Emad Chikhaoui
Sentence Unit
Sentences and Fragments
A sentenceis a group of words that expresses a complete thought. A sentence names someone or something and tells what that person or thing is or does.
Example: Sam went to the store.
A fragmentis a group of words that do not express a complete thought.
Example: Spent hours in gift shops. (Who?)
Let’s Practice! Sentence or Fragment?
My family visited many places this year.
………………..
Going to the house.
………………..
Make things by hand.
………………..
Machines change people’s lives.
………………..
I love to watch movies.
………………..
Four Kinds of Sentences
1. Declarative- (.)
makes a statement
2. Interrogative- (?)
asks a question
3. Imperative- (.)
gives a command
4. Exclamatory- (!)
shows strong feeling or emotions
Remember
Don’t forget that a sentence always begins with a capital letter and ends with an end mark.
Lets Practice!
- what kind of candy do you like
- go get the paper off the porch
- wow, you did great
- i love to watch old movies
The simple sentence
What is a simple sentence?
Asimple sentenceis made up of one independent clause with no dependent clause attached. It consists of at least one subject and one verb.
Either the subject or the complement may be compound (consisting of more than one element joined with a coordinating conjunction).
Examples:
He understood.
S + verb
He and I understood.
S + S+ verb.
(compound subject)
He understood my meaning and departed from the house.
S + verb + verb
(compound predicate)
Exercise: Put the words into order to form complete simple sentences (do not forget capitalization and end marks).
1. a in the crab sand lives
……………………………………………………………………….
2. won Fast ran the race and james
……………………………………………………………………….
3.hamad went and to the park ali
……………………………………………………………………….
4. sarra borrowed her and father visited his car
……………………………………………………………………….
5. enjoys little his time my with his brother peers
……………………………………………………………………….
Exercise: Identify the subject and the verb(s) in these different types of simplesentences. Circle the noun (or compound nouns) in the subject and underline the verb (or compound verbs) in the predicate.
1. Watermelon and tomatoes contain major amounts of a chemical called lycopene and aregood for you.
2. The trees danced back and forth, threw up their leafy arms, and sang to the sky above.
3. You take your vitamins in the morning with a full glass of water.
4. The tennis ball was served across the net and hit back and forthseveral times.
5. Marianne laughed heartily, crossed her eyes like a crazy person,and stuck her tongue out at me.
6. Fatma and Jane spent all the day together.
Exercise
Combine each of the following pairs of sentences to create one simple sentence. Remember that you will create a sentence with just one subject-verb core.
1. To manage your time effectively, you must look ahead. You must plan your study goals for the week.
______
2. Write your study goals into your weekly schedule. Make a commitment to meet those goals.
______
3. Mark wanted to go to the party. Tim wanted to go to the party.
______
4. They wanted to stop thinking about school. They wanted to relax for a while.
______
4. They decided to meet at the library instead. They decided to finish their group project before Monday.
______
The complex Sentence
What is a complex sentence?
A complex sentence consists of one independent clause, and one or more dependent clauses. The dependent clause may be the first or second clause in the sentence. If the first clause in the sentence is dependent, a comma usually separates the two clauses.
Example 1:
We had to go insidewhen it started raining.
Independent clause Dependent clause
The independent clause comes first, and is linked to
the subordinate (dependent) clause with the
subordinating conjunction "when."
Example 2:
As long as it isn't cold , it doesn't matter if it rains.
Dependent clause Independent clause
The dependent clause is in first position, so there is
a comma separating the two. The dependent clause begins
with the subordinating conjunction "as long as."
-A complex sentence must contain a basic sentence. Without a basic sentence there is no complex sentence. Failing to provide one is absolutely the worst mistake a writer can make.
-The Complex Sentence contains one main or independent clause and one or more subordinate or dependent clauses.
-A dependent clause contains a complete subject and a complete verb as does a main clause.
- A dependent clause always begins with a subordinate connective.
- It presents secondary less important information.
- It modifies the key idea in the main clause.
- It controls reader focus.
Subordinate clause
A subordinate clause--sometimes called a dependent clause--will begin with a subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun and will contain both a subject and a verb. This combination of words will not form a complete sentence. It will instead make a reader want additional information to finish the thought.
Remember:
A subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence because it does not provide a complete thought.The reader is left wondering, "So what happened?" A word group that begins with a capital letter and ends with a period must contain at least one main clause. Otherwise, you will have written a fragment, a major error.
