Sentence Structure

Wait now, what’s a sentence? 1 subject the person, place, or thing performing or doing the action 2 verb the action 3 complete idea the reader isn't left waiting for another word

Subject-Verb Agreement Subject verb agreement simply means the subject and verb must agree in number. This means both need to be singular or both need to be plural. Ex: My brother is a nutritionist. My sisters are mathematicians.

Subject/Verb Agreement Examples Here are some more examples of subject verb agreement (the subject is bolded and the verb underlined):  My dog always growls at the postal carrier. Basketballs roll across the floor. I don’t understand the assignment. These clothes are too small for me. John doesn’t like vegetables.

Types of Sentences Declarative sentence Imperative sentence Interrogative sentence Exclamatory sentence

Declarative Sentence A declarative sentence simply makes a statement or expresses an opinion. In other words, it makes a declaration. This kind of sentence ends with a period. Examples of this sentence type: “I want to be a good writer.”  (makes a statement) “My friend is a really good writer.” (expresses an opinion)

Imperative Sentence An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request. It usually ends with a period but can, under certain circumstances, end with  an exclamation point. Examples of this sentence type: “Please sit down.” “I need you to sit down now!”

Interrogative Sentence An interrogative sentence asks a question. This type of sentence often begins with who, what, where, when, why, how, or do, and it ends with a question mark. Examples of this sentence type: “When are you going to turn in your writing assignment?” “Do you know what the weather will be tomorrow?”

Exclamatory Sentence An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that expresses great emotion such as excitement, surprise, happiness and anger, and ends with an exclamation point. Examples of this sentence type: “It is too dangerous to climb that mountain!” “I got an A on my book report!”

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/246994360789322270/

Sentence Fragments Recognize the difference between a sentence and a fragment. When you analyze a group of words looking for the main clause, you have to find three things: a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. If one of these three items is missing, we have a sentence fragment.

Examples And yawned loudly enough to make everyone in class turn around. Subject = Ø ; verb = yawned; complete thought = Ø. After Gabriel ate half a box of Fruit Roll-Ups. Subject = Gabriel; verb = ate; complete thought = Ø. When a sentence fragment occurs, we are left wondering.

Sentence or Fragment? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW0N1hbFsn8

Run-on Sentences A RUN-ON SENTENCE (sometimes called a "fused sentence") has at least two parts, either one of which can stand by itself (in other words, two independent clauses), but the two parts have been smooshed together instead of being properly connected

How to Correct Run-on sentence: I am a woman I am a truck driver. Options: 1. If you want to completely separate the two fused sentences, then you'd use a period: I am a woman. I am a truck driver. 2. If you want to keep more of a connection between the two thoughts, you could use a semicolon and write, I am a woman; I am a truck driver. 3. If you want to make more of a comment on the connection between the two sentences, then you could use a conjunction with a comma. For example, you could write, I am a woman, and I am a truck driver, or you could write, I am a woman, yet I am a truck driver. 4. If you wanted to get fancy, you could use a conjunctive adverb with a semicolon and a comma: I am a woman; nevertheless, I am a truck driver.