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Effective
Sentences
Unit 4
The Basic Sentence
A complete sentence is a group of words
that expresses a complete thought.
A sentence has two basic parts—a subject
and a verb.
SUBJECT
The subject of a sentence is the word or group of
words that answers the question Who? or What?
before the verb.
V
Cowboys herd cattle for a living.
V
Our ranch was in Texas.
The noun Cowboys is the subject that tells us who
herd the cattle. The noun ranch is the subject that
tells what was in Texas.
Identify the subject in the following
sentences.
Sara delivers the newspaper.
Sara
Her customers like getting the paper
delivered.
customers
The newspaper is important to them.
newspaper
Kevin bought the newspaper at the corner
store.
Kevin
He paid $1.25 for the paper.
He
VERB
The verb in a sentence tells what the subject does, what is
done to the subject, or what the condition of the subject is.
S
Bobby gave an unforgettable show.
S
Their prize horse was stolen.
S
She has been blue all day.
Gave is the verb in the first sentence. It tells what the
subject, Bobby, did. In the second example, was
stolen tells what was done to the subject horse. Has
been in the third example is a linking verb. It tells
something about the condition of the subject by linking
she to the word blue.
Identify the verb in the following sentences.
The paper prints three editions.
prints
Sara delivers 68 papers every day.
delivers
She gets paid once a week.
paid
It has been a good job for Sara.
has been
COMPLETE THOUGHT
A group of words expresses a complete thought
if it can stand by itself and still make sense.
The man in the cowboy hat.
“What about the man in the cowboy hat?” a
reader might ask. Standing by itself, this group
of words makes no sense. The verb is missing.
If the sentence is complete, state complete, but
if the sentence is not a complete sentence
state not complete.
Some drivers enjoy automobile racing.
complete
The sport tests the skills.
complete
The drivers race over tracks or courses.
complete
Each course has a different length, design, and
construction.
complete
It has become one of the most popular.
not complete
This activity is a year-round sport.
complete
Racing cars have two categories.
complete
Open-wheeled vehicles and closed- wheeled
vehicles.
not complete
The wheels are not under the fenders in openwheeled vehicles.
complete
In closed-wheeled vehicles.
not complete
SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
Sentence fragments lack either a complete
subject or a complete verb.
Also they do not express a complete
thought.
Example: A pumpkin three feet tall.
The reader is wondering “What about a
three-foot-tall pumpkin?”
Sentence Fragments
Can be:
– A group of words with no subject
– A group of words that includes a possible
subject but no verb
– A group of words with a possible subject and
only part of a possible verb
– A subordinate clause standing alone
(Subordinate clause – a group of words
containing both a subject and a verb that
cannot stand by itself as a complete
sentence)
Correcting Sentence Fragments
Fragment
Her sister.
Problem
The fragment lacks a
predicate.
What did her sister do?
Sentence
Her sister
discovered the
poems in her
bureau.
The fragment lacks a
Wrote about subject.
her
Who wrote about her
emotions.
emotions?
The gifted poet
wrote about her
emotions.
The fragment lacks
Of meaning. both a subject and a
predicate.
Her poems
contain many
layers of
meaning.
Identify each of the following groups of
words as either a sentence or a fragment.
On top of the hill.
– Fragment
On the morning of the big game.
– Fragment
Leave now.
– Sentence
The book with the World War II pictures.
– Fragment
After trying to convince them all morning.
– Fragment
Gum chewing is not allowed.
– Sentence
At another time, perhaps in another era.
– Fragment
A bus racing toward the intersection.
– Fragment
Although he invited me to the party.
– Fragment
Must be out of the apartment by this time
tomorrow.
– Fragment
I know the way to the downtown shopping area.
– Sentence
FOUR FUNCTIONS OF
SENTENCES
• Different kinds of sentences have different
purposes. A sentence can make a
statement, ask a question, give a
command, or express strong feeling. All
sentences begin with a capital letter and
end with a punctuation mark. The
punctuation mark at the end of the
sentence is determined by the purpose of
that sentence.
DECLARATIVE SENTENCES
A declarative sentence states an idea and
ends with a period.
A great network of railways crisscrosses
the vast Indian subcontinent.
The trains are fast and efficient.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE
An interrogative sentence asks a question
and ends with a question mark.
