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Sentence Composing
Introduction
How Sentence Composing Works
•  When you or a professional write, you both
choose words and arrange them in
sentences, but with different results.
•  Professional writers use sentence variety
and maturity in sentences.
• Unlike professional writers, students
tend to write sentences similar to
sentences they speak.
Writing Better Sentences
•  You can learn about writing in general by
practice.
•  You will learn skills that
professional writers use
to compose sentences.
•  Think of them as tools
to build better sentences.
Positions for
Sentence Variety
Sentence Opener Position
•  The famous king of 50s rock and roll who
achieved fame overnight, Elvis Presley
made his first national appearance on the
Ed Sullivan Show.
Interrupter
•  Elvis Presley, the famous king of 50s rock
and roll who achieved fame overnight,
made his first national appearance on the
Ed Sullivan Show.
Sentence Closer Position
•  Elvis Presley made his first national
appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, a
live television musical variety program
during which the camera man was given
special directions for shooting the Presley
performance.
Placement of Clauses and Phrases
•  1. Sentence openers
With a squall of pain and rage, the
big cat rolled over.
•  2. Interrupters
The truck drivers, when they heard
that Maxie Hammerman had been
released, were furious.
•  3. Sentence closers
The store s sign fell to the ground after an explosive
burst of wind rushed down the street.
Sentence Composing
Clause
What is a clause?
•  A group of words with a subject and a verb
•  Yet a clause cannot stand on its own
•  It may begin with a subordinating conjunction
•  Example:
After we go to the game, we will go to your house.
•  It may begin with a relative pronoun, such as who,
which, whose, where
Example:
Jill, who has her license, drives her little sister to
school every day.
Sentence Composing
Adjective Clause
Characteristics of an
Adjective Clause
•  Adjective Clauses are sentence parts
that describe whatever is mentioned to
the left of them in the same sentence.
I used to have a cat, an old fighting tom, who would jump
through the open window by my bed in the middle of
the night and land on my chest.
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
•  Most begin with the words who, which, whose, or
where.
•  She lived in a small frame house with her invalid mother
and a thin, sallow, unflagging aunt, where each
morning between ten and eleven Emma would
appear on the porch in a lace-trimmed boudoir cap
to sit swinging in the porch swing until noon.
William Faulkner
They can occur as interrupters:
•  Subject [adjective clause] verb
•  Even his eyes, which had been young,
looked old.
John Steinbeck, The Red Pony
They can occur as
sentence closers.
•  Subject + verb [adjective clause]
•  I loved school with a desperate passion,
which became more intense when I
began to realize what a monumental
struggle it was for my parents and
brothers and sisters to keep me there.
Eugenia Collier, Sweet Potato Pie
Adjective clause practice:
Imitate the model text.
• 
I left the cell, turned the locks, then faced
Delacroix, who was standing across the way
with his hands wrapped around the bars of his
cell, looking at me anxiously.
»  Stephen King, Coffey s Hands
a.  making his daily rounds
b.  then greeted the mailman
c.  who was going down the street with his
mailbag over his shoulder
d.  I closed the door, went outside.
•  I left the cell, turned the locks, then faced
Delacroix, who was standing across the
way with his hands wrapped around the
bars of his cell, looking at me anxiously.
Answer (sen, interrupter, tence):
•  I closed the door, went outside, then
greeted the mailman, who was going down
the street with his mailbag over his
shoulder, making his daily rounds.
•  Notice the adjective clause is a sentence
interrupter here.
• 
Adjective clause practice: Combine the
sentences to imitate the model.
The lowest step, where the stream collected
before it tumbled down a hundred feet and
disappeared into the rubbly desert, was a little
platform of stone and sand.
»  John Steinbeck, The Pearl
a.  This is about the parking lot.
b.  It is where the students gathered.
c.  They gathered there after the game ended in
overtime.
d.  And the game then brought a close victory.
e.  The victory was for the home team.
f.  The parking lot was a mass of shouts and
cheers.
•  The lowest step, where the stream collected
before it tumbled down a hundred feet and
disappeared into the rubbly desert, was a little
platform of stone and sand.
Answer (sen, interrupter, tence)
The parking lot, where the students
gathered after the game ended in overtime
and then brought a close victory for the
home team, was a mass of shouts and
cheers.
Adjective clause practice:
Imitate the model text.
• 
Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas
prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer,
and Aunt Em, who was the farmer s wife.
»  L. F. Baum, The Wizard of Oz
a. 
b. 
c. 
d. 
Meredith perched in her apartment loft.
The loft was in the bohemian district.
