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~ ~ ~ SENTENCE TOOLS ~ ~ ~
This handout lists, describes, and gives examples of the “sentence tools” which Mr. G. focuses on all year.
~ ~ ~Table of Contents ~ ~ ~
Page 1
Description
Table of Contents
Page 2
Appositives
Commas Plus One of the FANBOYS
Semicolons
Page 3
Relative Clauses
Dependent Clauses
Page 4
Participles
Page 5
Participial Adjectives
Page 6
Participial Phrases
Prepositions (Commonly Used Prepositions, Prepositional Phrases)
Page 7
Sentence Structure (Simple Sentences, Compound Sentences, and Complex Sentences)
Page 8
Compound-Complex Sentences
Sentence Tools: Page 1 of 8
~ ~ ~ APPOSITIVES ~ ~ ~
An appositive is a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause that follows and renames another noun, noun phrase or noun clause;
appositives are offset by commas. In the following examples of sentences with appositives, each appositive is underlined
once, and the noun, noun phrase, or noun clause preceding it is in bold and in italics:

President Bush, the former governor of Texas, was born in Connecticut.

I once lived in an old building, a house with creaky floors and cracked windows.

Terry ate an unhealthful lunch, fried potatoes and a greasy hamburger.

Vincent van Gogh, a famous French painter, once cut off part of one of his ears.
~ ~ ~ COMMA PLUS A COORDINATING CONJUNCTION ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ (COMMA PLUS ONE OF THE FANBOYS) ~ ~ ~
A coordinating conjunction is a word used to connect words or connect different parts of a sentence. FANBOYS is an
acronym for some common coordinating conjunctions. The FANBOYS are:
● For
● And
● Nor
● But
● Or
● Yet
● So
Following are examples of independent clauses connected with a comma plus a coordinating conjunction; the comma
plus the coordinating conjunction in each example is in bold and italicized:

Sarah went to the movies with friends, but her sister stayed home by herself and watched television.

John wanted to get stronger and more fit, so he joined a health club.

Zoey attended Stanford University, and Franklin attended the University of Chicago.

Mike graduated from a prestigious French cooking school, yet he still loves to eat hot dogs.
~ ~ ~ SEMICOLONS (;) ~ ~ ~
A semicolon is a kind of punctuation that serves to connect two independent clauses. It is used when the writer wishes to
show a close connection between the two independent clauses. It has other uses, as well, such as when the second
independent clause begins with a transitional phrase or a conjunctive adverb.

I love Italian food; my wife loves Asian food. (The semicolon closely connects these two independent clauses.)

I’ve never been to China; nevertheless, I think I will enjoy my visit there. (The second independent clause begins
with nevertheless, a conjunctive adverb.)
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~ ~ ~ RELATIVE CLAUSES ~ ~ ~
A relative clause is a clause that begins with a relative pronoun and modifies (describes) the noun (or noun phrase) in front
of it. Some common relative pronouns are:
● who
● whom
● whose
● which
● that
Examples of relative clauses follow, with each relative clause underlined once and with the noun (or noun phrase)
preceding it in bold and in italics:

The teacher who runs six miles a day has a lot of stamina.

Earl Campbell, who was a famous football player, now works for the University of Texas.

The pie that I baked this morning was delicious.

Last month Tim wrecked his car, which was only a few days old.
** Note that relative clauses that are necessary to identify the noun they modify (describe) are not offset with commas.
Relative clauses that are not necessary to identify the noun they modify (describe) must be offset with commas.
~ ~ ~ DEPENDENT CLAUSES ~ ~ ~
A dependent clause is a clause which cannot stand alone as a sentence; this is because it starts with a subordinating
conjunction, a kind of word which shows the relationship between clauses. Following are common subordinating
conjunctions:
after
although
as
as if
as long as
as soon as
as though
because
before
even if
even
though
if
now that
once
rather than
since
though
unless
until
when
whenever
where
wherever
whether
while
In the following examples of dependent clauses, each dependent clause is underlined once, and each subordinating
conjunction is also in bold and in italics:

Although Kim and her family did not have much money, they found a way to help her attend college.

