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McGraw-Hill Handbook
Chapter 31

Every complete sentence consists of at least
one subject (a noun and its modifiers) and a
predicate (a verb, its objects, complements and
modifiers)

These elements come together to make a
statement, ask a question, give a
command, or express an emotion.




Declarative sentences provide information
about their subjects.
Interrogative sentences pose questions about
their subjects.
Imperative sentences demand something of
their subjects.
Exclamatory sentences emphasize a point or
express a strong emotion.


The simple subject of a sentence is the noun or
pronoun that names the topic of the sentence.
The complete subject is the simple subject plus
its modifiers.

A compound subject contains two or more
simple subjects connected with a conjunction
such as and, but, or, or neither…nor.

In imperative sentences, which give
commands or directions, the subject you is
usually implied, not stated.
“WAKE UP!”
Is
an example of
the implied you in
an imperative
sentence.



In a sentence the predicate says something
about the subject.
The verb (including any helping verbs)
constitute the simple predicate.
The verb and any modifiers, objects, or
complements make up the complete predicate.


Compound predicates contain two or more
predicates connected by a conjunction.
example: The students decapitated the teacher
and used his head as a hood ornament.
Identifying the subject and Predicate
Underline the complete subject, bracket the
complete predicate, and circle the simple
subject and simple predicate.
1. Did Gene Roddenberry, the creator and
producer of Star Trek, anticipate that his
science fiction television series would be
watched by people of all ages for more
than thirty years?
Underline the complete subject, bracket the
complete predicate, and circle the simple
subject and simple predicate.
1. Did Gene Roddenberry, the creator and
producer of Star Trek, anticipate that his
science fiction television series would be
watched by people of all ages for more
than thirty years?
Underline the complete subject, bracket the
complete predicate, and circle the simple
subject and simple predicate.
1. [Did] Gene Roddenberry, the creator and
producer of Star Trek, [anticipate that his
science fiction television series would be
watched by people of all ages for more
than thirty years?]
Underline the complete subject, bracket the
complete predicate, and circle the simple
subject and simple predicate.
1. [Did] Gene Roddenberry, the creator and
producer of Star Trek, [anticipate that his
science fiction television series would be
watched by people of all ages for more
than thirty years?]
Underline the complete subject, bracket the
complete predicate, and circle the simple
subject and simple predicate.
1. [Did] Gene Roddenberry, the creator and
producer of Star Trek, [anticipate that his
science fiction television series would be
watched by people of all ages for more
than thirty years?]
Working in groups of two or
three complete the exercise.
 Work together.
 Be prepared to explain your
answers.




A linking verb joins a subject to more
information about it that is located on the other
side of the verb.
That information is called the subject
complement.
A subject complement can be either a noun or
an adjective.
the forms of be (is, am, was, etc.) are the most
common linking verbs.



The other two categories of verbs are transitive
and intransitive.
Transitive verbs are verbs that require a direct
object.
Intransitive verbs do not require an object.



A transitive verb identifies an action that the
subject performs or does to somebody or
something else—the direct object.
To complete its meaning, a transitive verb
needs a direct object.
Direct objects are almost always nouns,
pronouns or groups of words that act like
nouns or pronouns.

Jebediah cooked the ‘possum.

Jolene ate it and drank some Four Loko.


Transitive verbs, unlike linking verbs and
intransitive verbs, have two voices: active and
passive.
In a sentence with a transitive verb in the active
voice, the subject is doing the action and the
direct object is being acted upon.
Example:
Morons often consider intelligent
people idiots.

If a sentence in the active voice is rewritten in
the passive voice, the direct object becomes the
subject and the original subject becomes part of
a phrase introduced with the preposition by.
Example:
Intelligent people are often
considered idiots by morons.
Rewrite the sentence, changing the verb from the
passive to the active voice.
Passive voice: A new nation was brought forth on
this continent by our fathers four score and
seven years ago.
Active voice: Four score and seven years ago, our
fathers brought forth on this continent a new
nation.
Working in groups of two or three
complete the exercise.

Work together.

Be prepared to explain your answers.


Indirect objects indicate to whom an action
was done, or for whom an action was
completed.
They are most commonly used with verbs such
as give, ask, tell, send, sing, and write.


Jolene played Jeb her twenty-seven minute
rendition of “Achy Breaky Heart” on the
Sousaphone.
Jeb used a plastic spork to give himself a
frontal lobotomy.


Indirect objects usually appear after the verb
but before the direct object.
Verbs that imply action done to or for a person
(such as announce, demonstrate, and say) require
the indirect object to begin with to or for and
follow the direct object.