Meredith was with Tramp, who was a mutt.
In addition, Meredith was with Lady, who was a
blue-ribbon pedigree.
•  Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas
prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer,
and Aunt Em, who was the farmer s wife.
Answer (sentence closer):
Meredith perched in her apartment loft in the
bohemian district, with Tramp, who was a
mutt, and Lady, who was a blue-ribbon
pedigree.
Sentence Composing
Adverb Clause
Characteristics of an
Adverb Clause
•  Adverb clauses are sentence parts that tell
more about the rest of the sentence in
which they appear.
•  They usually tell why, how, when, or under
what condition something was done.
•  They can occur as
–  sentence openers
–  subject-verb splits
–  sentence closers
Most begin with
subordinating conjunctions
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
After
Although
As
As soon as
As if
As though
Before
Because
Even though
wherever
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
If
In order that
Since
Than
Though
Until
Unless
When
While
Where
whenever
Adverb clause practice:
Imitate the model text.
• 
As she approached the top of the ridge,
she came to a game trail, a wide muddy
track through the jungle.
»  Michael Crichton, The Lost World
a.  the best left hand in professional
basketball
b.  he slam-dunked with his left hand
c.  after he jumped toward the edge of the
rim
•  As she approached the top of the ridge,
she came to a game trail, a wide muddy
track through the jungle.
Answer (opener, sentence ):
•  After he jumped toward the edge of the
rim, he slam-dunked with his left hand, the
best left hand in professional basketball.
Adverb clause practice:
Combine sentences to imitate model.
• 
Strether s first question, when he
reached the hotel, was about his friend.
»  Henry James, The Ambassadors
a.  This is about Tabitha s favorite activity.
b.  It happened after she started up her
computer.
c.  Her favorite activity was on the Internet.
•  Strether s first question, when he reached
the hotel, was about his friend.
Answer (sen, interrupter, tence):
Tabitha s favorite activity, after she started
up her computer, was on the Internet.
Adverb clause practice: Imitate the model.
• 
In the week before their departure to Arrakis,
when all the final scurrying about had reached
a nearly unbearable frenzy, an old crone came
to visit the mother of the boy, Paul.
»  Frank Herbert, Dune
a.  This happened in the game s last seconds
after the winning pass to Brennan.
b.  It happened as the thunderous cheering rose
to a gazillion decibels.
c.  His proud dad jumped up.
d.  The reason he jumped up was to sing the fight
song.
e.  The fight song was of the team, the winners.
•  In the week before their departure to
Arrakis, when all the final scurrying about
had reached a nearly unbearable frenzy,
an old crone came to visit the mother of
the boy, Paul.
Answer (sen, interrupter, tence):
In the game s last seconds after the winning
pass to Brennan, as the thunderous
cheering rose to a gazillion decibels, his
proud dad jumped up to sing the fight song
of the team, the winners.
Sentence Composing
Noun Clause
Characteristics of a Noun Clause
•  Noun clause
–  A subordinate clause that is used as a noun
–  The entire clause can be a subject, a direct
object, an indirect object, a predicate
nominative, or an object of a preposition.
Subject
•  Whatever you choose will be fine with me.
•  The underlined noun clause is used as the
subject of the sentence.
Direct Object
•  The girl knew how she would help her
ailing cat.
•  This underlined noun clause is used as the
direct object.
Indirect Object
•  The coupons will give whoever uses them
a discount.
•  The noun clause can be used as an
indirect object. (Remember: indirect
objects answer to who? or to what? )
Predicate nominative
•  Her answer was that she did not know.
•  The noun clause is a predicate
nominative. (Remember: subject =
predicate nominative)
Object of the Preposition
•  Example:
•  The quote begins with what he said about war.
•  The quote begins (with what he said about war.)
•  The noun clause can
be an object of the
preposition.
Many words can introduce
noun clauses.
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
How
Whether
Whoever
Wherever
If
Which
Whose
Where
that
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Whichever
However
Whatever
Who
What
When
Whom
why
Sometimes there is
no introductory word.
•  We know he will not like it.
•  that is implied
•  We know that he will not like it.
Sentence Combining
Phrase vs. Clause
Phrase vs. Clause
•  Phrase
–  A group of words that lacks both a subject and a verb
–  He tried to sneak into class (after the bell).
•  Clause
–  A group of words with both a subject and a verb, but
cannot stand on its own
–  After the bell had rung. (Not a sentence; it s a
fragment)
–  He tried to sneak into class after the bell had rung.
Verbals
•  A form of a verb that is used as a noun, an
adjective, or an adverb in a sentence
•  Not the main verb
•  In addition to verbals, we will see verbal
phrases.
