Download Parts of a Sentence File

Parts of a Sentence
Compliments of CMHS Staff 
Complete Sentence
 A sentence is a grammatically complete group of
words that expresses a thought.
 Must perform 2 functions:
 Tell you the noun that the sentence is about
 Tell you what that noun does or is
 A sentence fragment is a group of words that is not
grammatically complete
 DON’T DO IT!
A sentence always have one
of four purposes…
1. Declarative sentences make a statement. They end with a
period. The show lasted three hours.
2. Imperative sentences make a command or a request.
They end with either a period or (if the command shows
strong feeling) an exclamation point. Please sing “I Love My
Sneakers More Than Her” again.
3. Interrogative sentences ask a question. They end with a
question mark. What is your favorite song?
4. Exclamatory sentences express strong feeling. They end
with an exclamation point. Hey! You spilled my soda!
Subject and Predicate
 Every sentence must have two parts: a subject and a
predicate.
 The subject of a sentence names the person, thing, or
idea that the sentence is about.
 The predicate of a sentence tells what the subject does,
what the subject is, or what happens to the subject.
 A subject and a predicate may be a single word or a
groups of words.
 Ex: Joe studies. The president of the senior class will
study architecture in college
Keep It “Simple”
 The simple subject is the key word or words in the subject.
 When a proper noun or a compound noun is a simple subject, it
may be more than one word.
 The complete subject is made up of the simple subject and
all of its modifiers (such as adjectives and prepositional
phrases).
Pizza at Vinnie’s
Mushrooms or onions
Vinnie
That low price
Keep It “Simple” Again
 The simple predicate is always one or more verbs or verb
phrases that tell something about the subject.
 The complete predicate contains the verb or verbs and all
modifiers (such as adverbs and prepositional phrases),
objects, and complements.
…tastes better these days.
…are extra and cost more.
…now charges ten dollars for a pie.
…will not last long.
Finding the Subject
 In an inverted sentence, the verb (v) comes before the
subject (s).
 Used for poetic reasons or to build suspense.
 Ex: Over the castle’s walls stormed (v) the knights (s).
 The words here and there are very seldom the subject of a
sentence. In a sentence beginning with either, look for the
subject after the verb.
 Ex: Here is (v) the front-door key (s).
 The subject of a sentence is never part of a prepositional
phrase.
 Ex: The areas (s) of most geometric figures are simple to
calculate.
Finding the Subject Again
 To find the subject of a question, turn the question into a
statement.
 Ex: What color is (v) your dress (s)?  Your dress (s) is (v)
what color.
 In a command or request (an imperative sentence), the
subject is always you (the person being spoken to).
 Ex: [You] Please leave the kingdom.
 Even when you mention the name of the person being
spoken to, the subject is still understood to be you.
 Ex: Alex, [you] stop that this minute!
Correcting Fragments
 Use three strategies to correct fragments while revising and
editing:
1. Attach it. Join the fragment to a complete sentence before
or after it.
Fragment
Located along the Nile south of Egypt. Nubia was largely
unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Revised
Located along the Nile south of Egypt, Nubia was largely
unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Correcting Fragments Again
2. Add some words. Introduce the missing subject, verb, or
whatever other words are necessary to make the group of
words grammatically complete.
Fragment
The wealthy region. Wondrous goods such as ebony, ivory,
panther skins traveled north in abundance.
Revised
The wealthy region offered wondrous goods such as ebony,
ivory, panther skins traveled north in abundance.
Correcting Fragments Again
3. Drop or replace some words. Drop the relative
pronouns or subordinating conjunction that creates a
fragment.
Fragment
The Nubian warriors who were very skilled with the bow
and arrow.
Revised
The Nubian warriors were very skilled with the bow and
arrow.
Correcting Run-on Sentences
 A run-on sentence is made up of two or more
sentences that are incorrectly run together as a single
sentence.
 A run-on with no punctuation separating its sentences is
called a fused sentence; a run-on with only a comma
separating its sentences is called a comma splice.
 Here are five strategies that effective writers use to
avoid or to correct run-on sentences:
1. Separate them.
 Add end punctuation and a capital letter to separate the
sentences.
