Sentence Writing Strategies

Simple SentenceOne independent clause.

Clause

Has a subject and a verb

Independent Clause

Contains a subject and a verb and makes a complete statement—can stand alone.

Subject of a Sentence

The subject is the:personplace thing Nounsquality idea

that the sentence is about.

Examples of Subjects

John went for a walk. (Person) Towns are quiet after

snowfalls. (Place)Eggs rolled off the counter. (Things) Silence is golden. (Quality)Peace is at hand. (Idea)

Verbs

A verb is a word that shows the

action or

state of being of the subject of the sentence.

Examples of verbs

Sally sneezed. (Physical action)

John thinks. (Mental action)

Jesse is my friend. (State of being)

Helping Verbs

Am is may Are mightCan do shall Could does should

didHas be was Have been wereHad being will

would

Verb-SubjectIdentification

Procedure

Step 1: Look for the action or state-of-being

word to find the verb.

Example: Kevin reported the theft.

Verb-SubjectIdentification

Procedure

Step 2: Ask yourself, “Who or what (verb)?” to find

the subject.

Example: Paula is an astronaut.

PhraseA group of words that functions as one part of speech and DOES NOT have a subject and verb.

Noun Phrases

A noun phrase is when several words, two or more, are used for the subject.

Noun Phrases• A noun phrase is the complete subject.

• The noun in the phrase is the main subject. -It is the most important word in the complete subject.

-The main subject is the one word that tells what the sentence is about.

Noun Phrases

Examples: The old gray mare limped down the

lane. The silver-winged plane soared. The first three girls giggled. The chairman of the meeting left

early.

Verb Phrases

A verb phrase is when several words, two or more, form the verb.

Verb Phrases

These words form the complete verb.

The one verb that shows the action or state of being is called the main verb. *Verb phrases are formed by putting one or more helping verbs in front of the main verb.

Helping Verbs

Am is may Are mightCan do shall Could does should

didHas be was Have been wereHad being will

would

Verb Phrases

Examples:The bus must have gone by now.The light green grapes have been

eaten. Steven’s aunt is not following her

new diet. The rickety wagon should not have

been filled to the top.

Inverted Simple Sentences

In some simple sentences, the verb comes before the subject of the sentence.

Example: Onto the stage danced the performers.

Will you go to the movie this weekend?

Infinitives

Sometimes words in the sentence show action without being the main verb of the sentence.

Example: Jason hoped to go skateboarding.

Infinitives

Any verb that has the word ‘to’ in front of it is an infinitive. – An infinitive is not the main verb of the sentence.

– When you have a sentence with several action words in it, check for the word ‘to’.

Compound Subjects

• So far we have seen simple sentences with one subject and one verb ( S V ).

• The next kind of simple sentence contains two or more subjects and one verb ( S S V ).

* We call two or more subjects in a simple sentence a compound subject.

Compound Subjects

Examples: Paul and Marci want to go to the

mall. The slopes and the buildings were

covered with snow. Ty, Shane, and Christine went to buy

some new clothes. Are the car and truck getting new

rims?

Compound Verbs

When a simple sentence has one subject doing more than one action, the sentence contains a compound verb ( S V V ). – Like compound subjects, compound verbs are separated by the word ‘and’.

Compound Verbs

Examples:Bobby surfed and skated all day. Mary sailed and skied at the lake. The dogs barked all day and slept

all night.Children should not be allowed to

watch television and should be encouraged to play.

Compound Subjects and Compound Verbs

Some simple sentences can have both a compound subject and a compound verb ( S S V V ).

Compound Subjects and Compound Verbs

Examples:Jack and his father camped and

fished at the campground. Radio towers and tall buildings must

have lights and must be visible at night.

The graduates and their parents posed for pictures and celebrated with a party.

Simple Sentence Formulas

1) S V 2) S S V 3) S V V 4) S S V V

Examples: Simple

S V

I have a cat.

