...Sentence structure This guide explains how sentences are constructed and how different types of sentences are formed. It shows you how to punctuate each type correctly and how to combine different sentence types for effective written communication. Other useful guides: Using paragraphs, Using the comma. What is a complete sentence? Sentences provide us with the framework for the clear written expression of our ideas. The aim in writing is always to write in complete sentences which are correctly punctuated. Sentences always begin with a capital letter and end in either a full stop, exclamation or question mark. A complete sentence always contains a verb, expresses a complete idea and makes sense standing alone. Andy reads quickly. This is a complete sentence as it contains a verb (reads), expresses a complete idea and it does not need any further information for the reader to understand the sentence. When Andy reads is an incomplete sentence. It contains a verb, but the opening word when tells us that something happens when Andy reads; we need more information to complete the idea. When Andy reads, he reads quickly. This is now a complete sentence, as the whole idea of the sentence has been expressed. The following examples show the incomplete sentences in italics. There is another theory. Which should not be ignored. There is another theory which should not be ignored. The proposal was finally rejected. Although they considered it. Although...
Words: 1120 - Pages: 5
...Complex Sentences Exercise (See related pages) ------------------------------------------------- Top of Form Directions: Determine the independent clause in each sentence. Example | Although too little sleep is an effect of stress, too little sleep can cause stress. | | a. Although too little sleep is an effect of stress | | b. too little sleep can cause stress | | | Explanation | The answer is b. The most important thought the author wants readers to understand is that too little sleep can cause stress. The dependent clause, which is introduced by although, tells readers information the author considers less important, that too little sleep is an effect of stress (that is, people who are stressed may not sleep well). Notice that if you read the dependent clause aloud to someone and stopped there, the listener would expect you to add something more. The dependent clause does not make complete sense by itself. | | | | 1 | | Although we know the benefits of exercise, most of us don't know that a brisk after-dinner stroll can help with digestion. | | | A) | Although we know the benefits of exercise | | | B) | most of us don't know that a brisk after-dinner stroll can help with digestion | | | | | | | | 2 | | People need to be able to share their fears, frustrations, and joys, so it's important for us to develop a network of people we can share our feelings with. | | | A) | People need to be able to share their fears...
Words: 1394 - Pages: 6
...Fragments are incomplete sentences. The next few examples are not sentences, but word groups that are incomplete sentences (fragments). 1. After Starbucks Coffee opened. Several local coffee shops went out of business. 2. Several young people are learning old-fashioned dances. Such as ballroom dancing for the Nutcracker ballet. 3. The woman always wears pant suits and heels to the office. Then takes off her heels and jacket by noon. 1. After Starbucks Coffee opened. This statement does not follow through and complete the thought by telling what happened after Starbucks opened. Correct the fragment by adding it to the sentence that precedes it. 2. Such as ballroom dancing for the Nutcracker ballet. This word group does not have a subject and a verb, and it does not express a complete thought. 3. Then takes off her heels and jacket by noon. This word group lacks a subject. Correct the fragment by adding the subject she to the beginning of group of words. A word group must contain a subject and a verb for it to be a complete sentence. A complete sentence will also express a complete thought and it either stands alone or could stand alone. This is also known as an independent clause. You can spot a fragment because it will not make sense by itself. A fragment is less than a sentence because it lacks a subject, lacks a verb, and does not express a complete thought. The following material will cover the four most common types of fragments, with examples and instruction...
Words: 817 - Pages: 4
...Contents: Contents 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 2. SENTENCE TYPES 3 3. IDENTIFICATION OF THE COMPLEX SENTENCES 4 4. TYPES OF COMPLEX SENTENCES 6 5. FINITE CLAUSE 7 5.1 Nominal clause 7 5.2 Adjectival clause 11 5.3 Adverbial clause 13 6. NON-FINITE CLAUSE 16 6.1 Gerund 16 6.2 Infinitive 17 6.3 Participles 18 7. Verbless clause 19 8. CONCLUSION 20 REFERENCES 22 COMPLEX SENTENCES 1. INTRODUCTION The study of sentence structure is called syntax, and because there is so little variation in the grammatical structure of English words, a syntactic analysis forms the dominant element in a modern English grammar. The area provides the main point of contrast with traditional grammars, which because of their Latinate origins paid little attention to the syntactic properties of sentences. Syntax takes the central part of language between morphology (shape of words) and semantics (which deals with a meaning of word; what are they meaning), however, syntax is the part of grammar which treats of phrases, clauses and sentences. There are three syntactical units in English language: * Phrase (word); * Clause; * Sentence. A phrase is a syntactic construction which typically contains more than one word, but which lacks the subject-predicate structure usually found in a clause. Phrases can be divided into endocentric- when a phrase can be replaced...