Participial Phrase
Characteristics of the
Participial Phrase
•  A verbal that acts as an adjective is a
participle
–  The hissing snake scared her.
•  Participles describe nouns or pronouns.
–  The startled squirrel ran up the tree.
•  In other words, participles and participial
phrases act like adjectives in a sentence.
–  The tree grown in our back yard was home to
many squirrels.
***Used by Professional Writers
•  Participial phrases
are used in
professional
writing, but rarely
in student writing.
•  Participial phrases
are an efficient way
to combine related
ideas into one
sentence.
Endings of participles
•  Present participles always end in ing
•  Past participles usually end in ed or
some other past tense ending (spoken)
•  So, participles will end in either ing or
ed or some other past tense ending
Participial Phrases
•  She was quite far
from the windows
which were to her left,
and behind her were
a couple of tall
bookcases,
containing all the
books of the factory
library.
John Hershey, Hiroshima
•  Looking over their
own troops, they saw
mixed masses slowly
getting into regular
form.
Stephen Crane,
The Red Badge of Courage
Does the participle come after a
being verb?
•  If yes, then the participle is just a part of
the verb phrase and is not used as an
adjective.
•  Example:
–  The wagon was rolling down the hill.
–  Rolling is part of the verb was rolling, so it is
not used as an adjective; instead, it is used as
a verb.
Participial Phrase
•  Coiling around the
tree branch, the
python looked
imposing.
•  The python, coiling
around the tree
branch, looked
imposing.
Participle
•  Waiting, the python
wrapped itself around
the branch.
•  The python, waiting,
wrapped itself around
the branch.
•  The python wrapped
itself around the
branch, waiting.
The crowd surrounded the girl.
The crowd was pulsating with excitement. The
crowd was moving like a blob. The crowd was
growing larger.
•  Pulsating with
excitement, the crowd
surrounded the girl.
•  The crowd, moving
like a blob and
growing larger,
surrounded the girl.
•  Growing larger, the
crowd surrounded the
girl.
Dangling Participles
•  Sometimes students make mistakes by creating
dangling participles in their writing.
•  If the participial phrase is not in the correct
place, it is called a dangling participle.
•  Example:
•  The football players celebrated their victory at
the pizza parlor, winning the state championship.
•  What s wrong with this example?
•  Correct:
•  Winning the state championship, the
football players celebrated their victory at
the pizza parlor.
•  Also correct:
•  The football players, winning the state
championship, celebrated their victory at
the pizza parlor.
Misplaced modifiers
A cousin to the dangling modifier
•  Misplaced modifiers are
modifiers (adjectives,
adverbs, or phrases) that
are unclear because they
are not close to the word
modified.
•  Incorrect:
•  She only washed some of
her clothes.
•  Correct:
•  She washed only some
of her clothes.
More misplaced modifiers
•  Incorrect:
•  The watermelons at
the produce stand
grown in Mississippi
were the freshest.
•  Correct:
•  At the produce stand,
the watermelons
grown in Mississippi
were the freshest.
The meaning of a sentence might be
lost if you cannot tell what the
modifiers are modifying
•  You will recall that modifiers
are adjectives, adverbs, and
prepositional phrases
•  To correct misplaced
modifiers, move the modifying
word or phrase so that it
appears directly before or after
the object it modifies
–  Unclear: Walking to school
that cold morning, my hand
became completely frozen.
–  Clear: As I walked to
school that cold morning,
my hand became
completely frozen.
•  Common adverbs that
are misplaced are only,
almost, just, even,
merely, and scarcely
–  Just the boys thanked
the coach.
•  Notice how the position of
just affects these
sentences
–  The boys just thanked
the coach.
–  The boys thanked just
the coach.
Infinitive Phrase
Characteristics of an
Infinitive Phrase
•  An infinitive is a
verbal that begins
with to and can be
used as a modifier or
a noun
•  Easiest verbals to
recognize because
they are to + verb
–  I like to eat cookies.
•  Infinitives may be part
of infinitive phrases
–  The right dress to wear
to the prom should be
in fashion.
Gerund Phrase
Characteristics of a
Gerund Phrase
•  A gerund is a verbal that ends only in
ing and that is used as a noun in a
sentence
•  Gerunds are verbals used as nouns
•  They look similar to participles because
they always end in ing
•  Gerunds and gerund phrases may be
used as a subject, direct object, predicate
•  Gerund phrases may begin with a
possessive noun or a pronoun
–  His snoring loudly bothered his wife.
Gerund Phrases
•  Her excuse was
having a flat tire.