Whose ticket is this?
Which countries in Europe and Asia have
high-speed trains?
IMPERATIVE SENTENCE
An imperative sentence gives an order or a
direction and ends with either a period or an
exclamation mark.
Most imperative sentences start with a verb. In
this type of sentence, the subject is understood
to be you.
Follow the directions carefully to get to the
correct platform.
Wait for me!
EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE
An exclamatory sentence conveys strong
emotion and ends with a exclamation
mark.
She’s not telling the truth!
What an outrage that is!
After each sentence, state the appropriate
punctuation mark for the sentence. Next,
identify the type of each sentence;
declarative, interrogative, imperative, or
exclamatory.
Please correct your misspelled words now
period/imperative
Ginseng is an herb used for medicinal
purposes
period/declarative
What a terrible accident
exclamation mark/exclamatory
Which artist do you admire the most
question mark/interrogative
Mary Pickford starred in My Best Girl
period/declarative
How many videotapes do you have in your
collection
question mark/interrogative
Drive to the first traffic light and turn right
period/imperative
Who is this strange person
question mark/interrogative
In Greek mythology Orpheus wrote beautiful
music
period/declarative
Stop that shouting
exclamation mark/imperative
COMPLETE SUBJECTS AND
COMPLETE PREDICATES
Every sentence can be divided into two
parts—a complete subject and a complete
predicate. The complete subject consists
of the subject and any words related to it.
The complete predicate consists of the
verb and any words related to it.
The complete subject and the complete
predicate include all modifiers, articles,
and prepositions relating to each.
Complete Subject
The complete subject of a sentence consists
of the subject and any word related to it.
A complete subject may be just one word–
the subject itself—or it may be several
words.
The simple subject is always a noun or a
pronoun.
Complete Predicate
The complete predicate of a sentence
consists of the verb and any words related
to it.
A complete predicate may be just one
word—a verb—or it may be several words.
The simple predicate is always a verb.
Underline the subject once and the verb
twice. Then draw a vertical line between
the complete subject and the complete
predicate.
Some famous outlaws played a big part in
the Wild West.
Jesse James was an American outlaw.
He was known throughout the country for
bank and train robberies.
The young man joined a band of proConfederate raiders at the age of fifteen.
The group was led by William Clarke
Quantrill.
Jesse James later organized his own group
of robbers.
The members of the group included his
older brother, Frank, and Robert Younger.
One infamous bank robbery occurred at the
First National Bank of Northfield in
Minnesota.
The clerk would not open the safe.
The gang shot him before they escaped.
COMPOUND SUBJECTS AND
COMPOUND PREDICATE
A sentence might have more than one
simple subject or simple predicate.
A compound subject is two or more
simple subjects that have the same
predicate. The subjects are joined by
and, both…and, either…or,
neither…nor, or but.
Compound Subject
Charlotte Brontë and Emily Brontë were
sisters.
When the two simple subjects are joined
by and or by both…and, the compound
subject is plural. Use the plural form of
the verb to agree with this plural
compound subject.
Either Charlotte or Emily is my favorite
author.
Neither Charlotte nor her sisters were
outgoing.
In the first sentence, Emily is the nearer
subject, and so the singular form of the
verb is used. In the second sentence
sisters is the nearer subject, and so the
plural form is used.
A compound predicate is two or more
simple predicates, or verbs, that have
the same subject. The verbs are
connected by and, both…and,
either…or, neither…nor, or but.
Many students read the novel Jane Eyre
and enjoy it.
The compound predicate in this sentence
consists of read and enjoy. Both verbs
agree with the plural subject.
State whether each sentence has a
compound subject or a compound
predicate and state what they are.
Either Charlotte or Emily Brontë will be the
subject of my research paper entitled “A
Great Nineteenth-century Novelist.”
– compound subject, Charlotte/Emily
Brontë
Neither Anne nor Emily is as well known as
Charlotte.
– compound subject, Anne/Emily
Many readers have read and enjoyed their
books.
– compound predicate, read/enjoyed
Some scholars buy or sell rare editions of
their books.
– compound predicate, buy/sell
Neither the Brontë sisters nor their brother
was long-lived.
– compound subject, sisters/brother
The Brontë sisters lived and wrote in
Yorkshire, England.
