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More Grammar Review Notes – The Sentence
Clauses
There are two types of clauses: independent and dependent (also known as subordinate).
There are three types of subordinate clauses: noun, adjective, and adverb.
Here is a more visual format:
Clauses
Independent
Subordinate (dependent)
Adjective
Adverb
Noun
ALL CLAUSES HAVE A SUBJECT AND A VERB!
Adjective clauses describe a noun: The tree that fell was struck by lightning.
London, which is in England, is full of history.
The carpenter who built our house broke his leg.
Adverb clauses modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and answer one of the adverbial
questions: when, where, why, how, to what extent, under what condition.
Ants go wherever the food is. (where they go)
Since school is out, I will go home. (why I will go)
Try that new Mexican restaurant if you like spicy food. (under what condition)
Noun clauses perform noun functions: subject, direct object, predicate nominative, object of
preposition, appositive.
Whatever you say is always so tactful. (s)
The child does not know where he lives. (do)
Her idea is that we should make the project three dimensional. (pn)
Give the money to whoever is taking tickets. (op)
Please note that the key to understanding the type of clause you are dealing with depends on its
function in the sentence. Take the first sentence under the adverb clause examples. “Wherever
the food is” functions as an adverb because it modifies the verb and answers the question where.
However, if one were to say Wherever the food is should be a good place to take our seats, the
clause would be functioning as the subject of the sentence and thus serving as a noun.
Also, remember that subordinate clauses always begin with a subordinating word.
Sentence Types
On your vocabulary quizzes you will be asked to write one of four sentence types: simple,
compound, complex, compound/complex.
CLAUSES ARE THE KEY TO DETERMINING SENTENCE TYPE! A PHRASE HAS
NOTHING TO DO WITH SENTENCE TYPE!
A simple sentence contains one independent clause, or one set of subjects and verbs.
-Joe Bob, flying his kite, ran through the park and over the bridge.
-Jim Bob and his dog laughed and played at the circus. (compound subjects and verbs but same
set because all agree)
A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses. These are joined by either a
semi-colon or a comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, or, but, or, yet, so)
-Sue Bob ate an apple for lunch, but she had ten enchiladas for dinner.
-Riding a bike, the boy fell off; then he cried.
A complex sentence contains only one independent clause and one or more subordinate
clauses.
-Whoever hunted in the park illegally will be prosecuted. (The entire sentence is the
independent clause with the noun clause serving as its subject.)
-We like chocolate because it tastes good. (adverb clause)
-The dog that ate my homework has only two teeth. (adjective clause)
A compound/complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and at least one
subordinate clause.
-Jim Bob flew to the moon, and he met a martian who had just settled there.
-When we go home this afternoon, we need to rake the leaves, but we have no work gloves.
Phrases
PHRASES DO NOT CONTAIN A SUBJECT AND A VERB!
Phrases are named after the word that begins them.
(A gerund phrase begins with a gerund; a prepositional phrase begins with a preposition, etc.)
First we are going to focus on verbal phrases – gerund, participle, infinitive. Verbals are words
that used to be verbs. They have been changed into another part of speech.
Gerunds end in –ing. They can do anything a noun can do.
Studying is fun. (s)
I like studying. (do)
Her passion is studying. (pn)
We are tired of studying. (op)
Her hobby, studying, will help her make good grades. (app)
A gerund phrase begins with a gerund and is followed by a group of words.
Running in the park is good exercise. (s)
We read about fishing for trout in Montana. (op)
Participles usually end in –ing, -ed, -en. There are also irregular participles like born and lost,
but you will not be required to learn those. An intro participial phrase comes at the beginning of
the sentence.
Participle examples:
He bought a frozen pizza at the grocery store.
Running water sounds soothing.
The expired warranty meant I had to pay for repairs myself.
Note that each of these is placed in front of a noun. Participles are adjectives.
Participial phrase examples:
Driving to school, Joe Bob got a ticket for speeding.
The candidate running for office has to attend a fundraiser.
Romeo and Juliet, written by Shakespeare, is a tragedy.
You may have noticed that –ing words can be participles or gerunds. It all depends upon their
function. Gerunds are nouns. The word speeding in the sentence above is a gerund because it’s
the object of the preposition for. However, if I had written speeding ticket, it would be a
participle modifying ticket.
Infinitives can be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. You can create infinitive phrases that begin
with the infinitive.
Infinitive phrase as noun: To be a scholar is a good goal. (subject)
Infinitive phrase as adjective: Her goal to be a scholar is a good one. (modifies goal)
Infinitive phrase as adverb: She worked hard to be a scholar. (why she worked)
Next, we’ll take a brief look at prepositional phrases. These can be adjectives or adverbs.
Adjective prepositional phrases follow a noun and describe it.
The girl with red hair ignores Charlie Brown.
Adverbial prepositional phrases modify the verb, an adjective, or another adverb and answer the
adverb questions.
Let’s fish in the lake. (where we fish)
Sentence compliments also comprise an essential part of the sentence. You have information on
the noun compliments (direct object, etc.) on your other set of notes under nouns. There is one
more compliment: the predicate adjective. It is just like the predicate nominative, except it
describes the subject instead of renaming it.
Examples:
The gardenias smell sweet.
The kitten feels soft.
Hagrid is huge.
Note that each predicate adjective follows a linking verb. Linking verbs link the subject and the
compliment.
These predicate adjectives could easily be transformed into nominatives.
The gardenia is a white flower.
The kitten is a tabby.
Hagrid is Harry’s friend.