(direct object)
Subject:
Preparing the entire
meal was not difficult.
Prepositional Phrase
Characteristics of the
Prepositional Phrase
•  Most prepositions are easy to identify because
they are difficult to define
–  Try defining of, in, off, by, through, between, etc.
•  Prepositional phrases are sentence parts that
describe people, things, or actions
•  Sentences can contain single or consecutive
prepositional phrases anywhere in the sentence
Single Prepositional Phrases
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
Before the fall
After the creation
At the game
Down the aisle
Across the street
Inside the stadium
Behind the scenes
Through the woods
To Grandmother s house
Over the rainbow
Consecutive Prepositional
Phrases
•  (In a hole) (in the ground), there lived a
hobbit.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
The sea is high again today (with a thrilling
flush) (of wind).
Lawrence Durrell,
Justine
Sentence Openers
•  In that place, the wind
prevailed.
•  .
•  With a quick, guilty
hand, she covered
the tear, her
shoulders bunching to
hide her face
Interrupters
•  Ancestors, in every
variety of dress, from
the Elizabethan knight
to the buck of the
regency, stared down
and daunted us.
Sentence Closers
•  Then they came, up
the street and around
the house.
•  He looked glumly
down the tunnel.
Appositive Phrase
Characteristics of the
Appositive Phrase
•  Appositives are nouns phrases that
identify adjacent nouns or pronouns.
•  Appositive phrases are frequently used by
professional writers but rarely used by
students.
•  Appositive phrases are an efficient way to
combine related ideas in one sentence.
Sentence Openers
•  One of eleven brothers and sisters, Harriet
was a moody, willful child.
Langston Hughes
•  A balding, smooth-faced man, he could have
been anywhere between forty and sixty.
Harper Lee
•  A short, round boy of seven, he took little
interest in troublesome things, preferring to
remain on good terms with everyone.
Mildred Taylor
Interrupters
•  Poppa, a good quiet man, spent the last hours
before our parting moving aimlessly about the
yard, keeping to himself and avoiding me.
Gordon Parks
•  A man, a weary old pensioner with a bald
dirty head and a stained brown corduroy
waistcoat, appeared at the door of a small gate
lodge.
Brian Moore
•  Vanka Zhukov, a boy of nine who had been
apprenticed to the shoemaker Alyakhin three
months ago, was staying up that Christmas
eve.
Sentence Closers
•  The boy looked at them, big black ugly insects.
Doris Lessing
Hour after hour he stood there, silent, motionless,
a shadow carved in ebony and moonlight.
James Marshall
He had the appearance of a man who had done a
great thing, something greater than any
ordinary man would do.
John Henrik Clarke
Absolute Phrase
Characteristics of an
Absolute Phrase
•  Absolutes are sentence parts that describe
the rest of the sentence in which they
appear.
•  Absolutes are almost complete sentences.
•  As a test, you can make any absolute a
sentence by adding was or were to
the phrase to create a sentence.
Sentence openers
•  His hands raw, he
reached a flat place at the
top.
–  His hands were raw,
•  Each child carrying his
little bag of crackling, we
trod the long road home
in the cold winter
afternoon.
–  Each child was carrying his
little bag of crackling
•  Outside, his carpetbag in
his hand, he stood for a
time in the barnyard.
–  His carpetbag was in his
hand,
•  Another way to identify an absolute is that
many absolutes begin with the words my,
his, her, its, our, their (possessive
pronouns).
•  Interrupter:
•  Miss Hearne, her face burning, hardly
listened to these words.
Sentence closers
•  Those who had caught
sharks had taken them to
the shark factory on the
other side of the cove
where they were hoisted
on a block and tackle,
their livers removed, their
fins cut off, their hides
skinned out, and their
flesh cut into strips for
salting.
Another great tip for
sentence variety
•  In addition to using clauses and phrases
as sentence openers, interrupters, and
sentence closers, you may want to try
•  Adjectives out of order
Adjectives out of order
•  Instead of using a long list of adjectives
before a noun, shift a couple behind it.
•  We cruise past block after block of humble
little houses, whitewashed and stucco,
built decades ago.
Eric Schlosser,
Fast Food Nation
•  A drunk guy staggers into my field, redeyed and swearing.
Tracy Mack
Birdland
•  Nausea began to spread through his
stomach, warm and oozy and evil.
Robert Cormier
The Chocolate War
Use sentence variety in your writing.
•  When working with phrases and clauses,
use sentence openers, interrupters, and
sentence closers to add sentence variety.
•  Sentence variety is a practical way to
spice up your writing.