– compound predicate, lived/wrote
Charlotte’s mother and sisters died early.
– compound subject, mother/sisters
Anne Brontë both wrote novels and worked
as a governess.
– compound predicate, wrote/worked
Scholars study and discuss the Brontës’
novels.
– compound predicate, study/discuss
Either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre is my
favorite Brontë novel.
– compound subject,
Wuthering Heights/Jane Eyre
State the correct form of the verb in
parentheses.
Neither Emily Brontë’s poems nor her one
novel (deserve, deserves) to be forgotten.
– deserves
Either Wuthering Heights or her poetic
works (draw, draws) praise from critics
everywhere.
– draw
Her writing (show, shows) an understanding
of people and (reveal, reveals) her love of
England.
– shows, reveals
Critics and other readers (discuss, discusses)
and (praise, praises) her single novel.
– discuss, praise
Critics or other readers (pay, pays) more
attention to Charlotte Brontë’s works.
– pay
Charlotte’s novel Shirley (paint, paints) a
portrait of Emily and (show, shows) her
feelings for her sister.
– paints, shows
Charlotte’s novels (reflect, reflects) her life
experiences and (reveal, reveals) her
dreams.
– reflect, reveal
Both Anne Brontë’s novel Agnes Grey and
Charlotte's The Professor (tell, tells) love
stories.
– tell
Charlotte’s novels Shirley and Villette
(receive, receives) less attention today.
– receive
Neither Anne’s the Tenant of Wildfell Hall nor
Charlotte’s Shirley (attract, attracts) many
readers today.
– attracts
SIMPLE AND COMPOUND
SENTENCES
All sentences can be organized into four
basic sentence structures:
– Simple
– Compound
– Complex
– Compound-Complex
SIMPLE SENTENCE
A simple sentence consists of a single
independent clause.
A simple sentence can be short or long.
It must contain a subject and a verb.
It may also contain compliments, modifiers,
and phrases.
Some simple sentences contain various
compounds—a compound subject, a
compound verb, or both.
Other parts of the sentence may also be
compound.
A simple sentence, however, does not
contain any subordinate clauses.
A simple sentence contains only one clause.
Examples of Simple
Sentences
One subject and verb: The siren sounded.
Compound Subject: Cats and dogs ran
down the street.
Compound Verb: My sister acts and sings
in the play.
Compound Subject and Verb: Art and
archaeology reflect and explain
Jerusalem’s history.
With Phrases and Complements: A
written history dating back to 600 B.C. was
found in a cave near Jerusalem.
COMPOUND SENTENCES
Independent clauses are the key elements
in a compound sentence.
A compound sentence consists of two or
more independent clauses. The
independent clauses in most compound
sentences are joined by a comma and one
of the coordinating conjunctions (and,
but, for, nor, or, so, yet).
I liked the movie.
I got tired near the end of it.
Are both of these independent clauses?
Do both have a subject, verb, complete
thought?
Give examples of how to join them.
Sometimes a semicolon (;) is used to join
independent clauses in a compound
sentence.
Compound sentences contain no
subordinate clauses.
The population of Israel is approximately
4,700,000, but only eight percent of the
people live in rural areas.
State if the sentence is a simple or a
compound sentence. Identify the subject
and the verb. Identify any coordinating
conjunctions that join two independent
clauses.
The trains and the buses recently changed
their schedule.
– simple
– subjects – trains, buses
– verb – changed
We reached the second traffic light and
turned left.
– simple
– subjects – we
– verb – reached, turned
The situation is confusing, but I hope to
have more news soon.
– compound
– subjects – situation, I
– verb – is confusing, hope
Movies are just great, but I still enjoy a good
book often.
– compound
– subjects – Movies, I
– verb – are, enjoy
– coordinating conjunction - but
Have you found the map to Albany yet?
– simple
– subjects – you
– verb – have, found
Bill and Sue opened their gifts and
examined them carefully.
– simple
– subjects – Bill, Sue
– verb – opened, examined
Tom and Steve will meet us at the game, or
they will phone their regrets.
– compound
– subjects – Tom, Sue, they
– verb – will meet, will phone
– coordinating conjunction - or
CLAUSES
A clause is a group of words with its own
subject and verb.
Clause like phrases, are the building blocks
of sentences. Unlike phrases, however,
clauses do contain a subject and verb.
