Sentence Structure

Purpose: Why Should You Care About Sentence Structure?? Knowing how to use the different sentence structures makes you be a BETTER WRITER. You can combine short choppy sentences and create VARIETY in your writing. This helps make your writing MUCH MORE INTERESTING to read!!!!

Four Sentence Structures Simple Compound Complex Compound-complex

Copy the following sentences. Gorillas do not know how to swim. Is Canada the second-largest country in the world? Sam and Kelly walked and talked in the park.

What do you notice about each sentence? How are they alike in structure NOT content?

contain at least one subject and one verb (predicate). express a complete thought. begin with a capital letter. end with a period. use correct spelling. are declarative sentences. They all…

They are called… simple sentences.

Take bullet notes below the sentences.

Simple Sentences Contain at least one subject and one verb (but, they can have more!!). Express one complete thought. One sentence = one independent clause(IC)

Examples: Simple Sentences subject, verb (predicate) Gorillas do not know how to swim. Is Canada the second-largest country in the world? Sam and Kelly walked and talked in the park.

Now write three simple sentences on your own. You may imitate my sentences.

Share your sentences!

Copy the following sentences. I am late, but can I still play? Sam ate the sandwich, and I watched him do it. You were rude, so they won’t speak to you.

What do you notice about each sentence? How are they alike in structure NOT content?

They are called… compound sentences.

Take bullet notes below the sentences.

Compound Sentences Contain two independent clauses (IC) Use coordinating conjunctions (CC=FANBOYS) to join the independent clauses Always have a comma before the conjunction Compound sentence “formula” = IC, CC IC

Coordinating Conjunctions Ffor Aand N nor B but Oor Yyet Sso

Examples: Compound Sentences subject, verb (predicate), comma & coordinating conjunction I am late, but can I still play? Sam ate the sandwich, and I watched him do it. You were rude, so they won’t speak to you. Note – you are putting two sentences together NOT just adding a conjunction like: I love cats and dogs.

You may imitate my sentences. Now write three compound sentences on your own. Use a coordinating conjunction, and place the comma before the conjunction.

Share your sentences!

Copy the following sentences. After the game ended, Paula went home. I need to study because I have a test tomorrow. Although it’s cold, Vanessa did not wear a jacket.

What do you notice about each sentence? How are they alike in structure NOT content?

They are called… complex sentences

Take bullet notes below the sentences.

Complex Sentences Have one independent clause (IC) Have one or more dependent clauses (DC) that do not contain a complete thought, so they depend on the independent clause to make sense Use subordinating conjunctions(AAAWWUBBIS) to introduce the dependent clauses Have a comma following the subordinate clause unless it is at the end of the sentence

Subordinating Conjunctions Aafter Aalthough Aas Wwhen Wwhile Uuntil Bbecause Bbefore Iif Ssince Also add: Who Whose Whom Which Where That

Examples: Complex Sentences subject, verb (predicate), comma & subordinating conjunction After the game ended, Paula went home. I need to study because I have a test tomorrow. Although it’s cold, Vanessa did not wear a jacket. Note – you must put a comma after the subordinate clause unless it comes at the end of the sentence.

Now write three complex sentences on your own. Use a subordinating conjunction. Place a comma after the subordinate clause unless it ends the sentence. You may imitate my sentences.

Share your sentences!

Copy the following sentences. Although Anne prefers romantic films, she rented the latest spy thriller, and she really enjoyed it. When Jill finally remembered it was Joe’s birthday, she bought him a card, so he forgave her. When we won the state championship, we jumped for joy, but the other team cried.

What do you notice about each sentence? How are they alike in structure NOT content?

Take bullet notes below the sentences.

Compound-Complex Sentences Have at least two independent clauses (IC) and at least one dependent clause (DC). Use the same subordinating conjunctions (AAAWWUBBIS) to introduce the dependent clauses. Use the same coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS) to join the independent clauses. Follow the same punctuation rules for the use of commas

Compound-complex Sentence dependent (subordinate) clause, subordinating conjunction (AAAWWUBBIS), coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS), independent clauses Although Anne prefers romantic films, she rented the latest spy thriller, and she really enjoyed it. When Jill finally remembered it was Joe’s birthday, she bought him a card, so he forgave her. Because we won the state championship, we jumped for joy, but the other team cried.

Now write three compound-complex sentences on your own. You may imitate my sentences.

Test Yourself – Simple, Compound, Complex, or Compound-Complex? 1. The teacher walked into the classroom, greeted the students, and took attendance. 2. Juan went to the movies while Jane went shopping. 3. Mike likes basketball, but Jim prefers football. 4. Although Mexico has a better team, they lost the tournament, and their more aggressive style did not pay off. 5. The island was filled with many trails winding through the thick underbrush, a small lake, and dangerous wild animals. 6. Steven passed the test because he studied hard, but Stacy did not understand the material.

Copy the following sentences John, fourteen, is too young to drive. My girlfriend, who is afraid of snakes, refused to go. The player, exhausted from the long game, collapsed.

What do you notice about each sentence? How are they alike in structure NOT content?

Take bullet notes below the sentences.

Notes They each have two commas. They are declarative sentences. There is a part of the sentence that adds information

Middle-branch sentencing aka: Appositives Rule #1 Commas must be placed on both sides of the interrupting phrase. Rule #2 If the middle branch is removed, the sentence should still make sense.

Copy the following sentences John, fourteen, is too young to drive. My girlfriend, who is afraid of snakes, refused to go. The player, exhausted from the long game, collapsed.

Now write three sentences on your own. You may imitate my sentences.

Copy the following sentences In the restroom, Christine was brushing her hair, freshening her lip-gloss, and taking deep breaths because she was trying to work up the courage to walk to her first speech class. Brad looked behind the toilet, in the laundry basket, and under the bed, but he could not his nine-foot albino python.

What do you notice about each sentence? How are they alike in structure NOT content?

Notes They have commas. The have conjunctions. They have multiple parts.

Parallel Structure Nonparallel structure looks like this: At the garden store, Larissa bought,, and. At the garden store, Larissa bought plastic flamingos, ceramic gnomes, and then she impulsively added a concrete mermaid.

Parallel Structure Parallel structure, the correct way to write, looks like this: At the garden store, Larissa bought,, and. At the garden store, Larissa bought plastic flamingos, ceramic gnomes, and a concrete mermaid.(nouns)

Parallel Structure Whenever you include a list of actions or items, you must use equal grammatical units. For example, If the first item is a noun, then the following items must also be nouns.noun If the first action is a past tense verb, then make the other items past tense verbs as well.verb

Now write three sentences on your own using parallel structure. You may imitate my sentences.