There were no classes because it was Thanksgiving day,

Once the movie was over, the theater staff cleaned the auditorium.

The picnic will start at 12:00 unless it rains too much,
** Note that a comma is necessary after an introductory dependent clause, one that begins a sentence.
Sentence Tools: Page 3 of 8
~ ~ ~ PARTICIPLES ~ ~ ~
A participle is a form of a verb. There are two kinds of participles with which we work in this class: present and past.
The following chart shows four principal parts of a few regular and irregular verbs:
PRESENT
PRESENT PARTICIPLE
PAST
PAST PARTICIPLE
work
boil
bake
live
iron
working
boiling
baking
living
ironing
worked
boiled
baked
lived
ironed
worked
boiled
baked
lived
ironed
speak
cut
run
break
eat
speaking
cutting
running
breaking
eating
spoke
cut
ran
broke
ate
spoken
cut
run
broken
eaten
The present participle is often used in the present continuous verb tense, such as in the following examples:
● His is sleeping.
● They are talking loudly.
● We are working.
The past participle is often used in the present perfect tense, such as in the following examples:
● I have lived here for ten years.
● We have spoken many times.
Participles are also used as adjectives, as one can see in the following:
What do people eat?




a baking pie… or a baked pie?
boiling rice… or boiled rice?
frying potatoes… or fried potatoes?
a smoking turkey… or a smoked turkey?
Are you…



boring… or bored?
interesting… or interested?
a growing person… or a grown person?
Sentence Tools: Page 4 of 8
● He has eaten lunch already.
~ ~ ~ PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVES ~ ~ ~
Definition: a participle that is used as an adjective
 In the examples below, participial adjectives are in italics, and following each example a
brief explanation of the participial adjective is in parentheses.
 To better understand how to use participial adjectives, think about regular adjectives you could use to replace
each participial adjective below.
1. Baked potatoes are delicious. (the potatoes have been baked)
2. The baking potatoes split open in the oven. (the potatoes are baking in the oven)
3. Some people like to eat boiled peanuts. (the peanuts are boiled)
4. The recipe calls for fried onions. (the onions must be fried)
5. The frying onions created an aroma that drifted around the house. (the onions are frying)
6. Frozen strawberries are on sale. (the strawberries are frozen)
7. Freezing rain fell on the city. (the rain freezes upon contact with the ground)
8. Add one cup of minced garlic to the recipe. (the garlic must be minced—chopped finely)
9. A trading company is a company that trades. (the company trades—does business)
10. A traded company is one that has been traded. (the company has been traded—or sold)
11. Trading cards are cards that people like to trade. (e.g. baseball cards)
12. Some trading cards sell for thousands of dollars. (cards that people like to trade)
13. Breaking waves created a mist of seawater. (the waves “break” at the shore)
14. Local television stations often report breaking news. (news that is breaking)
15. Don’t buy those rotten tomatoes. (the tomatoes are rotten)
16. Falling rocks damaged several vehicles. (rocks that are falling)
17. Hiking boots can be expensive. (boots used for hiking)
18. His parting words were, “I’ll see you at the finish line.” (His words as he was parting)
19. I had to wear my broken glasses until we got money for a new pair. (the glasses were broken)
20. I love to see a shooting star. (a star that shoots across the night-time sky)
21. The movie stars a talking dog named Gruff. (the dog talks)
22. The scratched CD no longer worked. (the CD was scratched)
23. There’s an Amber alert for a lost boy. (the boy is lost)
24. We adopted an abused pet from the animal shelter. (the pet was abused)
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~ ~ ~ PARTICIPIAL PHRASES ~ ~ ~
A participial phrase is a phrase that begins with a participle; it always serves as an adjective. (Participles are covered
extensively in another handout.) Examples of sentences with participial phrases follow; each participial phrase is
underlined once, and the noun (or noun phrase) that it modifies is in bold and in italics.

Running late for work, John got a speeding ticket.