S S V

James and Cara have a cat.

S V V

I fed and walked the dog.

S S V V

Laura and Shirley fed and walked the

dog.

Examples: Simple

Steps for Sentence Writing

Step 1: Pick a FormulaStep 2: Explore Words to

Fit the Formula

Step 3: Note the Words Step 4: Search and Check

Search and Check

Search: – Look for the action or state-of-being

word(s) to find the verb(s). – Ask the “Who or What Question” to find

the subject(s).Check:

– Capital letter– End punctuation – Makes sense

Compound SentenceTwo independent clauses joined together with a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

Compound Sentences

The students finished class, and they went to lunch.

Kevin did not want to hurt Kathy’s feelings, so he said nothing about her mistake.

I want to see my sister soon, for she has been in Vail snowboarding for five months.

Comparing Compound Sentences to SSVV Simple Sentences

Simple SentenceThe men and women met at the station and went to dinner.

Compound SentenceThe men met at the station, and the women went to dinner.

Comparing Compound Sentences to SSVV Simple Sentences

Simple SentenceThe ducks and geese squawked and fluttered their wings.

Compound SentenceThe ducks squawked, and the geese fluttered their wings.

A word that is used with a comma to join two independent clauses.

,For ,But ,And

,Or ,Nor ,Yet

,So

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunctions

Examples:-Baseball is my favorite sport to

watch, but football is my favorite sport to play.

-We did not see Mike at the movie, nor did we see him at the restaurant.

SemicolonsSemicolons (;) can also be

used to join the two independent clauses of a compound sentence.

Semicolons

Examples: -Susan loves to swim; her brother likes to drive.

-The meeting was over; it was already midnight.

-Jason was highly respected; he always stood up for people who were being picked on.

Examples: Compound

I ; I

We went to the movies; my parents went to the mall.

I,c I

We went to the movies, but my parents went to the mall.

One independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Complex Sentence

Contains a subject and a verb but CANNOT stand alone; a subordinating conjunction is used.

Dependent Clause

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are words that show the relationship of the dependent clause to the independent clause.

Subordinating ConjunctionsAfter so that

Although than

As when

Until while

After so that

Although than

As when

Until while

Because when

Before since

If even though

Unless though

Subordinating Conjunctions

Sequencing Complex Sentences

Dependant Clause First D,I (Comma needed)

EX: When I get to Phoenix, you will be sleeping.

Independent Clause First ID (Comma not needed)

EX: You will be sleeping when I get to Phoenix.

Examples: Complex

I D

I love dogs because they do not judge anyone.

D,I

Because they do not judge anyone, I love dogs.

Complex Sentences

We could play video games since we have an Xbox downstairs.

Although you have to go soon, we could play one game of “Grand Theft Auto.”

Since you are my best friend, I will tell you about when he called me.

Complex Sentences

Even though he told me he did not like me, David passed me a note asking me to go to the movies.

Tiger Woods will soon be considered the best golfer of all times because he will eventually surpass Jack Nicholas’s major tournament win record.

Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

Examples:When you are ready, I will call the

store, and we can talk to Tim. Before the trick-or-treaters came,

Megan made candied apples; they were delicious.

Sequencing Compound-Complex

Sentences

Dependent clause first:After the party was over, Jean had a headache, so Paul cleaned up the house.

Dependent clause second:Jean had a headache after the party was over, so Paul cleaned up the house.

Sequencing Compound-Complex

Sentences

Dependent clause third:Jean has a headache, so Paul cleaned up the house after the party was over.

Compound-Complex Sentences

Floyd planned to go to the game even though it was snowing; Helen wanted to stay home.

Helen wanted to stay home; Floyd wanted to go to the game even though it was snowing.

Compound-Complex Sentences

Kevin, who had been late many times before, came late to class today; his teacher gave him a hard time after class was over.

The players who had been invited came to our house after the game was over; they celebrated the win.