Words: 6052 - Pages: 25
...Study Unit Writing Sentences and Paragraphs Preview Preview In this study unit, you’ll take all the information and skills you’ve acquired so far and use them to practice writing complete, correct sentences and well-organized, coherent paragraphs. You have the tools—the parts of speech; correct spelling, punctuation, and capitalization; and good grammar— to construct and use a variety of sentence types. You’ve studied the uses of modifiers, tone, and form, so you can reach the people you’re addressing. You’ve also learned to write to your audience, whether you’re sending out a basic business letter, convincing a group to accept your recommendations, or presenting a research report. Now we’ll begin to put it all together. By learning how to express yourself in correct sentences and to recognize common errors, your basic communications skills will significantly improve. By learning to focus on your topic, organize your ideas, use transitions, and write an effective conclusion, you’ll write consistently stronger paragraphs, letters, essays, and reports. This, in turn, will increase your professionalism and open doors to future success. When you complete this study unit, you’ll be able to • Compose sentences correctly • Use various sentence structures and types • Recognize and correct fragments and run-on sentences • Construct unified, coherent paragraphs • Connect paragraphs to build a well-organized, logical document ...
Words: 23475 - Pages: 94
...Reading Strategies Worksheet Identify two reading goals, one short-term and one long-term. * Long-term reading goal: Comprehending and understand the reads and learning of new words Short-term reading goal: Reading twice a day and jotting down words and understand and acknowledge the concept behind the reading Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions: * How do you currently approach the weekly readings in the course? * I attend to approach each reading every week over thinking what’s needed to be done. I attend to look at homework first. Then reading the question and seeing how many words need to be in response and then skim thru the reading that will help me respond to the questions. I never really was reading the whole chapter to learning more, just the part that is needed at the time. How might you incorporate three of the suggestions covered this week into your study time? The three suggestions I will incorporate in my study is…1. Read in a block time with short breaks in between. Reading in small blocks throughout the day increasing my comprehension and understanding to reading better and allowing it to just flow. 2.Set a reading goal. By setting a reading goal that is realistic increases my ability to read more on a daily bases and learn more words and meanings. And last 3. Jot down questions, take notes, and recite key ideas and word. Jotting down information while reading text helps you to go back and study for...
Words: 313 - Pages: 2
...Lucie Růžičková A Complex Sentence Analysis 'Mary and John intended to write the essay together, but then they visited the new exhibition of modern art on Sunday, because when Mary arrived for the weekend, most of the text had already been written by John and it did not take them much time to finish it.' a) We can distinguish several kinds of sentences. It might be SIMPLE sentence(1), NON-SIMPLE(multiple) sentence which comprises Complex(2a), Compound(2b) and Complex Compound(2c) sentence or so called SEMI-CLAUSE(3). Simple sentence is a sentence that had one Subject part and one Predicate part = a single independent clause. Complex sentence consists of one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. Compound sentence is formed of two or more main clauses which are joined by conjunctions such as and, or, or but. Complex Compound sentence contains more than one main clause and several subordinated clauses. [1] Our analysed sentence consists of five clauses. Four of them are main clauses and one is subordinate clause. This indicates that our sentence belongs to Complex-Compound type of sentence.(4) The multiple sentence is further distinguished by the type of grammatical relationship that holds between the clauses. If the grammatical relationship is paratactic, the clauses are coordinated. If the grammatical relationship is hypotactic, the clauses are subordinated. Parataxis is the grammatical arrangement of "equal" constituents(clauses). It is a hallmark of coordination...
