Sentence Structures! Not so simple. Not so complex.

Subjects & Verbs Sentence = complete unit of thought Subject: usually a noun (person, place, thing) Predicate: verb; follows subject and identifies an action or state of being

Practice: Identify the subject and predicate The hawk soars. The widows weep. My daughter is a wrestler. The children are tired.

Linking verbs “To be”: am, is, was, were, will be, had been “To be”: am, is, was, were, will be, had been Verbs of “sense”: seem, appear, look, smell, taste, sound, etc.

Pronouns Take the place of nouns in a sentence Take the place of nouns in a sentence I, we, she, he, it, they, his, hers, us, them, etc.

Objects Objects receive the action and usually follow the verb.

Practice: Identify the object The girls hurled stones. The professor swigged coffee. Gus dropped the aquarium. All answer the question “what?”

Practice Mr. Buck donated a wishbone to the Museum of Natural History. After the final song, the drummer hurled his sticks at the crowd. Gus smashed the electric guitar with a sledge hammer. Felix stunned the giraffe with a radar gun. Very slowly, Pandora opened the box. Thomas gave his moonpie to Bengie. After breakfast, Vera drove to the mission with Ted. Even though it rarely rains here, Professor Legree carries his umbrella wherever he goes.

Phrase vs. clause PHRASE: a collection of words that may have nouns or verbals, but it does not have a subject doing a verb. Examples: leaving behind the dog smashing into a fence

Phrase vs. clause CLAUSE: a collection of words that has a subject that is actively doing a verb Examples: since she laughs at diffident men The Walking Dead is an awesome show.

Independent vs. Dependent clause Independent clause: The clause can stand by itself and form a complete sentence with punctuation Examples: I really like Harry Potter.

Independent clause vs. dependent clause Dependent clause: The clause cannot stand by itself or form a complete sentence… but it DOES have a subject and verb Examples: When I turned on the TV After we went to McDonalds

Label the subject/verb 1. Sally and Anne both take music lessons weekly. 2. I climbed that oak tree and swam in the creek. 3. Steve helped Roseanne with the puzzle and then washed the dishes. 4. The parrot said “Cat for sale” and flapped its wings. 5. All of a sudden, Dale and Amy burst into the room and grabbed the water jug.