SENTENCES What is a sentence? “A group of words that make sense.” “Starts with a capital letter.” “Ends in a full stop.”

a verb – a doing word/an action A sentence has: a verb – a doing word/an action e.g. He was running. A boat sails on the ocean. Clever people eat pies.

A sentence has a VERB and: a SUBJECT – a person or thing doing the verb e.g. Simon killed the fly. The car sped away. Usually the subject comes first, but not always. e.g. The man was hit by the ball.

A sentence has a VERB, a SUBJECT and: sometimes, an OBJECT – the person or thing having the VERB done to them. e.g. The man borrowed a hammer. Simon ate my cat. A mad scientist made a cake.

The object usually comes after the verb but not always. The window was broken by Alan. My foot was eaten by a crocodile We can change the sentence round so that the object becomes the subject. I broke the vase. The vase broke.

The hunter killed Bambi. The PASSIVE VOICE. When we make the object into the subject we can hide the subject. We can make it seem as if things “just happened”. The hunter killed Bambi. becomes Bambi died.

The PASSIVE VOICE. This is useful for excuses. It is also useful for advertising, persuasion and hiding bad news. Passive - Our prices rose last year. Active - We raised our prices last year. Passive - It is said that our soap is the best in the world. Active - We say our soap is the best in the world. Passive - Bob’s leg was broken. Active – Steve broke Bob’s leg.

The beginning of the sentence. Things to look out for. The beginning of the sentence. The most important thing in a sentence goes at the beginning. Usually, this is the subject. If not, why not? On a dark and stormy night, Simon went for a walk. Here, the writer creates the atmosphere first. This is more important than the action.

Bring me my longsword, ho! Things to look out for: Sentences that start with a verb. Sentences which start with a verb are usually COMMANDS. Bring me my longsword, ho! Who or what is the subject of this sentence? YOU are!

Sentences that start with a verb. Things to look out for: Sentences that start with a verb. Writers use commands to involve you in a text by making YOU the subject of the sentence. Imagine a world without pies. Think how lovely your toilet could be. Dare to be different.