Download Sentence Structure

Sentence Structure
Mrs. Meents
Turlock Junior High School
2008-2009
Simple Sentences
1) A simple sentence is ___________________________.
2) An independent clause
a) __________________________________________________
b) __________________________________________________
3) The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing
_______________________________. The subject is
_________________ or _________________________.
Underline each subject one time:
a) John went for a walk.
b) Towns are quiet after snowfalls.
c) Eggs rolled off the counter.
4) Not every __________ in a sentence is the subject of the
sentence. Cross out nouns that are not subjects.
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5) A verb shows the action or state of being of the subject of
the sentence.
is
am
are
was
were
6) ____________________________
a) Sally sneezed.
7) ____________________________
a) John thinks.
8) ____________________________
a) Jesse is my friend.
9) A verb phrase is a _______________________ plus a
___________________________.
a) did think
b) could have been driving
c) has gone
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Verb-Subject Identification Procedure
10) Eliminate____________________________________.
11) Look for the action or state-of-being word to find the
______.
12)
Ask yourself “who or what (verb)?” to find the ________.
Cross out prepositional phrases, underline the verb twice.
a) The top of the can came off.
b) Kevin reported the theft.
c) Paula is an astronaut.
Example Set I
SV—One subject/One verb
1) Jane went to the pool.
2) Paul is a very nice guy.
3) Cakes lined the store window.
4) I love chocolate ice cream.
5) Bikes are very expensive.
Example Set II
1) The old gray mare limped down the lane.
2) The silver-winged plane soared.
3) Johnny’s baby sister cried for hours.
4) The first three girls giggled.
5) Fourteen good pilots died in the war.
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Example Set III
1) The bus must have gone by now.
2) My best friend could not work tonight.
3) The light green grapes have been eaten.
4) The committee of environmentalists is working to solve the smog
problem.
5) Steven’s aunt is not following her new diet.
Example Set IV
SSV-compound sub/one verb
1) Bill and Sue want to go to the movies.
2) Jason and his friends work together.
3) Are the car and truck parked outside?
4) The park and sidewalks are covered with snow.
5) Hiding and seeking are fun activities.
Example Set V
SVV—One subject/compound verb
1) Sally swam and played all afternoon.
2) The dogs had barked all night and slept all day.
3) Michelle came home yesterday and did not work all day today.
4) The basketball team rode on a bus and flew in a plane to attend
the game.
5) The park is dark and spooky at night and can be delightful on
sunny days.
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Example Set VI
SSVV—Compound sub/compound verb
1) The ponies and calves scampered and played in the field.
2) Kathy and her father do not like to play tennis and hate to jog.
3) The Army and the Navy had a football game and filled the
stadium.
4) The two boys and their fathers were sick and did not attend the
Father-Son Banquet.
5) Parties and dances are usually fun and can be thrilling.
Simple Sentence Formulas
13)
SV—one subject/one verb
Joanie loves to sing.
14)
SSV—compound subject/one verb
Tom and Bernice are late.
15)
SVV—one subject/compound verb
Eddie tripped and fell.
16)
SSVV—compound subject/ compound verb.
Danny and Louise hurried and caught the bus.
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Compound Sentences
1) A simple sentence is _____________________________.
2) A compound sentence has
______________________________________________
______________________________________________.
Highlight the independent clauses.
a) The students finished class, and they went to lunch.
b) Kevin didn’t want to hurt Kathy’s feelings, so he said nothing
about her mistake.
c) I want to see my sister soon, for she has been in Switzerland
for two years.
3) Compound sentences are joined with a
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
a) The sun was shining, and the sky was clear.
4) Or with a _____________
a) Mike and Bernie went for a hike; the day was beautiful.
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5) In a compound sentence not all the subjects are doing all
the verbs.
a) The men and women met at the station and went to dinner.
(simple)
b) The men met at the station, and the women went to dinner.
