3 "be" patterns
The lizards are in the tank.
The frogs are lumpy.
The termites are pests.
2 linking verb patterns
The dog seems gentle.
The fish became food.
1 intransitive verb pattern
The cat slept.
4 transitive verb patterns
The children threw Legos.
The president sent me a new contract.
The jury found the defendant rude.
The audience considered the film a waste.
TEN in total. Almost every standard English sentence follows one of these patterns.
Compound and complex sentences combine these patterns into longer strings.
Each pattern has a distinct predicate form. In other words, different subject forms do not add new patterns.