Words: 1339 - Pages: 6
...Kerry Kempink Mrs. Morris ENC 1102-69980 24 April 2008 Sentence Construction and Style It has been argued for decades on why the first year of college is so important for a student. The first year of college is generally filled with attending class and completing work for courses that seem to have little to no noteworthy importance on what a student wants to achieve a degree in. Some courses for example, humanities and psychology, endow students with just enough information to give the student a broad idea of what the subject matter the student is enrolled in is really about. Writing courses are no different from information based classes. In a writing course however, a student is expected to complete a task that few other courses will expect from him. The areas of concern are many for writing instructors, but places where progress is most often desired are in the areas of development or sentence construction and wording also known as style. Writing style is the manner in which a writer addresses a matter in prose, a manner which reveals the writer's personality, or “voice.” It is particularly evident in the choices the student makes in syntactical structures, diction, and figures of thought. Why is writing style important? Writing style is what depicts how the reader reads the essay. For example, the statements, the journalist has a very journalistic style, or the scholar's style is too scholarly, reveal the redundant and misleading nature of talking about style...
Words: 1675 - Pages: 7
...Basic Sentence Patterns In this lesson, you will learn the elements of a sentence. There are 5 basic sentence patterns in English. Before we start this lesson (or after class in the lab) go to these 5 websites. Click the buttons on the screen at each site to see sentences with these patterns. The 5 Basic Patterns Subject + Verb (http://www.manythings.org/rs/sv.html) I swim. Joe swims. They swam. Subject + Verb + Object (http://www.manythings.org/rs/svo.html) I drive a car. Joe plays the guitar. They ate dinner. Subject + Verb + Complement (http://www.manythings.org/rs/svc.html) I am busy. Joe became a doctor. They look sick. Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (http://www.manythings.org/rs/sviodo.html) I gave her a gift. She teaches us English. The last pattern is for level 5 and grammar, and you will not see it in your level 4 classes, but you can look at it now if you want. Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (http://www.manythings.org/rs/svoc.html) I left the door open. We elected him president. They named her Jane. Inversion is achieved by doing the following: * Placing an adjective after the noun it qualifies e.g. the soldier strong * Placing a verb before its subject e.g. shouts the policeman * Placing a noun before its preposition e.g. worlds between In the English language, there are inversions that are part of its grammar structure and are quite common in their use. For instance, inversion always...
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...University of Phoenix Material LaTasha Wright Reading Strategies Worksheet Identify two reading goals, one short-term and one long-term. * Long-term reading goal: Comprehending and understand the reads and learning of new words Short-term reading goal: Reading twice a day and jotting down words and understand and acknowledge the concept behind the reading Write a 100- to 150-word response to each of the following questions: * How do you currently approach the weekly readings in the course? * I attend to approach each reading every week over thinking what’s needed to be done. I attend to look at homework first. Then reading the question and seeing how many words need to be in response and then skim thru the reading that will help me respond to the questions. I never really was reading the whole chapter to learning more, just the part that is needed at the time. How might you incorporate three of the suggestions covered this week into your study time? The three suggestions I will incorporate in my study is…1. Read in a block time with short breaks in between. Reading in small blocks throughout the day increasing my comprehension and understanding to reading better and allowing it to just flow. 2.Set a reading goal. By setting a reading goal that is realistic increases my ability to read more on a daily bases and learn more words and meanings. And last 3. Jot down questions, take notes, and recite key ideas and word. Jotting...
Words: 319 - Pages: 2
...Kinds of Sentences According to Structure A sentence may consist of one clause (independent clause) or more clauses (independent and dependent clauses). An independent clause is also called main clause. A dependent clause is also called subordinate clause. On the basis of numbers of clause and types of clauses present in a sentence, sentences are divided in to four kinds. Simple Sentence A simple sentence consists of only one independent clause containing a subject and a verb and it expresses complete thought. There is no dependent clause. “An independent clause (also called main clause) is called a simple sentence.” Examples. He laughed. She ate an apple. They are sleeping. I bought a book. Compound Sentence A compound sentence consists of at least two independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions. There is no dependent clause in compound sentence. The coordinating conjunctions use to join independent clauses are “for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so”. Independent clauses can also be joined by a semicolon (;). A comma may or may not be used before the conjunction in compound sentence. Examples I like an apple but my brother likes a mango. I helped him and he became happy. He failed two times yet he is not disappointed. I asked him a question; he replied correctly. Complex Sentence A complex sentence consists of one independent clause...
