2024-09-02

Writing Workshop
Part I: Achieving Clarity

Clause Structure
Types of Sentences
Coordination vs subordination

2024 Freshman English

Ms. RJ

Clause Structure

Clause(sentence)

Subject Verb
(Noun Phrase) (Verb Phrase)

Topic of the sentence/

The something or The point that is made
someone that the about that topic
sentence is about

Phrase vs. Clauses

• A phrase is a group of words that go together(act as a
unit). It doesn’t have a subject and a verb.
: noun phrase, verb phrase, infinitive phrase, participial phrase,
prepositional phrase, etc.

• A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb

that functions as a part or all of a complete sentence.
: Independent Clause, Dependent Clause

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Structure of a subject (usu. noun phrase)

• Chandler will be running the office in Tulsa.
• To turn back now would be a mistake.
• [The prettiest girl in our class] has long brown hair and
brown eyes.
• Whether we will finish on time depends primarily on the
weather.
(noun clause)

Structure of a Verb Phrase

[Pattern 1] The rehearsal will be tomorrow.
Subject Complement
[Pattern 2]The students are bright and polite 주격 보어

Subject Complement
[Pattern 3] The pizza looks delicious. 주격 보어

[Pattern 4] The whole class laughed.

Direct Obejct
[Pattern 5] My roommate borrowed my laptop. 직접목적어

[Pattern 6]Marie gave Ramon a birthday gift. Direct Obejct

직접목적어

[Pattern 7] The teacher called the students brilliant.

Indirect Object Direct Obejct
간접목적어 Object Complement
직접목적어 목적격 보어

Types of Sentences

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Independent vs. Dependant Clauses

• Independent Clause
: A group of words with a subject and verb that can stand alone and make
sense; It expresses a complete thought by itself and can be written as a
separate sentence.
She plays the bass guitar.
• Dependent Clause
: A group of words with a subject and verb that modifies a unit in another
clause. It is connected to the rest of the sentence by *subordinating
conjunctions:
Since Helen came home(no meaning alone)
Since Helen came home, her mother has been happy. (has
meaning)
*subordinating conjunctions: after, although, as, as if, because, since, so
that, unless, until, when, where, whether, while…..

Adverb Clauses
• Modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb in a sentence.

time cause purpose condition contrast

After As In order that Although Whereas
As Because So that Despite while
Before since Such that Even though
Since that If
Until Unless
When Provided
that
Whenever though
while

Relative Clauses
• One type of dependent clause; it begins with that,
which, who, whom, whose, or where. Relative pronouns
relate the clause to, or modify, another word in the
sentence.

that fell last night(no meaning alone)

The snow that fell last night is nearly gone. (has
meaning)

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Types of Sentences
• Simple Sentence
– Makes a single statement
– is an independent clause
– it may contain phrases and have more than one subject or
verb.(compounding one or more elements in each slot, mostly with
and, but, or)
• The lake looks beautiful in the moonlight.
• The Army, Navy, and Marines sent troops to the disaster area.
• The kids played outdoors all morning but stayed inside all
afternoon.
• My father, mother, and sister came to the school play, applauded
the performers, and attended the party afterwards.

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Types of Sentences
• Compound Sentence
:Consists of two or more independent clauses with no
dependent clauses

• He opened the door, and he found the missing paper.

(connected by coordinating conjunction; for, and, nor, but, or,
yet, so)
• He opened the door; he found the missing paper. (semicolon)
• He found the missing paper; therefore, he was
satisfied.(semicolon and a transitional word)

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Combination Rule

A. Use coordinating conjunction-FANBOYS and insert a

comma before the conjunctions.
a. I am very tired, for I worked very hard today.
b. I am very tired, and I want to rest for a few minutes.
c. I am not tired, nor am I hungry right now.
d. I am very tired, but I have no time to rest now.
e. I will take a nap, or I will go out jogging.
f. I am very tired, yet I am unable to relax.
g. I am very tired, so I will take a nap.

