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SENTENCE STRUCTURE ENG 105 WRITING CHAPTER 1 What is a sentence? A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. These are sentences: He is a student. It is hot today. He looks tired Hurry! Don’t be late. Does your sister live with you? Where did you buy that hat? The man bought a new car. These are NOT sentences: Is very athletic. (There is no subject) CORRECTED: He is very athletic. The baby sleepy. (There is no verb) CORRECTED: The baby is sleepy. The man bought. (This is not a complete thought. What did the man buy?) CORRECTED: The man bought a cup of copy. object When I finish my education. (This is not a complete thought. What will happen when I finish my education?) CORRECTED: When I finish my education, I will work for my uncle. COMMAND SENTENCES If a sentence gives a command or instruction, we understand that the subject is you, but we do not say or write you. The verb in a command sentence is always in the simple (dictionary) form – stop, go, wait, be, eat. To make a command negative, put don’t in front of the verb. Commands (You) Be quiet. (You) Speak slowly. Negative Commands (You) Don’t eat so much! (You) Don’t worry Subjects, Verbs, and Objects In English, the subject of a sentence is always expressed (except in commands). The subject tells who or what did something. It is a noun or pronoun. e.g: My roommate lost his keys. (Who lost his keys? – my roommate) The verb usually tells an action. Sometimes a verb does not tell an action. Sometimes it just links the subject with the rest of the sentence. Action verbs name an action, such as hit, live, lose, speak, go and come. e.g.The taxi hit the child. My family lives in a two-bedroom apartment. Linking verbs link the subject with the rest of the sentence. Linking verbs do not have objects. The most common linking verbs are be, become, look, feel, seem, smell, sound and taste. e.g. Soccer and tennis are my favorite sports. The object receives the action of an action verb. It is a noun or pronoun. SENTENCE TYPES There are three kinds of sentence in English: 1. Simple 2. Compound 3. Complex 1. Simple Sentence A simple sentence is a sentence that has one subject-verb pair. The word simple in ‘simple sentence’ does not mean ‘easy’. It means ‘one subject-verb pair’. The subject in a simple sentence may be compound. e.g. My brother and I are completely different. The verb in a simple sentence may be compound: e.g.They laughed and cried at the same time. However, each sentence is a simple sentence because it has only one subject-verb pair. 2. Compound Sentence A compound sentence is two simple sentences connected by a comma and a coordinating conjunction. This is the basic formula for a compound sentence: Simple sentence, COORDINATING CONJUCTION Simple sentence These are compound sentences: Simple Sentence Coordinating Conjunction Simple Sentence My family goes camping every summer, and we usually have fun. Last year we went camping at Blue Lake, but We had a terrible time. Next year we’ll go to the beach, or Perhaps we’ll stay at home. We want to buy a house soon, so We need to save money. Compound Sentence Command sentences can also be compound. Remember that the subject “you” is not expressed in commands. e.g. Come visit us again soon, Have a good time, and but bring your family with you. don’t stay out too late. Here are three important points to know about compound sentences: 1. A comma and a coordinating conjunction connect the two halves of a compound sentence. 2. There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. 3. Do not confuse a compound sentence with a simple sentence that has a compound verb. The first sentence in each of the following pairs of sentences is simple and does not need a comma.The second one is compound and requires a comma. Coordinators (Coordinating Conjunctions) To add a reason for Japanese people live longer than most other nationalities, for they eat healthful diets. To add a similar, equal idea and They eat a lot of fish and vegetables, and they eat lightly. To add a negative equal idea nor They do not eat a lot of red meat, nor do they eat many dairy products. To add an opposite idea but Diet is one factor in how long people live, but it is not the only factor. To add an alternative possibilty or However, people should limit the amount of animal fat in their diets, or they risk getting heart disease. To add an unexpected or surprising continuation yet Cigarette smoking is a factor in longevity, yet Japanese and other long-lived Asians have a very high rate of tobacco use. To add an expected result so Doctors say that stress is another longevity factor, so try to avoid stress if you wish to live a longer life. Independent & Dependent Clauses A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. There