Words: 423 - Pages: 2
...Pre-court measure There are 2 pre-court measures that are given to young people before they get taken to court, they want to help give the youths a chance to change their ways. The 2 measures are Reprimand and a Final warning. A reprimand is a verbal warning given to the youth by a police officer. The child may then be sent off to a youth offending team to complete voluntary work also known as community service, this will help to teach the youth a lesson not to punish them. A final warning is given to a child who admits that they are wrong in the offence they have performed. The child must then be assessed by a series of activities to help see the causes of their offending. Anti-social measures ASBO’s (anti-social behaviour orders) and ABA’s (Acceptable behaviour agreements) are given out to help prevent anti-social behaviour from happening. An ASBO helps within the act of preventing an individual from committing the offence again, it can also stop the youth from being allowed to enter certain areas to help protect the community. An ASBO can be given to any child aged 10 years and over, its intention is not to punish the individual but it must be put in place to let them know of their wrong doings. An ABA is a written agreement which states that the person must agree to not act in a certain manner that will be classed as anti-social behaviour. It is an alternative to an ASBO and is put in place when the person issuing the ABA feels as if an ASBO isn’t suitable for the situation...
Words: 1133 - Pages: 5
...Running head: THE SENTENCE The Sentence Jose Guerrero Sentencing When criminal cases go before the justice system, it is safe to say that the elements of the crime have been established, that evidence supporting the criminal act has been presented and that the case against the defendant has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury who witnessed and heard the case as it was being presented. The presentation made before a judge and a jury will have an effect on what type of sentencing the accused might receive. Just like the prosecutor will the defense try to present their case with their own evidence and witnesses hoping to create some doubt in the minds of those hearing the case which includes the judge. In considering the criminal case at hand there would be some relevant information that as a judge I would need to have in order to impose the proper sentence against the defendant. First, I would like to know if the elements of the crime were proven during trial as directed by the penal code. Second, whether the crime itself was a misdemeanor or a felony. How much damage did this defendant caused whether it was monetary or personal damage since it deals with identity theft. Further, if the defendant had the intent to commit the crime and had knowledge of what he was doing at the time that the crime was being committed. Moreover, I would review the defendant’s criminal history to include whether he has been placed on probation or parole for the same...
Words: 914 - Pages: 4
...useful sentences for academic writing Argue a. Along similar lines, [X] argues that ___. b. There seems to be no compelling reason to argue that ___. c. As a rebuttal to this point, it might be (convincingly) argued that ___. d. There are [three] main arguments that can be advanced to support ___. e. The underlying argument in favor of / against [X] is that ___. f. [X]’s argument in favor of / against [Y] runs as follows: ___. Claim a. In this [paper], I put forward the claim that ___. b. [X] develops the claim that ___. c. There is ample / growing support for the claim that ___. d. [X]’s findings lend support to the claim that ___. e. Taking a middle-ground position, [X] claims that ___. Data a. The data gathered in the [pilot study] suggests / suggest that ___. b. The data appears / appear to suggest that ___. c. The data yielded by this [study] provides strong / convincing evidence that ___. (yielded = generated) d. A closer look at the data indicates that ___. e. The data generated by [X] is / are reported in [table 1]. f. The aim of this [section] is to generalize beyond the data and ___. In modern usage, data can also be treated as a mass / uncountable noun, like information. Before you submit your work, check whether the institution you’re writing for / on behalf of prefers data + plural verb. Debate a. [X] has fostered debate on ___. (fostered = encouraged) b. There has been an inconclusive debate about whether ___. c. The question of whether...
Words: 18316 - Pages: 74
...Sentence Outiline Sentence Outline Holly Regan HSM/240 February 6, 2014 Terra Harris Sentence Outline Every service organization must formulate clear and measureable goals and objectives. These goals could be an expression of the mission and vision statement of the organization and should explain what the organization wants to accomplish within a finite timeline. A service organization should formulate its goals and objectives based on the results of a strategic needs assessment and should be shared with other community organizations, school personnel, and social services. Once securing the organizations objectives they have now set a clear path of their overall goals. Goal statements provide a short and concise reason for the organizations purpose, the proposed population to be served, and the services they will provide. The objectives are the breast of determining how they will accomplish the goals they’ve set forth. Cocoon’s House proposed goal is to significantly reduce the number of Snohomish County the homeless and at-risk youth population. The proposed objectives are to increase the number of community-based family and youth resources in Snohomish County, educate and inform the general population as well as law enforcement agencies and the court system about family reconciliation services, youth assessments and response, and promotion of safety and safe environments. The priority outcomes are to have stable housing, permanent connections, education and employment...
Words: 368 - Pages: 2