In addition to a direct object and an
indirect object, a transitive verb can take
another element in its predicate: an
object complement.
An object complement describes or
renames the direct object it follows.


The ‘possum fricassee made Jeb and
Jolene sick as dogs.
The teacher left the students scarred for
life.


An intransitive verb describes an action by a
subject, but it is not an action that is done
directly to anything or anyone else.
Therefore, an intransitive verb cannot take an
object or a complement.


However, adverbs and adverb phases often
appear in predicates built around intransitive
verbs.
Some verbs (cooperate, assent, disappear, insist)
are always intransitive. Others (increase, grow,
roll, work) can be either transitive or
intransitive.

Underline the verb in each sentence, and label
it transitive (trans), intransitive (intrans), or
linking (link). If the verb is transitive, circle and
label the direct object (DO) and label any
indirect objects (IO) or object compliment (OC).
If the verb is linking, circle and label the subject
compliment (SC).

Hybrid cars produce low tailpipe
emissions.

Hybrid cars produce low tailpipe
emissions.
trans

Hybrid cars produce low tailpipe
emissions.
trans

Hybrid cars produce low tailpipe
emissions.
trans

Hybrid cars produce low tailpipe
emissions.
DO


Working in groups of two or three
complete the exercise.
Work together.
Be prepared to explain your answers.



A phrase is a group of related words that
lacks a subject, a predicate or both.
A clause is a group of related words that
includes a subject and a predicate.
Independent clauses can stand on their
own as complete sentences.

Dependent clauses (a.k.a. subordinate
clauses) cannot stand alone and function
in sentences as adjectives, adverbs, or
nouns.



A noun phrase consists of a noun or
noun substitute plus all of its modifiers.
Noun phrases can function as a sentences
subject, object or subject complement.
A verb phrase is a verb plus its helping
verbs.
Indentify noun phrases in the sentence
below.

The stinking, dead ‘possum made a
hearty meal.
Noun phrase as
subject

The stinking, dead ‘possum made a
hearty meal.
Noun phrase as
subject

The stinking, dead ‘possum made a
hearty meal.
Noun phrase as
object

Verbals are words derived from verbs.
They function as nouns, adjectives, or
adverbs, not as verbs.



Writing is essential to gainful
employment.
The ringing cellphone sent the instructor
into a snot-slinging rage.
The gerbil went flying through the air.



A participial phrase begins with either a
present participle (the –ing form of a verb
or a past participle (the –ed or –en) form
of a verb.
They always function as adjectives.
A comma usually follows a participial
phrase when it begins a sentence.



Following his frustrating work day, the
douche bag kicked the sleeping dog
through the window.
Awoken by the attack, the dog returned
later and chewed off his face.
Maimed for life, the d-bag went into
hiding.



A gerund is the –ing form of a verb used
as a noun.
A gerund phrase uses the –ing form of a
verb just as some participial phrases do,
but gerund phrases always function as
nouns, not adjectives.
A comma never follows a gerund phrase
that begins a sentence.


Working as a teacher doesn’t pay the
bills.
The cop investigated my thieving.


An infinitive phrase is formed using the
infinitive, or to form of a verb: to be, to
do, to live.
It can function as an adverb, an adjective,
or a noun and can be a subject, subj. or
obj. complement, or a direct obj. in a
sentence.

Appositives rename nouns or pronouns
and appear right after the word they
rename.
One writer, the widely admired Dave
Cherry, was rejected by the grant
committee, a despised assemblage of
dilettantes and mouth-breathing
imbeciles.



Absolute phrases modify an entire
sentence.
They include a noun or pronoun, a
participle and their related modifiers,
objects or complements.
The provide details or causes.

Mr. Cherry felt better, having keyed the
chairperson’s car.


For the underlined words in the sentences,
identify the kind of phrase and how it
functions in the sentence.
Passing ENGL 0310 is possible only if one
attends class regularly.



For the underlined words in the sentences,
identify the kind of phrase and how it
functions in the sentence.
Passing ENGL 0310 is possible only if one
attends class regularly.
[gerund phrase as subject]


Working in groups of two or three
complete the exercise.
Work together.
Be prepared to explain your answers.

Although dependent clauses (a.k.a.
subordinate clauses) have a subject and a
predicate, they cannot stand alone as
complete sentences.


They are introduced by subordinators—
either by a subordinating conjunction,
such as after, in order to, or since (see box
on p. 493 for a more complete list), or by
a relative pronoun such who, which, or
that (see box on p. 486 for more).
Dependent clauses function in sentences
as adjectives, adverbs and nouns.


