Download Simple sentences - WritingSecondarySubjects


A simple sentence has a verb, and the
verb usually has a subject and object.
eg Miranda held the book.
Verb - held
 Subject – Miranda (Who or what held?)
 Object – the book


Subject may be implied (Go!)

Object may not be needed (She ran.)
a) Ian Thorpe lived in Australia.
b) The extraordinarily fast, gold medal
winner, Ian Thorpe, lived in Australia with
his mum, dad and sister.
A simple sentence has only one verb/verb
group.
 A simple sentence is an independent
clause.
 An independent clause is the basic unit
of meaning in English.

 Can
stand on its own
 Makes
complete sense
 Has
only one verb or
verb group
a) Ian Thorpe lived in Australia.
b) The extraordinarily fast, gold medal
winner, Ian Thorpe, lived in Australia with
his mum, dad and sister.

long and rambling:
I woke up to find that I had grown long beautiful
hair and was wearing a fantastic new ball gown
and the crown had changed to be made of silver
and when I ran to look out of the window I was
looking at a completely new place and there were
horses and glittering streams and birds all over the
place and I was extremely happy about all that but
I did not know anyone there at all.

fragment
Because I went there.
In the mountains during winter and just before the
snow begins to fall.

Verb errors
The crystal broken. (was broken, is broken, will
be, can’t be, broke)
He must of gone to the shop. (must have)
•
•
•
•
is an independent clause
can stand on its own
makes complete sense
has only one verb or verb group
 The
-
clause conveys a message
what is happening, who is taking
part and the circumstances
surrounding the action (how, when,
where, why).
eg The students from Year 4 at Dee Why PS
travelled to the Powerhouse Museum today by
bus.

Select the simple sentences
Which of the following are simple sentences
(independent clauses):
1. walking to the shop
2. the boy with the blue jumper ran down the street
3. the boy wearing the blue jumper ran down the street
4. the noise that came from the factory
5. having been to the fish market this morning
6. the delicious aroma of baked bread from the bakery
across the street
7. that large, vicious dog with shaggy hair keeps on
chasing the poor postman away
The verb is the engine house of our language.
Verbs are the basis of any message communicated. They
provide movement or action or a sense of what is happening.
There are different types of verbs:
•Action verbs (They danced all night.)
•Saying verbs (He whispered softly.)
•Thinking verbs (She forgot his name.)
•Feeling verbs (Sarah likes baked beans.)
•Relating verbs (Cows are herbivorous.)
(sensing verbs)
Ref “A Grammar Companion” pages 54-60

A verb/verb group may consist of a single
word
eg He wrote the letter.
or a number of words
eg I will be going to the shop.
eg He might have been going to talk.
eg They were doing their homework.

Activity
Select the verb/verb groups from the passages.
Focus on the author’s use of alternative
verbs for common words such as said,
walked etc
Jointly develop a vocabulary cluster with the
class, and prompt them to use these
words in their own writing
e.g. Words for walked from first few pages
of David Legge’s Rise and Shine.
Vocabulary Cluster
came sloshing
drew
closer
were leaving
walked
strode
headed
reached
zoom
race
sped
jog
stride
walk
step
saunter
stroll
dawdle
eg Fox by Margaret Wild
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Dog runs
Magpie and Fox streak
Magpie and Fox rip
Magpie and Fox pelt
Fox scorches
Fox pads away

Nouns are words used to represent people, places,
ideas and things. A noun answers the question
“Who?” or “What?”
There are different types of nouns:
•Common nouns (girl, egg, classroom)
•Proper nouns (Sam, Wagga Wagga)
•Collective nouns (crowd, swarm, team)
•Abstract nouns (sadness, love, wonder)
Ref English Syllabus –Glossary definition page 96


A group of words representing who or what is
involved. It may include different types of articles
(a, an, the), adjectives (describers),nouns linked
together, adjectival phrases and clauses.
Before the noun
•eg The pretty little girl rode her shiny
new mountain bike.

After the noun
•eg The pretty little girl with long brown
hair rode her mountain bike.
Ref English Syllabus
Glossary definition page 96
Ref “A Grammar Companion” page 17
Wind in the Willows extract

Select the noun groups from the sentences

A phrase is a group of words that forms part of a
sentence and does not contain a verb.
eg the girl with long hair
the book on the table
Late last night we looked in the house.
We met at five o’clock.
After school we crossed the road with care.

What is the difference between a clause and a
phrase?
 Activity
Sort the independent clauses and
phrases into 2 groups
the simple sentence
 the independent clause
 verb/verb groups
 noun/noun groups
 clauses and phrases
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