There are two basic types of clauses, which
have an important difference between
them.
– Independent clause
– Subordinate clause
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
An independent clause has a subject and a
verb and can stand by itself as a complete
sentence.
The length of a clause has little to do with
whether it can stand alone.
Each of the following examples can stand
alone because it expresses a complete
thought.
The reporter shouted.
The Dome of the Rock, a Jerusalem
landmark, is a holy site.
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
A subordinate clause/dependent clause has
a subject and a verb but cannot stand by
itself as a sentence. It is only part of a
sentence.
A subordinate clause/dependent clause
does not express a complete thought,
even though it contains a subject and a
verb.
when the phone rang
whom I often admired
since the country was divided
Each of these clauses has a subject and a
verb. But each lacks something. The first
clause: when the phone rang. When the
phone rang, what happened? More
information is needed to complete the
thought.
Comparing Two Kinds of
Clauses
Subordinate or
Dependent Clause
Independent Clause
S
V
S
He arrived this morning.
S
V
V
if he arrived this morning
S
V
The mosque has a golden since the mosque has a
dome.
dome
A subordinate clause usually must be
combined with an independent clause. In
the following examples, the subordinate
clauses are italicized.
Since he arrived this morning, he has been
working at top speed.
I will call the manager of the hotel tomorrow
if the room is not clean.
Some subordinate clauses begin with
subordinating conjunctions, such as:
if, since, when, although, because, while
Other subordinate clauses begin with
relative pronouns such as:
who, which, that, whom, whose
These words are clues that the clause may
not be able to stand alone.
Identify the subordinate clause and independent
clause.
Even though it is not large, Jerusalem has many
museums and holy sites.
SC - Even though it is not large
IC - Jerusalem has many museums and holy
sites
Since the city was politically divided in 1948,
various religions have claimed ownership of the
holy sites.
SC - Since the city was politically divided in 1948
IC - various religions have claimed ownership of
the holy sites
When the city was divided, Jerusalem became
known as East and West Jerusalem.
SC - When the city was divided
IC - Jerusalem became known as East and West
Jerusalem
East Jerusalem has most of the tourist attractions
and museums because it is centered around the
walled Old City.
SC - because it is centered around the walled
Old City
IC - East Jerusalem has most of the tourist
attractions and museums
Because Jerusalem has three Sabbaths, a large
portion of West Jerusalem closes down on
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
SC - Because Jerusalem has three Sabbaths
IC - a large portion of West Jerusalem closes
down on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Complex Sentence
• A complex sentence consists of:
– one independent clause and
– one or more subordinate clauses
– The subordinate clause can be an adjective
or adverb clause.
This is the expensive camera that he wants to
buy.
independent clause - This is the expensive
camera
subordinate clause - that he wants to buy.
If I visit the country fair, I will bring you something.
independent clause - I will bring you something.
subordinate clause - If I visit the country fair,
Compound Complex Sentence
A compound-complex sentence consists of:
• two or more independent clauses
• one or more subordinate clauses.
If I am asking to play first-string, it will be an
important milestone for me, but I am also
afraid that the challenge will be too great.
Label each sentence complex or compoundcomplex. Underline each independent
clause and circle around each subordinate
clause.
The house that you described is too large.
complex
As soon as I got the letter, I read the
instructions, and I knew that I wanted to go.
compound-complex
This is the book that Margo wants for her
birthday.
complex
I will help you plan the picnic, which,
unfortunately, I will not be able to attend.
complex
I know the way to the state capital, but I may
get lost as we get close since I really have
been there only once.
compound-complex
The company which contacted by phone
happens to have a bad reputation.
complex
Although I studied my notes carefully, I still
did poorly on the test.
complex
I can reach my father on the phone, or I will
go to his office if I have enough time.
compound-complex
Bibliography
Alfieri, Catherine. "Nounsense." Monroe County Women's
Disability Network. Monroe County Women's Disability
Network. Sept. 2008
<http://www.mcwdn.org/grammar/endsf.html>.
Carroll, Joyce A., Edward E. Wilson, and Gary Forlini.
Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar. Boston,
Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.
Royster, Jacqueline J., and Mark Lester. Writer's Choice
Grammar Workbooks : Teacher's Wraparound Edition.
New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1996.