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B. Use semicolons or add conjunctive adverbs after semicolons to

make the relationship between the clauses clearer.
a. We were late; we missed the first act.
b. We were late; therefore, we missed the first act.

Conjunctive Adverbs
Addition: moreover, furthermore, likewise, also, in addition
Time: meanwhile, in the meantime, afterwards, previously
Contrast: however, instead, on the contrary, on the other hand, in
contrast, rather
Result: therefore, so, consequently, as a result, of course
Concession: nevertheless, yet, still, at any rate, after all, of course
Apposition: namely, for example, for instance, that is, in other words
Summary: thus, then, in conclusion
Reinforcement: further, indeed, in particular, above all, in fact

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C. Compound sentences with colons(:)

In connecting two complete sentences, the independent
sentence following a colon completes or explains or illustrates
the idea in the first clause:
Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us,
and treated us with courteous detachment. (To Kill a Mockingbird)
The man who lives upstairs has a problem he hasn’t heard about yet: He
has an unhappy neighbor.
A northwestern University psychiatrist explained the purpose of brain
chemicals rather poetically: “A person’s mood is like a symphony, and serotonin
is like the conductor’s baton.” (Time)

Cf.) Three committees were set up to plan the convention: program, finance,
and local arrangements.

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Types of Sentences
• Complex Sentence
:Consists of one independent clause and one or
more dependent clauses functioning as modifiers
• Although it rained last night, we decided to take the
path that led through the woods.
(one independent and two dependent clauses)
• I knew the actress who played that part in the 1980s.
• When the bus arrived, we quickly boarded.
(use comma after a dependent clause that appears
before the main clause)

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• Independent clause conveys more important ideas

than dependent clause.

I was very upset. The Fourth of July fireworks were especially

loud. My dog ran away. The animal control officer made his
morning rounds. He found my dog in another part of town. I
was relieved.

I was very upset. Because the Fourth of July fireworks were

especially loud, my dog ran away. When the animal control
officer made his morning rounds, he found my dog in
another part of town. I was relieved.

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• Decide on a subordinating conjunction that

best shows the relationship of the two
clauses.
• Ex) as, if, so that, whereas, whether, while,….

• Punctuation
• Before you dive, be sure there is water in the
pool.
• We went home after the concert had ended.
• He continued, although he had painted the
cabinet twice. Not necessary
• My car, which is ten years old, has a flat tire.
• The car that has a flat tire is ten years old.
necessary

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Types of Sentences
• Compound-Complex Sentence
:Consists of two or more independent clauses and one or
more dependent clauses functioning as modifiers

• Albert enlisted in the Army, and Robert, who was his

older brother, joined him a day later.
• Because Mr. Roberts was a talented teacher, he was
voted teacher of the year, and his students prospered.

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I was very upset. The Fourth of July fireworks were especially

loud. My dog ran away. The animal control officer made his
morning rounds. He found my dog in another part of town. I
was relieved.

I was very upset. Because the Fourth of July fireworks were

especially loud, my dog ran away. When the animal control
officer made his morning rounds, he found my dog in
another part of town. I was relieved.

I was very upset. Because the Fourth of July fireworks were

especially loud, my dog ran away; but when the animal
control officer made his morning rounds, he found my dog in
another part of town. I was relieved.

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Exercise: Identify the Type of Sentences

1. The most popular sport in the world is soccer.
2. People in ancient China and Japan had a gorm of soccer, and
even Rome had a game that resembled soccer.
3. The game as it is played today got its start in England.
4. In the Middle Ages, whole towns played soccer on Shrove
Tuesday.
5. Goals were set up at opposite ends of town, and hundreds of
people who lived in those towns would play on each side.
6. Such games resembled full-scale brawls.
7. The first side to score a goal won and was declared village
champion.
8. The rules of the game were drawn up in the late 1800s at British
boarding schools.

