Most linguists agree on a total of basic sentence patterns for the English language?

You are correct! Linguists generally agree that there are five basic sentence patterns in English. These patterns are based on the arrangement of the subject (S), verb (V), object (O), and complement (C) in a sentence.

Here are the five patterns:

1. Subject-Verb (SV): The cat sleeps.

2. Subject-Verb-Object (SVO): The dog chases the ball.

3. Subject-Verb-Complement (SVC): The weather is beautiful.

4. Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object (SVOO): The teacher gave the students homework.

5. Subject-Verb-Object-Complement (SVOC): They elected her president.

These basic patterns provide a framework for understanding the structure of sentences in English. By recognizing these patterns, we can more easily analyze and understand the meaning of sentences.