Subordinate Connectives
- subordinate conjunctions:
after,although,as,because,before,even, if,even, though,if,in order, that, once,provided that ,rather than ,since,so that,than ,that ,though,unless, untilwhen,whenever,where,whereas,wherever,whether,while, andwhy.
- Here are your relative pronouns:
that ,which, whichever, who , whoever, whom, whose, whosever, and whomever.
- Now take a look at these examples:
After Amy sneezed all over the tuna salad
After = subordinate conjunction | Amy = subject | sneezed = verb
Once Adam smashed the spider
Once = subordinate conjunction | Adam = subject | smashed = verb
Until Mr. Sanchez has his first cup of coffee
Until = subordinate conjunction | Mr. Sanchez = subject | has = verb
Who ate handfuls of Cheerios with his bare hands
Who = relative pronoun | Who = subject | ate = verb
Exercise 1:
Simple Sentence -> Complex Sentence
Example: Tom is a boy. He is eight years old. He goes to school in Philadelphia.
Complex Sentence: -> Tom is an eight-year old boy who goes to school in Philadelphia.
Here are some simple rules to remember when combining simple sentences into complex sentences:
- Don't repeat words
- Change words if necessary
- Add words to connect ideas
His name is Peter.
He's a famous professional athlete.
He's a baseball player.
______
He has a large house in Miami.
The house is beautiful.
______
He often travels around the US.
He plays away games in different cities in the US.
He travels by airplane.
______
He usually sleeps on the plane.
He stays up late after games.
______
He is an excellent pitcher.
Fans love his abilities.
Coaches love his abilities.
______
Every week he plays a home game.
The game is played in Glover Stadium.
The game is usually sold out.
______
Glover Stadium is old.
Glover Stadium doesn't have enough seats for all the fans.
______
The fans wait in line to buy tickets.
The fans often pay more than $60 dollars for a ticket.
______
The fans are unhappy about the ticket prices.
The fans love Peter.
______
The Compound sentence
What is a compoundsentence?
A compound sentence is composed of at least two independent clauses, but no dependent clauses. The clauses are joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction, a comma and a correlative conjunction, or a semicolon with no conjunction.
Examples:
He finally read the book , or so I thought.
The two independent clause are joined by a comma and
the coordinating conjunction "or."
Either he goes , or I go.
The compound sentence is held together by a comma and
the correlative conjunction "either ... or."
Mary understands math ; she has studied it for years.
Here, the two are joined by a semicolon, with no
conjunction.
- Coordinate Connectives
- Here is a list of coordinate connectives.
- They should be memorized.
for / and / nor / but / or / yet / so
- As presented, the first letter of each coordinate connective spells out the words - fan boys.
- Use for to indicate a reason for doing something.
- Use and to indicate a continuation of thought.
- Use nor to indicate a double negative meaning not this one and not that one.
- Use but to indicate a contrast.
- Use or to indicate an alternative.
- Use yet to indicate a contrast.
- Use so to indicate a result.
Conjunctive Adverbs
Conjunctive adverbs are not true conjunctions, but these adverbs often function as conjunctions in joining two independent clauses.
They serve as transitional devices between one main thought and another.
NOTE: Because conjunctive adverbs are not true conjunctions, a semicolon is required when connecting two independent clauses.
Conjunctive adverbs other than SO or OTHERWISE require a semicolon preceding them and a comma following them.
- The president will be attending the lecture; accordingly, the vice president will be available for the luncheon.
- The two clauses are independent. The semicolon replaces a coordinating conjunction and indicates that the two clauses are independent.
Here is a list of common conjunctive adverbs.
accordingly, furthermore, moreover, similarly,
also, hence, namely, still,
anyway, however, nevertheless, then,
besides, incidentally, next, thereafter,
certainly, indeed, nonetheless, therefore,
consequently, instead, now, thus,
finally, likewise, otherwise, undoubtedly,
further, meanwhile.
Exercise 2
Add commas and semi-colons where needed to form compound sentences.
- I’ve talked to everyone but John and his parents will give him the message.
- Every town has a popular hangout where teenagers gather with their friends and their blaring boom boxes.
- The hiked along the river over the fields and through the woods then the hikers sat down to rest.
- Some people like to get close to nature some are looking for exercise and some are just trying to get away from it all.
- A beginner would not want to buy slalom skis for they are very long, fast and hard to turn.
- An answer sheet will be provided so you can check your answers.