Sentence Writing Strategies
Simple SentenceOne independent clause.
Clause
Has a subject and a verb
Independent Clause
Contains a subject and a verb and makes a complete statement—can stand alone.
Subject of a Sentence
The subject is the:personplace thing Nounsquality idea
that the sentence is about.
Examples of Subjects
John went for a walk. (Person) Towns are quiet after
snowfalls. (Place)Eggs rolled off the counter. (Things) Silence is golden. (Quality)Peace is at hand. (Idea)
Verbs
A verb is a word that shows the
action or
state of being of the subject of the sentence.
Examples of verbs
Sally sneezed. (Physical action)
John thinks. (Mental action)
Jesse is my friend. (State of being)
Helping Verbs
Am is may Are mightCan do shall Could does should
didHas be was Have been wereHad being will
would
Verb-SubjectIdentification
Procedure
Step 1: Look for the action or state-of-being
word to find the verb.
Example: Kevin reported the theft.
Verb-SubjectIdentification
Procedure
Step 2: Ask yourself, “Who or what (verb)?” to find
the subject.
Example: Paula is an astronaut.
PhraseA group of words that functions as one part of speech and DOES NOT have a subject and verb.
Noun Phrases
A noun phrase is when several words, two or more, are used for the subject.
Noun Phrases• A noun phrase is the complete subject.
• The noun in the phrase is the main subject. -It is the most important word in the complete subject.
-The main subject is the one word that tells what the sentence is about.
Noun Phrases
Examples: The old gray mare limped down the
lane. The silver-winged plane soared. The first three girls giggled. The chairman of the meeting left
early.
Verb Phrases
A verb phrase is when several words, two or more, form the verb.
Verb Phrases
These words form the complete verb.
The one verb that shows the action or state of being is called the main verb. *Verb phrases are formed by putting one or more helping verbs in front of the main verb.
Helping Verbs
Am is may Are mightCan do shall Could does should
didHas be was Have been wereHad being will
would
Verb Phrases
Examples:The bus must have gone by now.The light green grapes have been
eaten. Steven’s aunt is not following her
new diet. The rickety wagon should not have
been filled to the top.
Inverted Simple Sentences
In some simple sentences, the verb comes before the subject of the sentence.
Example: Onto the stage danced the performers.
Will you go to the movie this weekend?
Infinitives
Sometimes words in the sentence show action without being the main verb of the sentence.
Example: Jason hoped to go skateboarding.
Infinitives
Any verb that has the word ‘to’ in front of it is an infinitive. – An infinitive is not the main verb of the sentence.
– When you have a sentence with several action words in it, check for the word ‘to’.
Compound Subjects
• So far we have seen simple sentences with one subject and one verb ( S V ).
• The next kind of simple sentence contains two or more subjects and one verb ( S S V ).
* We call two or more subjects in a simple sentence a compound subject.
Compound Subjects
Examples: Paul and Marci want to go to the
mall. The slopes and the buildings were
covered with snow. Ty, Shane, and Christine went to buy
some new clothes. Are the car and truck getting new
rims?
Compound Verbs
When a simple sentence has one subject doing more than one action, the sentence contains a compound verb ( S V V ). – Like compound subjects, compound verbs are separated by the word ‘and’.
Compound Verbs
Examples:Bobby surfed and skated all day. Mary sailed and skied at the lake. The dogs barked all day and slept
all night.Children should not be allowed to
watch television and should be encouraged to play.
Compound Subjects and Compound Verbs
Some simple sentences can have both a compound subject and a compound verb ( S S V V ).
Compound Subjects and Compound Verbs
Examples:Jack and his father camped and
fished at the campground. Radio towers and tall buildings must
have lights and must be visible at night.
The graduates and their parents posed for pictures and celebrated with a party.
Simple Sentence Formulas
1) S V 2) S S V 3) S V V 4) S S V V
Examples: Simple
S V
I have a cat.
