroaches lay their eggs in little protective cases. (Lovett 2022)
Go to the subject – verb – direct object – adverbial page.

7. subject – verb – indirect object – direct object pattern (SVO_i O_d )

Many towns and cities have made this the rule. (O’Neill 2023)
Go to the subject – verb – indirect object – direct object page.

8. subject – verb – direct object – object predicative pattern (SVO_d P_o )

They find such explanations exciting. (Satterley 2020)
Go to the subject – verb – direct object object predicative page.

9. subject – verb – direct object – prepositional object pattern (SVO_dO_p )

We find dinosaur fossils in the ground, in riverbeds and lakes, and on the sides of cliffs and mountains. (Ausich 2021)
Go to the subject – verb – direct object – prepositional object page.

10. subject – verb – complement clause pattern (SVC)

We know that the Earth has had at least five major ice ages. (Su 2022)
Go to the subject – verb – complement page.

11. subject – verb – noun phrase – complement clause pattern (SVOC)

Animals show that there are many places to make a home. (Wishart 2020)
Go to the subject – verb – noun phrase – complement page.

Clause Patterns

The importance of learning common clause patterns

1. subject – verb pattern (SV)

2. subject – verb – adverbial pattern (SVA)

3. subject – verb – direct object pattern (SVOd )

4. subject – verb – subject predicative pattern (SVPs )

5. subject – verb – prepositional object pattern (SVOp )

6. subject – verb – direct object – adverbial pattern (SVOd A )

7. subject – verb – indirect object – direct object pattern (SVOi Od )

8. subject – verb – direct object – object predicative pattern (SVOd Po )

9. subject – verb – direct object – prepositional object pattern (SVOdOp )