English II Sentence Notes

So… what is a sentence? A sentence is a group of words with a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought. Ex. The big, black dog barked at the cat. There are specific elements make up complete sentences.

Elements of a Sentence Phrases A group of two or more related words that is not a subject or verb Prepositions A word or group of words that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence Common prepositions include: up, around, with, down, to behind, on, from and by If you’re wondering whether or not a word is a preposition, use the sample sentence “The squirrel ran ___________ the tree,” and fill in the blank with the word in question. Does the sentence make sense? It’s probably a preposition! Try it for yourself…

Subject & Predicate Subject The word (simple subject) or word group (complete subject) that tells whom or what the sentence is about. Ex. The big, black dog on the porch complete subject simple subject Predicate (verb) The verb (simple predicate) or the verb and all the words used to modify the verb (complete predicate) used to complete the meaning of the sentence and tell something about the subject Ex. barks at the yellow cat in the tree. Complete predicate verb

Elements continued… Independent clause A group of words with a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought. It can stand by itself as a sentence. Ex. The dog plays outside. Subordinate conjunctions A – after, although, as, as if W – when, while, whenever H – O I – if T – than, though E – even though B – because, before U – unless, until S – since, so that Dependent clause Begins with a subordinate conjunction, contains a subject and a verb BUT does not express a complete thought Ex. When the boy gets home Ex. Because I like pizza Ex. If the baby cries

Types of Sentences Simple sentence Compound sentence Complex sentence Compound-complex sentence

Simple Sentence Contains ONE independent clause and NO dependent clauses Ex. The black dog (on the porch)(by the swing) barks (at the yellow cat)(in the tree).

Coordinating Conjunctions – aka “FANBOYS” One of the elements of a compound sentence is a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions are also referred to as FANBOYS. F – for A – and N – nor B – but O – or Y – yet S – so

Compound Sentence Contains TWO or MORE independent clauses and NO dependent clauses Ex. The black dog barks, and the cat runs. Ex. The black dog barked; the cat ran. There are two ways to join independent clauses to form a compound sentence: Join IC with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) English class is the best, and I love it. Join IC with a semi colon English class is the best ; I love it.

Complex Sentence Contains ONE independent clause and ONE OR MORE dependent clauses Ex. When the boy gets home, he feeds the dog. Ex. The boy feeds the dog when he gets home. I know what you’re asking yourself… WHEN DO I USE A COMMA FOR A COMPLEX SENTENCE?! See the next slide

Commas & Complex Sentences If the dependent clause comes before the independent clause, put a comma after it. No comma is needed if the dependent clause comes after the independent clause. Ex. Because I like pizza, we went to Pizza Inn for dinner. Ex. We went to Pizza Inn for dinner because I like pizza.

Compound-Complex Sentence Contains TWO or more independent clauses and ONE or more dependent clauses Ex. Because the game did not start on time, we got home late, and I missed dinner. Ex. I had to do my homework, and I had to clean the house because my mother was sick, and she could not do it.