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 Building Cards and Mat
Use these Sentence Building Cards with Mat to explore the main features of a simple sentence with your Prep students.
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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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Sentence Structure Practice Interactive Activity (Upper Primary)
Use this engaging digital quiz in your upper years classroom when reviewing sentence structure and vocabulary.
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Types of Sentences Posters
Display a set of types of sentences posters to help your students discover various types of 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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Make a Sentence Activity Task Cards
Boost early writing skills with this engaging Make a Sentence Activity designed to help students understand sentence structure through fun, hands-on learning.
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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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Run-On Sentence Editing Worksheet Pack
Practise editing examples of run-on sentences with a printable Run-On Sentence Worksheet pack.
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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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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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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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Scrambled Sentences Worksheets
Unscramble sentences and practise writing complete statements with a set of printable Scrambled Sentences Worksheets.
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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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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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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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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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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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Causal Connectives Worksheet Pack
Teach causal connectives effectively with this comprehensive pack of 9 progressive worksheets designed to help your students master cause and effect relationships in 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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Compound Sentences Interactive Game
Play a Compound Sentences Interactive game to practise identifying, correcting, and writing compound sentences.
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5 Star Sentence Writing Pack
Use this 5 star writing checklist teaching pack to help students develop strong writing habits with a simple, effective checklist and engaging worksheets.
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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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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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Linking Devices in Persuasive Writing Worksheet Pack
Teach how linking devices can be used to connect ideas in persuasive writing with this set of 5 activity worksheets with answers.
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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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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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Simple Sentence Picture Prompt Cards
Build sentence confidence with these engaging set of Simple Sentence Picture Prompt Cards!
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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.
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Successful Sentences – Sentence Construction Cards
Word cards for constructing complex sentences.
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Fix the Sentences Worksheets
Use these Fix the Sentences Worksheets to help your students become confident writers.
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Indefinite Pronouns Subject Verb Agreement Worksheets
Support your students’ understanding of indefinite pronouns subject-verb agreement with this set of five worksheets featuring a variety of fun grammar activities.
- 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