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Phrase – a group of two or more words
Noun phrase – a group of words that represents a person, place, or
thing
Verb phrase – a group of words that represent an action
Clause – a group of words with both a noun and a verb which may or
may not be a complete sentence
Subject – what performs the action in a
sentence
Verb – what the subject does in a sentence
Object – what the verb is acting on in a sentence
Predicate – the main verb phrase in a sentence
My teacher assigns fascinating works of
literature.
Independent vs. Dependent Clauses
An independent clause consists of a subject and
a verb and can exist by itself as a simple
sentence:
• Eric enjoys the books of Stephen King more
than those of Dan Brown.
• English is Lu’s favorite subject in school.
• Salad is my favorite food.
Independent vs. Dependent Clauses
A dependent clause is not a complete sentence
by itself, and often contains a subordinating
conjunction that signifies more information is
needed to finish the sentence:
• Even though he loved The DaVinci Code
• Despite the fact that her major is Civil
Engineering
• Although I love hamburgers
Independent vs. Dependent Clauses
A dependent clause needs an independent clause in
order to form a complete sentence. A comma is
used to combine the two:
• Even though he loved The DaVinci Code, Eric
enjoys the books of Stephen King more than
those of Dan Brown.
• Despite the fact that her major is Civil
Engineering, English is Lu’s favorite subject in
school.
• Although I love hamburgers, salad is my favorite
food.
Independent vs. Dependent Clauses
However, a comma is not always needed if the
independent clause precedes the dependent
clause:
• Eric enjoys the books of Stephen King more than
those of Dan Brown even though he loved The
DaVinci Code.
• English is Lu’s favorite subject in school despite
the fact that her major is Civil Engineering.
• Salad is my favorite food, although I love
hamburgers.
Copy each of these sentences in your
notebook.
1) since she laughs at diffident men
2) I despise individuals of low character
3) when the saints go marching in
4) Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid
raccoon
5) because she smiled at him
Are the following independent or dependent
clauses?
1) since she laughs at diffident men
2) I despise individuals of low character
3) when the saints go marching in
4) Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid
raccoon
5) because she smiled at him
Identify any dependent markers (subordinating
conjunctions) that you can find below.
1) since she laughs at diffident men
2) I despise individuals of low character
3) when the saints go marching in
4) Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid
raccoon
5) because she smiled at him
Identify two noun phrases that you can find
below.
1) since she laughs at diffident men
2) I despise individuals of low character
3) when the saints go marching in
4) Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid
raccoon
5) because she smiled at him
Identify two verb phrases that you can find
below.
1) since she laughs at diffident men
2) I despise individuals of low character
3) when the saints go marching in
4) Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid
raccoon
5) because she smiled at him
Identify the subject, predicate, and object in
each of the following sentences.
• I despise individuals of low character.
• Obediah Simpson is uglier than a rabid
raccoon.
A compound sentence is a sentence that contains at least two
independent clauses.
Compound sentences can be formed:
(1) using coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
(2) using the semicolon
"They may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom.”
"The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign
of the terrible lizards had long since ended."
"Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't go
to yours."
"Feasts must be solemn and rare, or else they cease to be
feasts."
A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one
or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a
subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when
(and many others) or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or
which.
“When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the
teacher the last page.”
“After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the
movies.”
“Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished
studying.”
An appositive is a noun phrase inserted into a
sentence that gives extra meaning or identifying
information about the nouns in the sentence.
“My school, Brooklyn Tech, is in Fort Greene.”
“When I get home I play League of Legends, my
favorite game.”
“This summer I read The Hunger Games, a book
about a violent dystopian future.”
Add an appositive:
Yesterday my best friend threw snowballs at my
head.
We went to Rockaway Beach on Wednesday.
The musicians yelled at the crowd and refused
to play.
Participles are verb forms ending in –ing or –ed
that can serve as adjectives.
“My favorite food is fried fish.”
“The running boy left us all behind.”
“His story was chilling and disturbing.”
“They are too obsessed with One Direction and
never get any work done.”
A participial phrase contains a participle and is
also inserted into a sentence to add information
about the subject of that sentence.
“Whistling a tune, Janie skipped down Penny
Lane.”
“We all saw him sitting there alone, dejected
and depressed.”
“Thinking that the test was on Tuesday, Alan
had not studied over the weekend.”
Add a participial phrase:
Jack did not know what day it was.
Beth showed everyone else that she was the
best employee.
Beyonce dazzled the audience.
Combine into one sentence:
I have a cat.
My cat’s name is Matt.
Matt is fat.
Matt is wearing a cravat.
Matt is lazy.
Matt is sitting on my head.
Matt shed his fur all over my bed.
Sentence Combining
There several strategies:
• Use a semicolon.
• Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction:
FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
• Make sure you know the difference between
dependent and independent clauses.
• Of course, you can revise the sentences in
other ways.
Sentence Combining
Use a semicolon OR a conjunction to separate two related
independent clauses:
• The students at Apex University have oceans of school
spirit.
• The professors at Apex university have the time and
resources to give the students the attention they need.
• Combined: The students at Apex University have
oceans of spirit; their professors have the time and
resources to give them the attention they need.
• Combined: The students at Apex University have
oceans of spirit because their professors have the time
and resources to give them the attention they need.
Sentence Combining
Use a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS – for,
and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to combine two clauses.
• Tracy was looking forward to seeing Pacific Rim.
• Tracy’s friends wanted to see The Lone Ranger.
• Combined: Tracy was looking forward to seeing
Pacific Rim, but her friends wanted to see The
Lone Ranger.