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 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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Sentence Structure Practice Interactive Activity (Lower Years)
Support early sentence construction with this interactive grammar PowerPoint.
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FANBOYS Worksheet Pack
Help students connect ideas in their writing with these FANBOYS worksheets to improve compound sentence writing.
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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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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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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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Scrambled Sentences Worksheets
Unscramble sentences and practise writing complete statements with a set of printable Scrambled Sentences Worksheets.
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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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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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Stretchy Sentences Worksheets and Poster Set
Help your students write detailed and descriptive sentences with these Stretchy Sentences Worksheets and Poster Pack.
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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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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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Compound Sentences Quiz
Assess your students ability to identify, write, and edit compound sentences with a printable Compound Sentence Quiz.
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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 Picture Prompt Worksheet Pack
Support early writers with this Simple Sentence Picture Prompt Worksheet Pack, featuring 12 worksheets.
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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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Cohesive Paragraph Digital Quiz
Explore what makes a cohesive paragraph using this interactive digital quiz that helps students identify cohesive devices in context.
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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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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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Introduction to Writing Simple Sentences PowerPoint
Teach students how to write simple sentences with these Writing Simple Sentences Teaching Slides.
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Main Clauses and Subordinate Clauses Poster
A poster explaining main clauses and subordinate clauses.
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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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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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Comparative Connectives Worksheet Pack
Teach comparative connectives with this set of 9 progressive worksheets designed to help your students show similarity and difference in their writing.
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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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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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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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Sentence Types & Punctuation for Grade 1 - Four Corners Game
Review sentence types and punctuation for grade 1 students with an engaging Four Corners Punctuation Game.
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Simple Sentence Exit Tickets
Check your students' knowledge of simple sentences with this set of simple sentence exit tickets perfect for kindergarten.
- 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