An adjective clause modifies a noun or
pronoun.
Relative pronouns (who, whom, whose,
which, that) or relative adverbs (where,
when) are used to connect adjective
clauses to the nouns or pronouns they
modify.


An adverb clause modifies a verb, an
adjective or an adverb and answers the
questions adverbs answer: When? Where?
What? Why? and How?
Adverb clauses are often introduced by
subordinators (after, when, before, because,
although, if, though, whenever, where,
whenever).



A noun clause is a dependent clause that
functions as a noun.
It can function as a subject, object, or
complement of a sentence.
It is usu. Introduced by a relative
pronoun (who, which, that) or a relative
adverb (how, what, when, why).

I an elliptical clause one or more
grammatically necessary words are
omitted because their meaning and
function are clear from the surrounding
context.
Examples of elliptical clauses:
This is the class [that] I usually skip.
I figure [that] if I’m gonna fail, I might as
well enjoy it.
Two shots are better than one [is], but three
make the world a beautiful place.

Underline the dependent clauses in the
sentence below and identify each one as
an adjective, adverb, or noun clause.
During the 1970s and 1980s, AsianAmerican writers, who often drew upon
their immigrant experiences, gained a
wide readership.

During the 1970s and 1980s, AsianAmerican writers, who often drew upon
their immigrant experiences, gained a
wide readership.

During the 1970s and 1980s, AsianAmerican writers, who often drew upon
their immigrant experiences, gained a
wide readership.
Adjective clause modifying the
subject of the sentence
Working in groups of two or three
complete the exercise.

Work together.

Be prepared to explain your answers.




Sentences can be classified into four
types by the nmber of clauses they
contain and how those clauses are joined:
Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound-complex.

Simple sentences are composed of only
one independent clause.
Simple sentences
The roar of leaf blower bounced him out
of bed at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.
The dweebs, geeks, freaks and pinheads
emptied the principal’s liquor cabinet
and firebombed the senior prom.


Compound Sentence contains two or
more coordinated independent clauses
but no dependent clauses.
The independent clauses may be joined
by a comma and a coordinating
conjunction or by a semicolon with or
without a conjunctive adverb (therefore,
meanwhile, then, hence, etc).
Compound Sentences
The Dweebs are mean drunks, so the Band
Geeks carry tasers.
The principal was caught in flagrante delicto
with Boopsie the head cheerleader, hence
he lost his job.


A complex sentence contains one independent
cla.use and one or more dependent clauses.
He jumped out the window when his wife
walked through the door because this was not
the first time she had caught him with a
cheerleader.


A compound-complex sentence contains two
or more coordinated independent clauses and
at least one dependent clause.
The principal did not enjoy his stay in the
federal penitentiary, but he did finally have the
time to build the scale model of Poughkeepsie,
New York using only toothpicks, duct tape and
earwax that he had dreamed of for many years.



Identify the sentences as simple, compound,
complex or compound-complex.
Example:
A priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk walk
into a bar and the bartender serves them fuzzy
navels and sloe gin frappés until the Buddhist
monk climbs onto the bar and starts singing
Nearer My God to Thee, at which point the
bartender calls the cops.
Independent
clause

Independent
clause
A priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk walk
into a bar and the bartender serves them fuzzy
navels and sloe gin frappés until the Buddhist
monk climbs onto the bar and starts singing
Nearer My God to Thee, at which point the
bartender calls the cops.
and is a coordinating conjunction
joining indepent clauses

A priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk walk
into a bar and the bartender serves them fuzzy
navels and sloe gin frappés until the Buddhist
monk climbs onto the bar and starts singing
Nearer My God to Thee, at which point the
bartender calls the cops.
until is a subordinating conjunction
creating a dependent clause.

A priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk walk
into a bar and the bartender serves them fuzzy
navels and sloe gin frappés until the Buddhist
monk climbs onto the bar and starts singing
Nearer My God to Thee, at which point the
bartender calls the cops.
at which point functions
as a conjunctive adverb

A priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk walk
into a bar and the bartender serves them fuzzy
navels and sloe gin frappés until the Buddhist
monk climbs onto the bar and starts singing
Nearer My God to Thee, at which point the
bartender calls the cops.

What type of sentence is it?
Working in groups of two or three complete the
exercise.

Work together.

Be prepared to explain your answers.
Homework Assignment:
Working individually, complete Exercise
31.7.