All constructions of words fall into categories. We will begin with the basic two combinations:
These groups of words work as a single part of speech (see previous page).
A noun phrase is a noun or word acting as a noun and all its accompanying descriptors.
[i.e. the tiny, orange cat -or- a special case]a verb phrase is a verb and all its modifiers, helpers, and descriptors.
[i.e. have not been studied -or- can attach]Prepositional phrases are a preposition and its object (which can be a noun phrase) and all modifiers. These act as either Adjectives or Adverbs.
[i.e. under the eye -or- at the sun]There are other types of phrases that we will discuss later this year, as needed.
clauses are groups of words that have a subject (a noun or pronoun acting as the main actor or agent of a verb) and a predicate (a verb and any additional descriptions, modifiers, or objects).
Subject + Predicate = Clause
examples: John ate a taco -or- it was a dark and stormy night in TalahasseeCapitalization and end punctuation aren't necessary to call a group of words a clause, it just has to have a subject and a predicate.
Clauses can be either independent (meaning they can stand on their own -see simple sentences, below) or dependent (AKA subordinate, which means they need to be attached to an independent clause.
DEPENDENT or SUBORDINATE clauses are independent clauses that are preceded by a word called a subordinator (technically a subordinating conjunction).
How you put your ideas together gives your reader a chance at understanding what your ideas mean and how they connect to each other without you needing to be present. That means you have to choose your sentence structures to reflect the relationships between the ideas in your clauses.
These are a single, independent clause with a capital first letter and end punctuation (usually a period).
ex: Mr. Becksfort is asking me to learn stuff in the summer.These sentences contain two related independent clauses which are joined together with a comma and conjunction.
ex. I like learning things, but summer is not the time I prefer.These sentences contain two related clauses. One clause must be independent while the other must be dependent (subordinate).
ex. I just want to go swimming in the summer because students need a break from school work.These sentences contain three clauses. There need to be two independent clauses (joined by a comma and conjunction) and one dependent clause.
ex. Mr. Becksfort is a mean person, for he is asking us to do work while other teachers allow us to take a break.Each of the sentence structures above can be used in the following manners:
A statement which ends with a period.
ex. This is a declarative sentence.A command: often seen without a subject or with the implied subject of 'you'. These end with a period or exclamation point.
ex. Make me! -or- Go to the store.A question. These end with a question mark.
ex. How many examples do you need?Do you think these end with an exclamation mark?
ex. I want to go swimming!Take a longer paragraph out of a book. What types of sentences is that one paragraph made from? Identify each sentence and break it down into its component clauses.
extension activity: how is the flow of ideas benefitted by the structures of the sentences?