Sentence Types A Way of Thinking

“A sentence should be alive…sentences need energy to make the meaning jump off the page and into the reader’s hand…” ~Peter Elbow, Writing with Power

Four Types of Sentences PHG pg 438 1. A declarative sentence states an idea and ends with a period. Space travel is very exciting.

Which planet is closest to Earth? 2. An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. Which planet is closest to Earth?

Follow the directions carefully. 3. An imperative sentence gives an order or a direction and ends with a period or an exclamation mark. Follow the directions carefully. Wait for me!

She’s not telling the truth! 4. An exclamatory sentence conveys strong emotion and ends with an exclamation mark. She’s not telling the truth!

To be a sentence or not to be…. A sentence must have a subject and a verb to be considered a sentence! Error #1 The Fragment A fragment is not a sentence It is missing a subject or a verb

Student Error When I was five. I had a Chuckie doll. I would scare everybody with Chuckie. Chuckie was about two feet, had orange hair, little red and white shoes, overalls, and a plastic knife. I replaced the plastic knife with a real knife. To make Chuckie look more like the real thing. From the kitchen drawer. Like a mini-butcher knife. I super glued it in Chuckie’s hand. Ready for business.

What was the problem? Many of the sentences did not make sense because they were either lacking the right punctuation, or they were missing a subject or a verb.

Two-Word Sentences Write a sentence. How did you know that was a sentence? What made it a sentence? Why is it so hard to identify sentences on tests? It’s NOT! To be a simple sentence, it must have a subject and a verb. That’s it!

Mentor Text They race. Mat winces. Maria flinched. Matt froze. ~Jerry Spinelli, Loser Mat winces. Maria flinched. Matt froze. Matt nodded. ~Nancy Farmer, House of Scorpions

Powerful Words, Powerful Verbs Remembering your knowledge of word choice, create five of your own two-word sentences.

Run-On Sentences A run-on sentence is created when two or more independent clauses are joined together without the proper punctuation or connectors.

Student Error Something that makes me happy is my friend Destiny she doesn’t try to act all cool and she is just goofy like when she dances she don’t care about what nobody says and she just dances and doesn’t worry so she is a lot of fun to hang with because she makes me laugh and we can go to Ingram Park mall and cruise around.

What is the problem? One sentence – is that possible?? The writing sounds breathless All the ideas run together

How is a run-on fixed? Add in a comma and a FANBOYS Use a semi-colon (;) Add in some punctuation (. ? ! ) Re-write the paragraph and fix the errors. Try to use each method as least once.

Dependent vs. Independent To be a sentence, it must pass the sentence test. (subject and a verb) They handle the BB gun carelessly, trading it back and forth, each slinging the barrel over his shoulder like a hunter in a frontier television show. (p.1, Winter Birds) They handle the BB gun carelessly. Subject? Verb? It is a clause that is independent because it stands on its own Trading it back and forth It is a clause that is dependent on a sentence – it just needs a comma to connect it

Sentence Closer Sentence , Closer . Core sentence + additions attached and grouped with commas Independent clause + dependents

Create your own sentence following the mentor text as your example. Practice Create your own sentence following the mentor text as your example.