 No: Corals are invertebrates, they are related to jellyfish.
 Yes: Corals are invertebrates. They are related to jellyfish.
2. Use a conjunction.
 Use a coordinating or correlative conjunction preceded
by a comma.
 No: Corals form colonies that cover more than 200,000
square miles of sea floor, Australia’s 1,250-mile-long
Great Barrier Reef is one of their creations.
 Yes: Corals form colonies that cover more than 200,000
square miles of sea floor, and Australia’s 1,250-mile-long
Great Barrier Reef is one of their creations.
3. Insert a semicolon.
 Use a semicolon to separate the two sentences
 No: Modern species of coral evolved about 230 million
years ago they have changed little since then.
 Yes: Modern species of coral evolved about 230 million
years ago; they have changed little since then.
4. Add a conjunctive adverb.
 Use a semicolon together with either a conjunctive
adverb or a transitional expression.
 Be sure to put a comma after the conjunctive adverb.
 No: Coral reefs provide food for fish, they are home to
starfish, crabs, eels, sea slugs, and sponges.
 Yes: Coral reefs provide food for fish; in addition, they are
home to starfish, crabs, eels, sea slugs, and sponges.
5. Create a clause.
 Turn one of the sentences into a subordinate clause.
 No: Individual corals are the size of chocolate chips, they
can build some of the largest solid structures on Earth.
 Yes: Although individual corals are the size of chocolate
chips, they can build some of the largest solid structures
on Earth
Direct and Indirect Objects
 A direct object (DO) is a noun or pronoun that
receives the action of an action verb.
 A direct object answers the question whom or what
following the verb.
 Jerome carried his backpack (DO) to school. [He
carried—what?—a backpack.]
 We spotted the ranger (DO) and the horse (DO) by the
falls. [We spotted—whom or what?—the ranger and the
horse.]
More Object Stuff
 When an action verb is followed by an object, the verb
is called transitive.
 Ex: The pitcher threw a curveball (DO) and then a slider
(DO).
 When an action verb stands without an object, the verb
is called intransitive.
 Ex: He threw more powerfully than ever before.
More Stuff
 An indirect object (IO) is a noun or pronoun that
answers the question to whom or for whom or to what
or for what following an action verb.
 Ex: She gave me (IO) the assignment (DO). [She gave
the assignment—to whom?—to me.]
 Ex: I gave the wall (IO) and ceiling (IO) one more coat
(DO) of paint. [I gave one more coat—to what?—to the
wall and ceiling.]
A twist
 The following sentences have the same meaning, but
only the first sentence has an indirect object—Jack.
The second sentence includes to Jack, a prepositional
phrase, not an indirect object.
 Please show Jack (IO) the test scores (DO).
 Please show the test scores (DO) to Jack.
Subject Complement
 A linking verb needs a subject complement—a noun,
pronoun, or adjective—after it in order to express a
complete thought.
 The woman standing next to the car is its owner.
 Yes, the owner is she.
 She appears lost.
Predicate Nominatives and
Predicate Adjectives
 A subject complement that is a noun or pronoun is
called a predicate nominative (PN). A predicate
nominative is a noun or pronoun that follows a linking
verb (LV) and renames or identifies the subjects.
 Ex: The grand slam (s) was (LV) his (PN). [His is a
pronoun that identifies the subject, grand slam.]
 Common Linking Verbs: appear, become, fell, grow,
look, remain, seem, smell, sound, taste, turn
More Predicates
 A subject complement that is an adjective is called a
predicate adjective (PA). A predicate adjective is an
adjective that follows a linking verb and modifies, or
describes, the subject.
 Ex: The speech (s) was (LV) brief (PA) but powerful (PA).
[Brief and powerful are adjectives that modify the subject,
speech.]
Object Complements
 An object complement (OC) is a noun, pronoun, or
adjective that follows the direct object (DO) and
identifies or describes it.
 Ex: The class elected me (DO) president (OC).
 Ex: The news made him (DO) upset (OC) and frantic
(OC).
 The following verbs (and any of their synonyms) can
take object complements: appoint, call, choose,
consider, cut, elect, find, make, name, paint, sweep,
think
Done. Happy Face. 