Basic sentence structures list

New learners of English need more than vocabulary. They also need to understand the basic sentence structures that support everyday communication.

Learning how words fit together helps learners express ideas clearly and take part in conversations with confidence.

Language functions and key sentence structures that pupils need to learn

- What's this? It's a ....
- What are these? They're .....
- Is this a ...? Yes, it is or no it isn't.
- Are these ...? Yes, they are? No, they aren't.
- Can I have a...please?
- What are you doing? I'm doing...
- What is she or he doing? She or he is doing...
- Are you doing? Yes, I am or no I'm not
- Is she or he doing? Yes they are or no they aren't etc.
Prepositions:
- Where's 'the' or 'my' or 'your'? It's here or there or it's on, in, under, beside etc.
- What's the matter? I've hurt or lost or broken... This hurts or is broken or is missing etc.
- That's mine or his, hers, ours etc.
- I've got a...
- Have you got a? Yes I have or no I haven't
- What colour is this? It's red or blue etc.
- How big, long or wide is this? It's this many cm long or wide
- They're the same or different
- What's it made of? It’s made of wood or paper etc.
- How many are there? There is or are 1, 2, 3 etc.
- A lot/many/some/a few/etc.
- I can...
- Can you..? Yes I can or no I can't
Simple past tense:
- I went, saw, played etc.
- Did you go, see, play etc.? Yes, I did or no I didn't
- What does a chemist or bus driver etc. do? He or she does...
- What do you do after school?
- I'm going to be an astronaut, film star or zookeeper
- We will look at that tomorrow
- I'm holding a party on Sunday
- I've hurt, broken or lost my...
- Has she or he gone, seen or written?
- You must, mustn't, have to, ought to or should…

Use repetition and modelling in lessons. Give pupils regular opportunities to hear and practice these sentence structures through games and collaborative speaking activities.