are two kinds of clauses in English: independent clauses and dependent clauses. Independent Clause S V It rained Dependent Clause S V because it rained Independent & Dependent Clauses An independent clause has one SV pair and expresses a complete thought. Independent clause is just another name for a simple sentence. e.g. Paris has excellent art museums. S V A dependent clause is an independent clause with a subordinating word, such as because, after, and when, added to the beginning of it. e.g. Because Paris has excellent art museums… Subordinating S V Word A dependent clause does not express a complete thought, so it is not a sentence by itself. It is only half of a sentence. It MUST be joined to an independent clause.Together, the two clauses express a complete thought. e.g. Art students should visit Paris because it has excellent art museums INDEPENDENT CLAUSE DEPENDENT CLAUSE After we finished our homework, we watched TV for a while. DEPENDENT CLAUSE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE 3. Complex Sentences A complex sentence has one independent clause and one (or more) dependent clauses. When the dependent clause begins with an adverb subordinator, the clauses can usually be in any order. e.g.We ran for shelter as soon as it started to rain. As soon as it started to rain, we ran for shelter. If the independent clause is first, do not use a comma. We ran for shelter as soon as it started to rain. If the dependent clause is first, put a comma after it. As soon as it started to rain, we ran for shelter. Adverbial Clauses An adverbial clause is a type of dependent clause. Using an adverbial clause makes your writing more sophisticated. To make an adverbial clause from an independent clause, use a subordinating conjunction. e.g. Joe has always loved to read. He studied literature in college. To show that one sentence is the clause of the other one, you can use the subordinator because or since. e.g. Because Joe has always loved to read, he studied literature in college. Since Joe has always loved to read, he studied literature in college. e.g. Joe liked playing sports. Joe was not very good at it. To show surprise that Joe is not good at sports, you can use even though or although. Even though Joe liked playing sports, he was not very good at it. Although Joe liked playing sports, he was not very good at it. As with transitions, there are many subordinators. Here are some of the most common ones. Chronology Causation Unexpected Result Difference Condition after because although whereas if as since even though while before until when while Time Subordinators Certain adverb subordinators introduce time clauses. Here are some common time subordinators. Time Subordinators After I will go straight to bed after I finish writing this paragraph. As soon as She felt better as soon as she took the medicine. Before Wait for a green light before you cross a street. Since It has been a year since I left home. Until We cannot leave the room until everyone finishes the test. When Where were you when I called? Whenever Whenever I do not sleep well, I feel sick the next day. while My neighbors were having a party while I was trying to sleep. CAUTION!!! A few time subordinators are also prepositions. Prepositions are followed by nouns. Subordinators are followed by subject-verb combinations. after my accident (preposition) after I had an accident (subordinator) before class (preposition) before class stars (subordinator) until ten o’clock (preposition) until the bell rings (subordinator) Reason Clauses An adverbial reason clause answers the question “Why?” A reason clause is introduced by the subordinators because, since, and as. e.g. Europeans are in some ways better environmentalists than North Americans because they are more used to conserving energy. Since many Europeans live, work, and shop in the same locale, they are quite accustomed to riding bicycles, trains, and streetcars to get around. As the price of gasoline has always been quite high in Europe, if a European owns an automobile, it is likely to be a high-mileage model that uses diesel fuel. Concession (Unexpected Result) Clauses Adverbial clauses of concession are used to express ideas or actions that are not expected. The information in the independent clause indicates a concession or an unexpected result of something described in the dependent clause. Adverbial clauses of concession are introduced by the subordinators although, even though and though. e.g. Although I studied all night, I failed the test. I failed the test although I studied all night. Notice the difference in meaning between because and even though. e.g. Because the weather was cold, I didn’t go swimming (expected result) Even though the weather was cold, I went swimming (unexpected result)