How do you feel when you read a text that

sounds

monotonous?

Great minds discuss ideas.

You either die a hero, or you live

long enough to see yourself become a

villain.-Batman, Batman

Begins

If you build it, he will come.-Shoeless Joe Jackson, Field of

Dreams

Summer romances begin for all kinds of reasons, but when all is said and done, they have

one thing in common.-Allie, The Notebook

To help you keep your composition from being

bland, you have to alternate your sentence

structure.

In short, you need to vary the structure of

the sentences...

How?

Let's review...

KINDS OF SENTENCE

ACCORDING TO STRUCTURE

1. Simple2. Compound

3. Complex4. Compound-complex

1. SIMPLE SENTENCE-a very basic sentence that contains a subject and a predicate-expresses a single idea or thought

The subject and/or the predicate in a simple sentence can be simple and/or compound.

Take note:

It can be:

1. simple subject and simple predicate2. compound subject and simple predicate3. simple subject and compound predicate4. compound subject and compound predicate

Great minds

discuss ideas.

Simple Subject

Simple Predicate

Example:

Eliswill sing in the talent

show.

Simple Subject

Simple Predicate

Elis and Nicole

will sing in the talent show.

CompoundSubject

Simple Predicate

Elis

will sing and dance in the talent

show.

Simple Subject

Compound Predicate

Elis and Nicole

will sing and dance in the talent

show.

CompoundSubject

CompoundPredicate

2. COMPOUND SENTENCE-made up of two or more simple sentences with ideas that are closely related

-may be joined by a comma (,) and the coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS)-sometimes, a semicolon (;) is used to join compound sentences

Example:

Elis will sing in the talent show, and we expect her to win first place.

Example:

Elis will not sing in the talent

show; Nicole will take her place.

Example:

Archimedes had many discoveries,

but the law of buoyancy is the most

popular of all.

Example:

Did he conduct experiments to test his ideas, or did he

invent different useful machines?

3. COMPLEX SENTENCE-consists of one independent clause and at least one dependent clause joined by subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun

Clause-a collection of words that has at least one subject and at least one predicate

Types of Clause:1.Independent Clause- composed of a subject and a predicate-always serves as a simple sentence

Examples:

a. She was wearing a skirt.b. Edison sold newspapers.c. You can’t pass the test.

2. Dependent Clause-provides an independent clause with additional information, but cannot stand alone as a sentence

-uses subordinating conjunction (because, although, since, when,

unless, etc.) or relative pronoun (that, who,

which, etc.)

Examples:a.when she went to the partyb.that he printedc.unless you studied hard

Examples:

1.She was wearing a skirt when she went to the party.

Independent Clause

Dependent Clause

Examples:

2. Edison sold newspapers that he printed.

Independent Clause

Dependent Clause

Examples:

3. Unless you studied hard, you can’t pass the test.

Dependent Clause

Independent Clause

4. COMPOUND -COMPLEX SENTENCE-consists of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses

Examples:

1.He went to farm and I went to bookstore where I bought a book.

Independent Clauses

Dependent Clause

2. There were firefighters who gave up their lives in the call of duty, but they were not given recognition and honors for their heroism.

3. Although Sara called out for Charlie, no one answered, and

Sara was scared.

Now, let’s

practice!

In each of the following sentences, underline once the independent clause and twice the subordinate clause. Then, on the line provided, classify each sentence by writing S for simple, Cd for compound, Cx for complex, or Cd-Cx for compound-complex.

__________ 1. Suspense novels are extremely popular, and many readers especially enjoy those by Agatha Christie.__________ 2. Christie’s first detective novel was The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

__________ 3. When I visited England last summer, I saw The Mousetrap, a suspense play by Christie, and I also toured her home in Devon.__________ 4. Because the clues in The Mousetrap were hidden so well, the ending surprised nearly everyone in the audience.

__________ 5. Currently, I am reading Death on the Nile; I have not seen the movie yet.

Let’s Check!

Cd 1. Suspense novels are extremely popular, and many readers especially enjoy those by Agatha

Christie.

S 2. Christie’s first detective novel was The

Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Cd-Cx 3. When I visited England last summer, I saw The Mousetrap, a suspense play by Christie, and I also toured her home in Devon.

Cx 4. Because the clues in The Mousetrap were hidden

so well, the ending surprised nearly everyone

in the audience.

Cd 5. Currently, I am reading Death on the Nile; I have not seen the movie yet.