Download Four Basic Sentence Types

Time for your medicine!
Sentence Elements Simplified
Sentences contain words that function in a variety of roles. We
assign words to a word class, depending on the role it is
performing in a sentence.




Nouns name persons, places, things, ideas.
Verbs express action or state of being.
Adjectives describe or “modify” nouns.
Adverbs describe or “modify” verbs, adjectives, other adverbs,
and entire sentences.
There are also phrases & clauses that correspond to each of these
word classes, e.g., noun phrase, noun clause.
The diligent students discussed freedom in class today.
Their conscientious professor is at a conference this week.
Phrases
A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single
part of speech. For example, a prepositional phrase (PP)
can function as an adverb:
 The diligent students discussed freedom in class today.
Here, the phrase in class answers this question: Where did the
students discuss freedom today?
 The subject of the sentence is a noun phrase (NP): the
diligent students.
Clauses
 A clause has a subject and a predicate (the predicate is
the verb and its modifiers). If the clause can stand
alone, we call it an independent clause (IC). If it can’t
because it is preceded by a subordinating conjunction,
we call it dependent (DC).
 The diligent students discussed freedom in class today
while the teacher was away at a conference.
Sentence Elements, con’t.
 Pronouns take the place of nouns.
 Prepositions introduce prepositional phrases (PP) that express the
relationship between two sentence elements (e.g., direction, time, location,
manner).
 Articles (the, a, an) introduce a noun phrase (NP) and mark nouns as
definite (the book) or indefinite (a book).
 Conjunctions connect sentence elements.
 Interjections are exclamatory utterances: Ouch!
 The diligent studentsNPdiscussedV freedomN in classPP todayADV.
 Their conscientious professorNP isV at a conferencePP this weekAdvP.
 SheP will returnVP soonAdv andConj shareV what she learnedNP with her
studentsPP.
Subordinating Conjunctions connect sentence
elements of unequal value. They introduce dependent
clauses, which cannot stand alone.
Here are a few:
After
Before
Though
While
Because
When
unless
if
since
as
whereas
although
Notice that some of them function as prepositions when they’re
followed by a noun phrase.
Examples:
•After class, I /studied in the library. (prepositional phrase)
•After the teacher /dismissed class, I /studied in the library. (subordinate—
also known as “dependent”--clause)
The independent clause I studied in the library carries more weight.
Coordinating Conjunctions connect sentence
elements of equal value. They introduce independent
clauses and can begin a sentence.
FANBOYS
 For
 And
 Nor
 But
 Or
 Yet
 So
The princess kissed
the brave feline,
and he was
instantly
transformed into a
handsome prince.
For the good fairy
had heard his wish
to become human.
Transition Words, also known as
conjunctive adverbs, join independent
clauses and introduce sentences.
Here are some familiar ones:
Besides
Likewise
Moreover
Consequently
Then
Therefore
Nevertheless
However
otherwise
in addition
as a result
also
meanwhile
hence
thus
on the other hand
He’s absent frequently; therefore, his grade is
low.
Four Basic Sentence Types
Form
1. Simple
2. Complex
3. Compound
4. Compound/Complex
Simple Sentence: One IC
Subject/Predicate (verb + modifiers)
In the examples below a slash separates the
subject from the predicate.
 The noisy students and their dogs/ disturbed the
English teacher.
 The students /studied in the library.
 (you) /Go!
The Complex Sentence: Only
one IC + at least one DC
 After the noisy students /disturbed the English
teacher, they /sneaked out of the room before the
class /was dismissed.
 The diligent students /completed the assignment
before the teacher /asked for it.
Compound Sentence: At least
two IC’s and NO DC’s
 The noisy students /tormented the teacher, but the
quiet ones /inspired her.
 The noisy students /tormented the teacher; however,
the quiet ones /inspired her.
 The noisy students /tormented the teacher; the quiet
ones /inspired her.
Compound/Complex Sentence: At
least two IC’s + at least one DC
 The screeching cat /chased her tail, and the confused
dog /yelped, while their guardian/ slept soundly.
 Before he /left for work, the man /opened a can of tuna
for breakfast, but it /tasted funny, so he /gave it to his
cat.
Sentence Fragments
. . . little pieces of sentences
that are punctuated as complete
sentences
Avoid writing inappropriate
sentence fragments!
In the house.
She worked in the house.
Before he left for work.
Before he left for work, he walked the
cat.
Because I like to read.
Because I like to read, I enjoy my
solitude.
Which they already had
heard.
The boss told his employees the big news,
which they already had heard.
Run-Together Sentences
ifwewrotewithoutpunctuationth
eworldwouldbeaveryconfusingpl
aceandheavenknowsit’sconfusin
genoughasitis
Don’t write run-together
sentences.
The lazy cat slept all day it was no
surprise that he prowled the house all
night.
The lazy cat slept all day, so it was no
surprise that he prowled the house all
night.
How would you fix this?
Sometimes students enroll in too many
courses in one quarter they don’t enjoy
learning then they may eventually drop
out.
Sometimes students enroll in too many
courses in one quarter, so they don’t
enjoy learning. Then they may eventually
drop out.
You must be feeling better by
now. Have fun!