Tired of her job at the supermarket, Mary applied to work at an airline.

Bill, waiting for the bus, was mugged.

When I was at the mall, I ran into Jose, looking for a present for his wife.

The tall man walking toward us is my father
** Note that participial phrases are offset wit SENTENCE TOOLS: Page 1
h commas if they begin a sentence, if they are not necessary to identify the noun or noun phrase, and if they are essential to
the meaning of the noun or noun phrase.
~ ~ ~ PREPOSITIONS ~ ~ ~
Prepositions are words which show the relationship of one word/phrase to another word/phrase. Usually, the
relationship is of time, place, position, or movement.
Commonly Used Prepositions
aboard
about
above
across
after
against
along
amid
among
around
as
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
by
concerning
down
during
except
for
from
in
inside
into
like
near
of
off
on
onto
opposite
outside
over
past
since
through
to
toward
towards
under
underneath
until
up
upon
with
within
without
Prepositional Phrases
A preposition is followed by the object of the preposition, plus any modifiers. The entire groups of words—the
preposition, the object, and any modifiers—is called a prepositional phrase.
Following is a list of sentences, each of which has an underlined prepositional phrase:

You should sleep well on your new bed.

Starr lives near the big high school.

A bird flew across the sky.

We walked through the school.

I see a banana peel under your desk.

Her family lives down the street.

He walked into the mall.

The paper football sailed into the open

Shelia propped the ladder against the wall.
Sentence Tools: Page 6 of 8
drawer.
~ ~ ~ SENTENCE STRUCTURE ~ ~ ~
Sentences are made of clauses. (A clause is a part of a sentence containing both a subject and a verb). A simple
sentence is made of only clause, while a compound sentence, a complex sentence, or a compound-complex sentence
each contains at least two.
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence, though it has only one clause, can be short or long.


Sit!
Speak!


Almost sick with guilt, the burned-out reporter finally confessed to making up stories for his newspaper.
The tired and winding road to Somerset Village passed run-down farms and ancient orchards.
In the first two examples above, the subject is understood to be “you.” In the second two examples above, the simple
subjects, respectively, are “reporter” and “road”; the simple verbs, respectively, are “confessed” and “passed.”
Compound Sentences
A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses. (An independent clause is one which can stand alone as a
simple sentence.)
Clause 1:
Stanley likes cake.
Clause 2:
Stanley can't stand pies.
Compound Sentence 1:
Stanley likes cake, but he can't stand pies.
Compound Sentence 2:
Stanley likes cake; he can't stand pies.
In Compound Sentence 1, the compound sentence is formed with a comma plus one of the FANBOYS. In Compound
Sentence 2, the compound sentence is formed with a semicolon.
Note: Avoid writing any sentence with more than two independent clauses. A good compound sentence creates balance
because each “half” of the sentence has one independent clause.
Complex Sentences
A complex sentence combines one independent clause with one dependent clause. (An independent clause can stand
alone as a sentence; a dependent clause cannot stand alone because it begins with a subordinating conjunction.)
Simple Sentence:
Tina swims well.
Simple Sentence:
Tina joined the swim team.
Compound Sentence:
Tina swims well, so she joined the swim team.
Complex Sentence:
Because Tina swims well, she joined the swim team.
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Compound-Complex Sentences
The compound-complex sentence combines a compound sentence, which has two independent clauses, with a
dependent clause. A writer often uses this type of sentence to describe a complex situation.
Compound Sentence:
Some people liked a sportier style, and others wanted more power.
Compound-Complex Sentence: While tests of the new car had good results, some people liked a sportier style,
and others wanted more power.
Compound Sentence:
The players felt disappointed, and their fans wished they had stayed home.
Compound-Complex Sentence: Although they won the game, the players felt disappointed, and their fans wished
they had stayed home.
Compound Sentence:
Older voters felt vindicated in their choice, but younger voters felt cheated.
Compound-Complex Sentence: Once the election was over, older voters felt vindicated in their choice, but
younger voters felt cheated.
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