Sentence Structure Teaching Resources
Teach students the elements of sentence structure this school year with printable worksheets, sentence-building activities, sorting games and more primary school teaching resources designed to help extend your students' understanding of how to write clear and concise sentences that follow the rules of English grammar.
This extensive collection of teaching resources has been created by teachers for teachers like you. Aligned to the National curriculum, the English collection includes editable worksheets and teaching presentations and more to save primary teachers time on lesson planning.
Created by expert teachers, each resource in this sentence collection has been carefully reviewed and curated by our team. That means it's ready to use in the classroom! You'll even find editable resources, plus differentiated options.
New to teaching about sentence structure, or just looking for fresh ways to engage your students? Read on for a primer from our teaching team!
English Sentence Structure Explained
From subjects to predicates, objects to clauses, the English language is packed with rules specific to sentence structure that students need to learn on the way to becoming proficient writers.
Ready to break down how to build a sentence in English and look at some examples? Let's go!
Subject
The subject of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that performs the action or is described in the sentence.
For example, in the sentence 'Jaquan did his homework,' Jaquan is the subject.
Predicate
The predicate of a sentence expresses the action or state of being in a sentence.
Let's go back to the sentence 'Jaquan did his homework.' In this case, did is the predicate.
Object
The object of a sentence is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb.
For example, 'homework' would be the object in 'Jaquan did his homework.'
Complement
The complement of a sentence is a word or phrase that completes the meaning of a sentence.
The complement can be a direct object, indirect object or subject complement.
For example: 'a doctor' in 'She became a doctor.'
Modifier
A modifier in a sentence provides additional information about a word or phrase in the sentence. It can be an adjective or an adverb. Example: 'kind' in 'She was a kind teacher.'
What Are Clauses?
Clauses are groups of words containing a subject and a verb. They're important to understand when learning sentence structure. After all, one kind of clause is a sentence!
There are two main types of clauses:
- Independent Clause — An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence because it expresses a complete thought. For example: 'I did all of my homework.'
- Dependent Clause — A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence because it does not express a complete thought. It relies on an independent clause to make sense. Example: 'When I went to the store,' (Dependent clause) 'I bought an apple.' (Independent clause). Dependent clauses can be paired with independent clauses to build sentences.
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Compound-Complex Sentence Test
Assess your students' understanding of compound-complex sentences with a printable Compound-Complex Sentence Test.
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Compound Sentences Interactive Game
Use this camp-themed simple and compound sentences interactive game to help students practise identifying simple and compound sentences.
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Time Connectives Worksheet Pack
Enhance your students' writing with this time connectives worksheet pack featuring 9 scaffolded activities that help young writers master sequencing events and ideas.
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Connection Words in Informative Writing Worksheet Pack
Teach how connection words can be used to link ideas in informative writing with this set of 5 activity worksheets with answers.
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Subject Verb Agreement PowerPoint
Use this subject-verb agreement PowerPoint to teach your students about singular and plural subject-verb agreement in a clear and engaging way.
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Simple Sentence Building Activity - Caterpillar
Use this simple sentence building activity in the form of a caterpillar to have students identify the parts of a simple sentence.
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Cohesive Devices Teaching Slides
Explore cohesive devices with this engaging teaching slide deck designed to help primary students understand and use them confidently in their writing.
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Simple Sentence Posters
Help students understand what makes a simple sentence with this clear and engaging Simple Sentence Poster Pack.
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Embedded Clause Worksheets
Teach the embedded clause with these engaging and easy-to-use worksheets designed to build understanding through clear examples and guided practice.
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Punctuation & Sentence Types Worksheets (1-2)
Identify the four types of sentences and their punctuation marks with a printable set of Punctuation & Sentence Type Worksheets for Grade 1 and Grade 2.
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Identifying Dependent Clauses Worksheet
Practise identifying dependent clauses in complex sentences with a dependent clause worksheet.
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Independent Clauses and Dependent Clauses Matching Game
Download this independent clause and dependent clause matching game to help your students comprehend and build complex sentences.
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What Is a Clause? Teaching Slides
Explain what is a clause to help students confidently identify subjects and verbs and build stronger, more accurate sentences across their writing.
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Combining Sentences Worksheet Pack
Download and use our combining sentences worksheet pack to help your students learn to combine sentences in various ways.
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Subject Verb Agreement Singular and Plural Worksheet Pack
Enhance student understanding of subject-verb agreement (singular and plural) with this set of five engaging worksheets perfect for primary school grammar lessons.
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Grammar Conventions - Year 6 Grammar and Punctuation Test Pack
Assess student knowledge of grammar conventions with a printable Year 6 Grammar and Punctuation Test Pack
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Types of Clauses Posters
Introduce your students to the types of sentence clauses with a set of printable Types of Clauses Anchor Charts.
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Trace, Draw and Order Sentences Worksheets
Use this set of sentence cut-and-paste worksheets to help your students build simple sentences.
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Sentence in Correct Order Digital Game
Help your students master the fundamentals of sentence structure with the Arrange Sentence in Correct Order Game!
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Cohesive Sentence Interactive Activity
Engage students with interactive slides that teach the features of a cohesive sentence through a variety of hands-on activities.
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Colour By Code - Simple or Compound Sentence Worksheet
Use a Colour By Code Simple or Compound Sentence worksheet to help your students practise identifying simple and compound sentence types.
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Scrambled Sentences Worksheets
Unscramble sentences and practise writing complete statements with a set of printable Scrambled Sentences Worksheets.
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Subject Verb Agreement Collective Nouns Worksheet Pack
Download this subject-verb agreement collective nouns worksheet pack to help your students master tricky singular and plural verb choices when using collective nouns.
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Compound Sentences Quiz
Assess your students ability to identify, write, and edit compound sentences with a printable Compound Sentence Quiz.
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Complete the Sentences – Worksheets for Beginning Writers
A set of 10 worksheets for students to practise completing simple sentences.
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Adjectival Clause Teaching Slides
Teach the power of the adjectival clause with this engaging slide deck designed to help primary school students boost their descriptive writing.
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Dependent Clause Worksheets
Explore how a dependent clause can show purpose, time, reason, concession and condition with this engaging set of worksheets for Year 5 students.
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Writing Compound-Complex Sentences Worksheet
Use a Compound-Complex Sentences Worksheet to help your upper primary students learn to use advanced sentence structures in their writing.
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Subject Verb Agreement Worksheets – Compound Subjects
Enhance student understanding with subject-verb agreement worksheets that provide various activities using compound subjects.
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A or An? - Worksheets
Teach when to use A or An as an article with a printable pack of 'A or An' Worksheets.
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Building Strong Sentences Teaching Presentation
Share this 15-slide teaching presentation with your students to help them understand the key grammar concepts of compound sentences,coordinating conjunctions and clauses.
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Roll and Write – Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences
An interactive activity to help students practise writing simple, compound and complex sentences.
- Sentence Structure Worksheets
- Sentence Structure Games
- Sentence Structure Teaching Presentations
- Sentence Structure Posters
- Sentence Structure for Foundation Year
- Sentence Structure for Year 1
- Sentence Structure for Year 2
- Sentence Structure for Year 3
- Sentence Structure for Year 4
- Sentence Structure for Year 5
- Sentence Structure for Year 6