S S V
James and Cara have a cat.
S V V
I fed and walked the dog.
S S V V
Laura and Shirley fed and walked the
dog.
Examples: Simple
Steps for Sentence Writing
Step 1: Pick a FormulaStep 2: Explore Words to
Fit the Formula
Step 3: Note the Words Step 4: Search and Check
Search and Check
Search: – Look for the action or state-of-being
word(s) to find the verb(s). – Ask the “Who or What Question” to find
the subject(s).Check:
– Capital letter– End punctuation – Makes sense
Compound SentenceTwo independent clauses joined together with a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.
Compound Sentences
The students finished class, and they went to lunch.
Kevin did not want to hurt Kathy’s feelings, so he said nothing about her mistake.
I want to see my sister soon, for she has been in Vail snowboarding for five months.
Comparing Compound Sentences to SSVV Simple Sentences
Simple SentenceThe men and women met at the station and went to dinner.
Compound SentenceThe men met at the station, and the women went to dinner.
Comparing Compound Sentences to SSVV Simple Sentences
Simple SentenceThe ducks and geese squawked and fluttered their wings.
Compound SentenceThe ducks squawked, and the geese fluttered their wings.
A word that is used with a comma to join two independent clauses.
,For ,But ,And
,Or ,Nor ,Yet
,So
Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
Examples:-Baseball is my favorite sport to
watch, but football is my favorite sport to play.
-We did not see Mike at the movie, nor did we see him at the restaurant.
SemicolonsSemicolons (;) can also be
used to join the two independent clauses of a compound sentence.
Semicolons
Examples: -Susan loves to swim; her brother likes to drive.
-The meeting was over; it was already midnight.
-Jason was highly respected; he always stood up for people who were being picked on.
Examples: Compound
I ; I
We went to the movies; my parents went to the mall.
I,c I
We went to the movies, but my parents went to the mall.
One independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Complex Sentence
Contains a subject and a verb but CANNOT stand alone; a subordinating conjunction is used.
Dependent Clause
Subordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions are words that show the relationship of the dependent clause to the independent clause.
Subordinating ConjunctionsAfter so that
Although than
As when
Until while
After so that
Although than
As when
Until while
Because when
Before since
If even though
Unless though
Subordinating Conjunctions
Sequencing Complex Sentences
Dependant Clause First D,I (Comma needed)
EX: When I get to Phoenix, you will be sleeping.
Independent Clause First ID (Comma not needed)
EX: You will be sleeping when I get to Phoenix.
Examples: Complex
I D
I love dogs because they do not judge anyone.
D,I
Because they do not judge anyone, I love dogs.
Complex Sentences
We could play video games since we have an Xbox downstairs.
Although you have to go soon, we could play one game of “Grand Theft Auto.”
Since you are my best friend, I will tell you about when he called me.
Complex Sentences
Even though he told me he did not like me, David passed me a note asking me to go to the movies.
Tiger Woods will soon be considered the best golfer of all times because he will eventually surpass Jack Nicholas’s major tournament win record.
Compound-Complex Sentences
A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Examples:When you are ready, I will call the
store, and we can talk to Tim. Before the trick-or-treaters came,
Megan made candied apples; they were delicious.
Sequencing Compound-Complex
Sentences
Dependent clause first:After the party was over, Jean had a headache, so Paul cleaned up the house.
Dependent clause second:Jean had a headache after the party was over, so Paul cleaned up the house.
Sequencing Compound-Complex
Sentences
Dependent clause third:Jean has a headache, so Paul cleaned up the house after the party was over.
Compound-Complex Sentences
Floyd planned to go to the game even though it was snowing; Helen wanted to stay home.
Helen wanted to stay home; Floyd wanted to go to the game even though it was snowing.
Compound-Complex Sentences
Kevin, who had been late many times before, came late to class today; his teacher gave him a hard time after class was over.
The players who had been invited came to our house after the game was over; they celebrated the win.