1. Sponsored by Elmer's Glue – Elmer’s…We’re Stuck on You SIMPLE SENTENCES – HECK YEAH!

2. What in the heck is a Sentence? It may express emotions, give orders, make statements, or ask questions. A sentence brings words together into a unified stream of thought. In every case, sentences are meant to communicate.

3. How about a Simple Sentence? A short simple sentence, strictly defined, has a subject and a verb; it consists of one independent clause. EXAMPLE: Fish swim. Koalas eat. A simple sentence may add some descriptive words (modifiers) to the subject, the verb, or both for expression. EXAMPLE: The bright yellow fish swims swiftly and beautifully. The little koalas in the trees eat big eucalyptus leaves.

4. SENTENCE PATTERN 1 – Simple Sentence SUBJECT + ACTION VERB + (OBJECT) OR SUBJECT + LINKING VERB + (COMPLEMENT) SIMPLE SENTENCES WILL ALWAYS BE AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (EXPRESS A COMPLETE THOUGHT) Fish swim in the river. Koalas eat eucalyptus. I am awesome. Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. The giant, deadly shark angrily and savagely devoured the helpless swimmer. SVO ++= SS

5. Is this a Simple Sentence? Jason lost his skateboard YES The giant panda bear in the zoo. NO Any type of sentence can communicate effectively the most difficult ideas in the world. YES Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away; now it looks as though they’re here to stay. NO – this is a complex sentence – we’ll learn about these later.

6. FRAGMENT One of the elements of a simple sentence is missing. Running through the park at dawn. NO SUBJECT The big happy sailor on the dock. NO VERB When Michael Jordan won the slam dunk championship. NO COMPLETE THOUGHT

7. QUIZ TIME – ARE YOU READY??? I am a trained killer. YES Steven Tyler of Aerosmith fame. NO – There is no verb. Running along the bike trail. NO – There is no subject. A large, hairy man punched a small, helpless koala in the face. YES A large, hairy man with a small, helpless koala along the River. NO – There is no verb.