SENTENCE VARIETY= SUCCESS WRITING Writers often use a subject + verb + object pattern. EX: Amy threw the ball. * Our goal = consistently apply, and vary, several types of sentence patterns.

THREE SENTENCE PATTERNS  Simple (subject-verb): I learn Spanish during Period 4.  Compound (two connected simple sentences) = I teach at Moreau Catholic, and I coach my son’s baseball team.  Complex (Independent + Dependent Clause) = I study Spanish because I want to work and live in Spain in the future.

CLAUSES  A simple sentence = an independent clause. It can stand on its own. EX: She studied Spanish for three years.  A Dependent clause has a subject and a verb, yet it can’t stand alone; often because it starts with a phrase.  EX: “because she studied Spanish for three years.

CONNECTING WORDS BUILD  A conjunction is OFTEN used to join words in longer sentences.  Learn: F or A nd N or B ot O r Y et S o  Comma and one of the FANBOYS helps build a compound sentence.  EX: She watched her sister play soccer, yet her thoughts turned to her big job interview.

MORE CONJUNCTIONS  After, although, because, before, once, though, until, when, whenever, where, while can start dependent clauses. They may need a comma. EX: Although she studied all week, she was bummed with her test grade.  EX: He fired the ball through the defenders because the receiver was open behind them.