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Coordination vs.
Subordination

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Coordinating Ideas
• Ideas that are equally important—carrying the
same weight– in a sentence are connected with
a coordinating conjunction or another
connective.
Addition Contrast Choice Result
Also But Either…or Accordingly
And However Neither… or Consequently
As well as Nevertheless Nor For
Besides Still Or Hence
Both…and yet otherwise So
Therefore
thus

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Subordinating Ideas
• Not all ideas are equal. Sometimes, one idea in a sentence is
more important than another, and you will want to downplay,
or subordinate, the less important idea.

Michael likes going to the coast because the beaches are

clean and uncrowded. (Adverb Clause)
Petra, who is learning how to scuba dive, took a trip to the
coast. (Adjective Clause)

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Correcting Faulty Coordination

FAULTY This male butterfly is distinguishable from females of
its species, and its wings reflect ultraviolet light.
REVISED Because its wings reflect ultraviolet light, this male
butterfly is distinguishable from females of its species.
[adverbial clause]
FAULTY Malaria is a serious infectious disease, and it can be
transmitted to humans through mosquito bites.
REVISED Malaria, which can be transmitted to humans
through mosquito bites, is a serious infectious disease.
[adjective clause]
FAULTY The light was at the end of the pier, and it showed us
how far we had walked.
REVISED The light at the end of the pier showed us how far we
had walked. [prepositional phrase]

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Obstacles to Clarity
• Fragments
• Comma Faults
• Run-on Sentences
• Faulty Parallelism
• Unnecessary Shifts in Sentences
• Disagreement in Subject-Verb/Pronoun-Antecedent

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•Fragment
: a word or group of words without a subject, without a verb,
or without both. It can be a group of words with a subject and
verb that cannot stand alone.
When she came.
Waiting there for some help.
Went to the library.
She being the only person there.

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•Comma Faults
:consists of two independent clauses with only a comma
between them.

The weather was disappointing, we canceled the picnic.

My son would be my only assistant, I had good reason for
wanting no one else.

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•Run-on Sentences
: two independent clauses with nothing between them.

The weather was disappointing we canceled the picnic.

The magazine sells for seventy-five cents in Canada it costs
eighty cents.
The Klondike is a river it flows into the Yukon.

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•Faulty Parallelism
Linking coordinate ideas
Faulty Amanda’s favorite forms of exercise are
swimming and to run.
Revised Amanda’s favorite forms of exercise are
swimming and running.
Faulty Derrick’s editorial shows his knowledge and
that he is passionate about the subject.
Revised Derrick’s editorial shows that he is
knowledgeable about the subject and that
he is passionate about it.

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Compare and contrast ideas

Faulty Reading novels no longer interests me as much as
to read poems.
Parallel Reading novels no longer interests me as much as
reading poems.

Linking ideas with correlative conjunction

faulty The medicine woman was revered not only for her
healing abilities but also because she possessed
wisdom.
Parallel The medicine woman was revered not only for her
healing ability but also for her wisdom.

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• Unnecessary Shifts in Sentences

Awkward shift
AWKARD The Mullaneys have a new puppy, and
the shelter is where they found it.
BETTER The Mullaneys have a new puppy, and
they found it at the shelter.
AWKARD All runners should be at the track by 7:00
so that you can pick up your registration
forms.
BETTER All runners should be at the track by
7:00 so that they can pick up their
registration forms.

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• Disagreement in Subject-Verb
Neither of the jellies (are, is) clear.
One of the children (are, is) not paying attention.
There (are, is) many reasons for his poor work.
The secretary and treasurer (are, is) not present.
The secretary and the treasurer (are, is) not present.
Each boy and each girl (bring, brings) a donation.
Neither the president nor his advisors (has, have) acted wisely in this
crisis.
The Canterbury Tales (were, was) written by Geoffrey Chaucer.
Five years (are, is) a long time.
Economics (are, is) my major field of study.

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