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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Sentence Cohesion Worksheet Pack
Use this sentence cohesion worksheet pack to teach your students about how to write clear sentences containing strongly connected ideas.
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Alice in Wonderland Escape Room – Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences
Help Alice escape Sentence Land in this Alice in Wonderland Escape Room Game covering simple, compound and complex sentences.
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Cut and Paste Sentences Worksheets (F-1)
Practise making simple sentences with a set of printable Cut and Paste Sentence Worksheets.
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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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Connecting Words in Narrative Writing Worksheet Pack
Teach how connecting words can be used to link ideas in narrative writing with this set of 5 activity worksheets with answers.
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Topic Sentence Worksheet Pack
Use this topic sentence worksheet pack to teach your students about how to structure clear and cohesive paragraphs using strong opening statements.
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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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Sentence Structure Practice Interactive Activity (Middle Primary)
Use this interactive quiz to review key sentence structure concepts with your Year 3 and 4 students.
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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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Cohesion in a Paragraph Worksheet Pack
Strengthen cohesion in a paragraph with these five engaging worksheets designed to help students master cohesive devices while making writing more connected.
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Cohesive Devices List
Download this cohesive devices list for your students to refer to when writing a variety of text types.
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Build and Write a Sentence – Worksheets
Practise building and writing sentences with a set of printable Build and Write a Sentence Worksheets.
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Sentence Structure Practice Interactive Activity (Lower Years)
Support early sentence construction with this interactive grammar PowerPoint.
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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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Compound Sentences Interactive Game
Play a Compound Sentences Interactive game to practise identifying, correcting, and writing compound sentences.
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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 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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Statement, Question, Command & Exclamation Sentences PowerPoint
Introduce statement, command, question, and exclamation sentences with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Independent and Dependent Clauses Teaching Slides
Support students to understand independent and dependent clauses through explicit instruction using this clear and engaging slide deck for Year 4 students.
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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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Types of Dependent Clauses Sorting Activity
Teach the types of dependent clauses with this hands-on sorting activity that helps students explore sentence structure in a collaborative and engaging way.
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Addition Connectives Worksheet Pack
Teach addition connectives with this scaffolded pack of 9 worksheets that help primary students master connecting ideas and adding information to their writing.
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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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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-Complex Sentence Test
Assess your students' understanding of compound-complex sentences with a printable Compound-Complex Sentence Test.
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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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Simple and Compound - Roll a Sentence Dice Game
Play a ‘Roll-a-Sentence’ dice game to help your students practise writing simple and compound sentences.
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Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify statement, command, question, and exclamation sentences with a Types of Sentences Cut and Paste worksheet for Year 2.
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Writing Simple Sentences - Write the Room Activity
Use this simple sentence writing activity to learn how to write simple sentences with words around the room
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Compound and Simple Sentences Task Cards
Use these compound and simple sentence task cards to help your students identify the difference between these types of sentences.
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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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Phrase or a Clause? Worksheet Pack
Support students to confidently identify a phrase or a clause with this set of six activity worksheets designed for Year 3 students.
- 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