Informational Resources

The Sentence
Sentence - a word group that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. Example: The American bison is brown and black. Sentence fragment - a word group that looks like a sentence but either does not contain both a subject and a verb or does not express a complete thought. Sentence fragment Sentence Graze on the plain The bison graze on the plain.

Simple sentence- has one subject and one verb. Run-on sentence a sentence that expresses more than one thought without proper punctuation. o Correct a run-on sentence by: 1. writing separate sentences 2. combining the sentences with a semicolon (;) 3. inserting a comma and and, or, or but.

Subject part of a sentence that names who or what the sentence is about (noun or pronoun) Natural word order-In most sentences, the subject comes before the predicate. Simple subject the main word or word group in the complete subject. The simple subject is usually a noun or a pronoun. A noun is a word that names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of one or more nouns. Complete subject Some sentences have more than one simple subject or simple predicate. o A compound subject is two or more simple subjects that have the same predicate. The compound subjects are joined by and, but, or or.

Example: Mummies and art objects are found in Egyptian tombs. o Compound subjects include all the words in the subject of a sentence. Sometimes the simple subject is the same as the complete subject. Example: Sarah went to the movies last Saturday with her friends.

Informational Resources

Understood you the subject of an imperative sentence. Example: Close the door. (you) close the door.

Predicate part of a sentence that tells what the subject does or has. (Also known as the verb). Simple predicate the main word or word group in the complete predicate. The simple predicate is always a verb o Verb a word that expresses action or a state of being.

Complete predicate includes all the words in the predicate of a sentence. complete subject complete predicate Charles Dickenss novels are still popular today. My English teacher wrote an article about Dickens. o Sometimes the simple predicate is the same as the complete predicate. Example: The Central Wildcat fans cheered. complete subject The young Charles Dickens (simple subject = Charles Dickens) complete predicate wrote many articles. (simple predicate = wrote)

Compound predicate is two or more simple predicates that have the same subject. The simple predicates are connected by and, but, or or. Example: The archaeologists excavated the tomb and discovered the treasure. o Some sentences have both a compound subject and a compound predicate. Example: The pharoah and his wife loved the people and did many good works.

Informational Resources

Subject pronoun pronouns that can be used as subjects and predicate pronouns. Example: He and I know who you are. (He and I = subject pronouns who and you = predicate pronouns) Subject Pronouns I he they we she who you it

Helping verb a verb that helps the main verb express action or make a statement. Helping Verbs am is are be being been have has had do does did may might must shall should can

was would were will could

Example: Thelma is acting in another play today. (is is the helping verb; acting is the main verb). Example: Louise has written a story. (has is the helping verb; written is the main verb) Simple sentence has one independent clause and no subordinate clauses. o A simple sentence may have a compound subject, a compound verb, or both. o Although a compound subject has two or more parts, it is still considered a single subject. In the same way, a compound verb or verb phrase is considered one verb. Examples: My mother belongs to the Friends of the Library. Subject = mother Verb = belongs Argentina and Chile are in South America. Subject = Argentina, Chile Verb = are (compound subject) Jeannette read Stuart Little and reported on it. Subject = Jeannette Verb = read, report (compound verb)

Informational Resources

The acrobats and jugglers did amazing tricks and were rewarded with applause. Subject = acrobats, jugglers Verb = did, were rewarded (compound subject) (compound verb) Compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses, usually joined by a comma and a connecting word. o In a compound sentence, a coordinating conjunction (for, and, not, but, or, yet, so) connects the independent clauses. A comma usually comes before the conjunction in a compound sentence. Examples: I forgot my lunch, but Dad ran to the bus with it. She likes sweets, yet she seldom buys them. The blue spider is mine; it has my initials on it. The spider is not an insect; it is an arachnid.

Examples:

Notice in the second example above that a sentence is usually compound if a subject is repeated. Sometimes the independent clauses in a compound sentence are joined by a semicolon (;).

Complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause. o Subordinate clauses usually begin with a word such as who, whose, which, that, after, as, if, since, and when. A subordinate clause can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a complex sentence. Example: Before Chen planted his garden, he made a sketch of the layout. Independent clause: he made a sketch of the layout (subject = he verb = made)

Dependent clause: Before Chen planted his garden, (subject = Chen verb = planted)