1. The Basics of Sentence Structure
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2. What is a sentence?
In linguistics, a sentence is a unit of language, characterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb. For example, “The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.”
Traditionally, each sentence is regarded as having a subject, an object and a verb, even if one of these is implied.
In academic writing, you need at least a subject and a verb in order to have a complete sentence.
Source:
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3. What is a clause? No, a clause is not the same thing as Santa Claus!
A clause is a group of words consisting of a subject and a finite form of a verb.
Very often, a sentence and a clause are the same thing. This is not always the case, so lets learn about two different types of clauses.
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4. Independent Clause An independent clause is a group of
words that contains a subject and a verb
and expresses a complete thought. An
independent clause is a complete
sentence.
I like English very much.
S V
My name is Ms. McLaughlin-Rojas.
S V
Source:
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5. Dependent Clause A dependent clause is a group of words that
contains a subject and verb but does not express a
complete thought.
A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a
dependent clause is marked by a dependent clause
marker (also known as a subordinating conjunction).
Because I like English very much, …
DCM S V
Because I like English very much, I study it every day.
DC IC
(Now that I have added an independent clause to the
dependent clause, the sentence is complete.)
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6. Dependent Clause Markers (Subordinating Conjunctions)
Here is a list of some common dependent clause
markers (subordinating conjunctions):
after, although, as, as if,
because, before, even if,
even though, if, if only, rather
than, since, that, though,
unless, until, when, where,
whereas, wherever, whether,
which, while
You’ll learn more about how to use these words in
a future lesson.
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7. Sentence Types To achieve sentence variety and
avoid monotony in writing, four
sentence types or formats can be
used:
Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound-Complex
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8. Simple Sentences A simple sentence consists of only
one independent clause:
I went to class.
S V
Notice that this simple sentence
(or independent clause) has both
a subject and a verb. To be a
sentence or clause, it must
have a subject and a verb.
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9. Compound Sentences A compound sentence consists of two
independent clauses joined in one of the
two following ways:
1. I went to class yesterday, and I took a test.
(The two parts of this sentence are joined with a coordinating conjunction and a comma.)
2. I went to class; I took a test.
(The two parts of this sentence are joined with a semicolon.)
Sometimes using a simple sentence is a
great way to communicate an idea in a
clear and direct way. However, you might choose to use a compound sentence using a connector word like “and” instead. Why?
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10. Coordinating Conjunctions
Here are some coordinating conjunctions
that will be useful for building compound
sentences:
For
And
Nor
But Or
Yet So
Remember the acronym “FANBOYS.” It
will help you remember all the
coordinating conjunctions.
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11. Complex Sentences
A complex sentence has one independent clause and
at least one dependent clause (the order can change).
1. Because I like English very much, I study it every day.
DC IC
2. I study English every day because I like it very much.
IC DC
In the first example above, notice that the dependent
clause comes first, followed by a comma and the
independent clause.
In the second example, notice that the independent
clause comes first, followed by the dependent clause.
No comma is necessary when the independent clause
comes first in the sentence.
Why use a complex sentence? It shows that one piece
of information depends on another piece of
information. You can express your ideas in a more
complex way.
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12. Compound-Complex Sentences
These sentences are often the longest, consisting of at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause:
Because I went to class, I passed the midterm
DC IC
exam, but absent students weren’t so lucky. IC
Do you notice that the first part of the sentence is a dependent clause marked by the dependent marker word (or subordinating conjunction) “because”? The second part is an independent clause, and the third part is another independent clause joined to the rest of the sentence with the coordinating conjunction “but.”
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13. Classwork Write an example of each type of sentence that you
learned about in this
presentation. If you
need help, just ask.
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14. Some Definitions
Clause - A clause is a part of a sentence that contains a Subject and a Verb. A clause can be independent or dependent.
Coordinating Conjunction - A coordinating conjunction connect words, phrases or clauses that are of equal importance or have the same grammatical structure within a sentence
Dependent Clause - A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word.
Dependent Marker Word (Subordinating Conjunction) –
A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an independent clause that makes it into a dependent clause.
Finite verb - The finite forms of a verb are the forms where the verb shows tense, person or singular plural. Non-finite verb forms have no person, tense or number.
I go, she goes, he went - These verb forms are finite.
To go, going - These verb forms are non-finite or infinitive.
Independent Clause - a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.
Monotony – sameness, lack of variety
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15. Improving Your Sentence Structure
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16. Why is it important to study sentence structure?
Although even native speakers of English
instinctively know how to speak
grammatically, as writers even they can
make errors if they don’t fully understand
how the parts of a sentence work together.
For writers, another important issue is
knowing how we can manipulate or play
with these sentence elements to make
our writing more lively. Varying our
sentence structure can make our writing
more rhythmic or emphasize certain
information.
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17. Sentence Fragments A sentence fragment is an incomplete
sentence. It is missing either a subject or
a verb, or both. Can you see sentence
fragments in the following examples?
What corrections would you make?
I am very busy on the weekends. Studying very hard for my
exams and practicing tennis. It isn’t easy being a student.
Studying very hard for my exams and practicing tennis.
Who is studying very hard? The subject is missing in this
sentence.
I went shopping this weekend to get ready for the new
semester. I bought a lot of things. Clothes, dishes for the
kitchen and books for my classes. It was more expensive
than I thought it was going to be!
Clothes, dishes for the kitchen and books for my classes.
Where is the verb in this sentence?
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18. Correcting sentence fragments
Let’s take a look at the examples from the
previous slide and some example corrections.
I am very busy on the weekends. I am studying very hard for my exams and practicing tennis. It isn’t easy being a student.
I went shopping this weekend to get ready for the new semester. I bought a lot of clothes, dishes for the kitchen and books for my classes. It was more expensive than I thought it was going to be!
Notice that there is now a subject and verb in the
highlighted sentences above. Remember that in
formal academic writing, complete sentences must
have subjects and verbs.
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19. Correcting Comma Splices
There are three ways to correct a comma splice:
We had a nice time, I hope we can meet again soon.
S V S V
Insert a coordinating or subordinating conjunction between the two independent clauses.
We had a nice time, and I hope we can meet again soon.
We had a nice time because you were there.
Start a new sentence.
We had a nice time. I hope we can meet again soon.
Insert a semi-colon between the two independent clauses (only in cases where the independent clauses are closely related topics).
We had a nice time; I hope we can meet again soon.
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20. Parallel Sentence Structure
The parts of a sentence that are in sequence need to have
the same grammatical structure. This gives the sentence a
sense of balance and shows that the ideas in the sentence
have the same level of importance. We usually join these
parallel structures with coordinating conjunctions like “and” or
“or.”
Look at the color-coded structures in the sentences below. Do
the sentences have parallel structure? Do they feel
balanced?
I like to play soccer, studying English and going to parties.
This report summarizes the processes involved, the problems
encountered, and how they were solved.
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