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As we talk about these grammar basics
today, please take your own notes.
Format your notes like this:
(key words in left column)
complete sentence
(notes/definitions in right
column)
has a subject and predicate
and can stand on its own
The subject of a sentence is the person,
place, thing, or idea that is “doing” or
“being” in the sentence.
Wild horses run on the beach.
The subject of a sentence is the person,
place, thing, or idea that is “doing” or
“being” in the sentence.
Wild horses run on the beach.
“Wild horses” is the subject.
The predicate of a sentence is the part
of a sentence that contains the verb and
describes something about the subject.
Wild horses run on the beach.
The predicate of a sentence is the part
of a sentence that contains the verb and
describes something about the subject.
Wild horses run on the beach.
“run” is the verb
The predicate of a sentence is the part
of a sentence that contains the verb and
describes something about the subject.
Wild horses run on the beach.
“run on the beach” is the predicate
A complete sentence has a subject and
a predicate (the predicate is the part of
the sentence that contains the verb)
and can stand independently on its
own. For example:
The cat slept.
The cat slept.
This is an example of a simple
sentence—one that contains one
subject and one predicate.
The cat slept soundly.
Is this still a simple sentence?
The cat slept soundly.
Yes! This is still a simple sentence—the
adverb “soundly” is modifying the verb
“slept,” but there is still just one subject
and one predicate.
The cat slept soundly
on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Is this still a simple sentence?
The cat slept soundly
on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Yes! It is still a simple sentence because
it contains only one subject and one
predicate. “On the rug in front of the
fireplace” is a prepositional phrase that
tells us where the cat slept.
The cat slept soundly
and purred in its sleep.
What has happened to make this
something other than a simple
sentence?
The cat slept soundly
and purred in its sleep.
We’ve added another verb. This is called
a compound predicate. A compound
predicate is a predicate that has two or
more verbs.
The cat and the kittens slept soundly.
What’s going on here?
The cat and the kittens slept soundly.
This sentence has a compound subject.
A compound subject is a subject that
has two or more nouns.
The cat slept soundly on the rug, and
the dog ate its food in the kitchen.
What would you call this sentence?
The cat slept soundly on the rug, and
the dog ate its food in the kitchen.
In this example, two simple sentences
have been joined by a comma plus the
conjunction “and” to form a compound
sentence.
The cat slept soundly on the rug, and
the dog ate its food in the kitchen.
A compound sentence is a sentence
made of two or more independent
clauses that could stand on their own as
individual sentences.
There are other variations called
complex sentences and compoundcomplex sentences, but we will save
those for another day.
Three of the most common grammatical
errors arise from problems with simple
and compound sentences:
sentence fragments
run-on sentences
comma splices
Sentence fragments occur when an
author tries to make an incomplete
sentence stand on its own.
Explain why each of the following is a
sentence fragment.
Made breakfast at home.
Made breakfast at home.
(no subject)
My sister and I.
My sister and I.
(no verb)
While Mom was at the store.
While Mom was at the store.
(this is a dependent clause that can’t
stand as a complete sentence even
though it has a subject and predicate)
Run-on sentences occur when an
author tries to join two clauses into a
compound sentences without any
punctuation.
My sister and I rode our bikes
to the lake we went swimming.
You can correct a run-on sentence by
using a semicolon between the two
independent clauses OR by using a
comma plus a conjunction OR by
making two complete sentences.
My sister and I rode our bikes
to the lake; we went swimming.
My sister and I rode our bikes
to the lake, and we went swimming.
My sister and I rode our bikes
to the lake. We went swimming.
A comma splice is like a run-on
sentence, but the author has tried to
join the two clauses into a compound
sentence with just a comma.
My sister and I rode our bikes
to the lake, we went swimming.
Correction of a comma splice is the
same as correction for a run-on
sentence: join the two clauses with a
semicolon or a comma plus a
conjunction, or form two complete
sentences.