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Sentence structure

Click on the highlighted text to see the comments.

A basic sentence consists of a subject, a verb, and an object.

For example, in the sentence below, subject is in bold, verb is highlighted, and object is in italics.

The bank officer signed the contract.

This is a basic sentence, and it would not be good style to write all of your sentences as simply as this.

You can add extra information in a sentence by including relative clauses and phrases, to provide further information about the main elements of the sentence.

Note how we've added extra information by adding relative clauses and a phrase to our simple sentence below. (The relative clauses and phrase are in bold.)

The bank officer, who had been dealing with both parties, signed, in a hasty manner, the contract which had been drawn up two years previously.

Now it's time for you to try to include information in reasonably sized sentences.

Study the notes below:

Main points

  • 2nd situation for consideration: photocopier purchased for $45,000
  • Trade Practices Act does not apply: goods over $40,000, not normally used for household or domestic use
  • Non-consumer contract. So Patricia might use Goods Act
  • But Section 61: exclusion clauses not allowed in non-consumer contract
  • This is non-consumer contract: so, Patricia might use Goods Act
  • But Section 61, Goods Act, exclusion clauses permitted in non-consumer contract: businesses normally on equal terms and do not need protection
  • Only legal rights for Patricia: sue for misrepresentation
  • But which type of misrepresentation? Two types are torts of deceit and negligence

Using the above main points for your paragraph, see if you can express the information clearly. Write your response in the box below.



Check your answer

Look at the response below which is one way of expressing this information. Is your response similar to this? In what ways is it similar? In what ways is it different?

Under the second situation, where the photocopier was purchased for $45,000 the Trade Practices Act will not apply as the good was over $40,000 and is not of a type that is normally used in household or domestic use. As this is a non-consumer contract Patricia may try to use the Goods Act however section 61 states that exclusion clauses are permitted in non-consumer contracts as businesses are normally on equal terms and do not need protection. The only legal rights available to Patricia under these circumstances are to attempt to sue for misrepresentation. The first step would be to see which type of misrepresentation she could sue for. The two areas are the torts of deceit and negligence.

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