(compound)
c) The ducks and geese squawked and fluttered their
wings. (simple)
d) The ducks squawked, and the geese fluttered their
wings. (compound)
e) Harry and Joe ate ice cream and drank pop. (simple)
f) Harry ate ice cream, and Joe drank pop. (compound)
6) Coordinating Conjunctions
a) FANBOYS
F____
A____
N____
B____
O____
Y____
S____
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7) Use coordinating conjunctions with a comma to join two
independent clauses.
a) Baseball is my favorite sport to watch, but football is my favorite
sport to play.
b) The children ran all the way to school, yet they were late
anyway.
c) You will have to finish the project, or your group will get a failing
grade.
d) Hanni was not at the game, nor was she at the party.
e) We did not see Mike at the movie, nor did we see him at the
restaurant.
8) Semicolons (;) can also be used to join the two
independent clauses of a compound sentence.
a) Susan loves to swim; her brother likes to dive.
b) Jason was highly respected; he was always such a responsible
person.
c) The meeting was over; it was already midnight.
9) Formulas for Compound Sentences
_____ Independent Clause, conjunction Independent
Clause
_____ Independent Clause; Independent Clause
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10) “For” and “Nor”
a) “For” = “because” in a compound sentence
i) The football field was ruined, for the rain had flooded it.
ii) Johnny is going to fail language arts,for_________________
________________________________________________
iii) Mrs. Meents is very happy,for ________________________
__________________________________________________
b) “Nor” is a negative word followed by the helping verb
from the first clause:
i) Rich did not do his class work, nor did he finish his
homework.
ii) Rich isn’t very smart, nor ____________________________
__________________________________________________
iii) Rich won’t pass language arts, nor ____________________
__________________________________________________
iv) Rich can’t go to the movies, nor ________________
__________________________________________________
v) Rich wasn’t at school, nor _____________________
__________________________________________________
11)
Combine two ______________________ to form a compound
sentence.
a) Stacy needed a new dress.
b) She went shopping.
__________________________________________________
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c) Jose studied for the test.
d) He got an A.
____________________________________________
e) Tina wanted a puppy.
f) Her parents said no.
____________________________________________
g) The pool opens this weekend.
h) We should go.
____________________________________________
i) We should go to McDonald’s.
j) They have cheap food.
____________________________________________
k) Celeste doesn’t like math.
l) She doesn’t like history.
__________________________________________
m)
We could play video games.
n) We could listen to music
__________________________________________
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Complex Sentences
1) A complex sentence has one ____________ clause and
one or more
______ clauses.
2) A dependent clause is a group of words with a _________
and __________ that cannot _____________.
a) My brother hit me.
____________________________________
b) I love pizza.
____________________________________
c) I like Sally
____________________________________________
d) Kathy will be late for dinner
____________________________________________
e) The game will end
____________________________________________
3) Subordinating Conjunctions: Sneaky little words that
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
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Some words that can be used as subordinating
conjunctions are:
after
although
as
as if
as long as
as soon as
as though
because
before
even if
even though
if
in order that
just as
like
once
provided
rather than
since
so that
than
though
unless
until
when
whenever
while
How to build a complex sentence
(watch demonstration)
Highlight the Clauses (Independent = Green; Dependent = Pink)
4) Dependent Clause First
a) Comma _____________
i) When I get to Phoenix, you’ll be sleeping.
ii) After the players practiced, they went out for a pizza.
iii) Until the storm is over, we will not know about the damage.
5) Independent Clause First
a) Comma _______________
i) You will be sleeping when I get to Phoenix.
ii) The players went out for a pizza after they practiced.
iii) We will not know about the damage until the storm is over.
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6) Examples: Highlight the clauses and show the formula.
7) The sky looks as though we might get some snow.
_________
8) Whenever the birds fly south, winter is on the way.
_________
9) Where there is smoke, there is fire.
__________
10)
If Don is ready on time, he can go to the game with us.
___________
11)
Will you wait for me while I speak to Mrs. Meents?
___________
12)
That car is perfect for me because I can afford its upkeep.
___________
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“Not a Verb” List
Many students identify the following as verbs; they are not.
1. The word __________ is not a verb.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. An __________ word must have a helping verb in front of it to be a verb.
_____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
3. A word with __________in front of it is not the verb of the sentence; it’s
an infinitive.
________________________________________________________
4. When there is a __________, the verb phrase is split. The __________ is
not part of the verb phrase.
_____________________________________________________________
5. A word ending in___________is not a verb. “Ly” words are __________.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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