Syntax 4: Types of sentences

1. Some of the following word groups are fragments while others are simple sentences.
Revise any fragment to make a complete sentence. If the word group is a simple sentence,
write "correct". No capital letters or end punctuation marks have been used. Use subject-
predicate units and complete thoughts to determine your answers.
1. after the tornado struck the small town
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. please read the chapter on sentence analysis
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. they would like to collect money for the charity
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. because you know that I dislike peanut butter
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. the older man walking down the stairs
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. whether we go to the zoo on Sunday or not
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. the new idea created a buzz of excitement
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. for example, the public's interest in reality television
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
9. does that tree ever grow pinecones
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
10. as the actress finished reading her monologue
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
11. please put the newspapers into the recycling bin
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
12. when we drove to the new neighborhood
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
13. the doctor advising the patient
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
14. have you seen the new movie about the Titanic
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
15. if the powder turns red
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
16. before the sun rises
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
17. the people giving Tom a graduation party
1
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
18. she rarely speaks to anyone
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
19. while the cake was baking
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
20. on the table by the old red chair
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
21. when the telephone rang
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
22. can you see the harbor from this window
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
23. students who study in the library
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
24. the picture in the gold frame
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
25. the baby resting in my arms
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
26. although the blue team was ahead
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
27. after we reached the crest of the hill
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
28. the earthquake shook the house for at least five seconds
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
29. whatever you decide
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
30. hand me the sports section please
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2. The following sentences are made up of two independent clauses with one or more
dependent clauses. You are to identify the clauses telling what kind each is. The
choices are independent clause, noun clause, adjective clause or adverb clause.
1. John went to school, but James remained at home because he had a sore throat.
2. If he changes his mind, we shall know for sure that Joe has learned his lesson, but only time
will tell.
3. Those clouds promise rain; we should hurry before we get caught in a flash flood.
4. Here is the money that I owe you, and I am happy to be free of debt.
5. Were you ever in a storm that was full of lightning, or don't you recall?
6. Since we had gone only a mile from camp, we could return before dark, and we would not
become lost.
2
7. After the tornado had hit, my house was gone, but my neighbor's house was not touched.
8. Mary heard the frightening noise again, and the sound was one that would frighten the bravest
of people.
9. The route can be changed, but I know several people who will not like the change.
10. Dr. Mathews did what could be done, but it simply was not enough to save his life.
11. We enlarged our house, and after we had finished the work, we moved to Hawaii and never
returned.
12. The vacation should be restful, but many people take vacations that are never restful.
13. James said that will be enough, and everyone agreed.
14. Dad went fishing, but Mom stayed home because she wanted to be there when Terri arrived.
15. Rulon steered the jeep down the muddy road to the camp site, and then he discovered that it
was the wrong road.
16. I've just learned that our vacation plans must be changed; as a result, we'll leave later in the
month.
17. Older television sets had tubes; the newest models, which take less space, are digital
televisions.
18. My Uncle Al drove a snow-removal truck, and when there was a big snow storm, he would be
called to work at any time.
19. If you are an election judge, you distribute the ballots, and you count them after the polls close.
20. Many monuments are found around the White House, and foreign leaders who come to
Washington often visit them.
21. The doctor told us how we could revive a heart-attack victim, and she demonstrated on a
dummy, me.
22. Jeff tried the new dance steps that had been demonstrated, and he mastered them quickly.
23. The bola is a rope which is used to catch animals; it has weights on the end of it.
24. Since he was entrusted with the secret, Fred became very serious, and he was no longer a
practical joker.
25. People need to be able to share their fears, frustrations, and joys, so it's important for
us to develop a network of people we can share our feelings with.

3. The following sentences are either a simple sentence, a compound sentence, a complex
sentence or a compound/complex sentence. Identify the sentences telling what kind
each is.
1. Jim and his friend Ryan had planned to return to Canada.
2. Although he searched everywhere, Curtis could find no trace of his shoes.
3. Alaina wrote an original poem, and her mother corrected her spelling.
4. The real story is that he was injured while he was hiking.
5. None of the other jurors asked me to change my mind.
6. Barbara and Jeanne whispered and giggled all night.
7. That he is my cousin cannot be denied.
8. The boy who is speaking is my brother, and he will be staying with us.

3
9. I know you don't like him, but that doesn't matter.
10. The training rooms of these college athletes smell of grease and gasoline.
11. Their tools are screwdrivers and spanners rather than basketballs and footballs.
12. his new brand of college athlete is involved in the sport of auto racing.
13. Most of the students are engineering majors, and they devote every minute of their
spare time to their sport.
14. Although the sport is new, it has already attracted six collegiate teams in the
Southeast.
15. The students work on special cars designed for their sport.
16. The cars are called Legends cars, models of Fords and Chevys from 1932 to 1934,
and they are refitted by the students with 1200 cc motorcycle engines.
17. Although their usual speed ranges from 50 to 90 miles an hour, Legends cars can
move up to 100 miles an hour on a straightaway.
18. The Saturday morning races of the competing teams have attracted as many as 3,500
fans, but the students concede they are no threat to the nation's fastest growing sport
of stock car racing.
19. The house was destroyed in the fire, but the whole family was saved.
20. Walking through the wood, he saw a fox that was following him.
21. If I do not get this job, I will start a business.
22. He said that he was so disappointed that he would not try again.
23. The men who rule the world with their pens are mightier than those who rule the world
with their swords.
24. The evil that men do lives after them.
25. All that glitters is not gold.
26. Neither the color nor the design of this cloth appeals to me.
27. Although we know the benefits of exercise, most of us don't know that a brisk after-
dinner stroll can help with digestion.
28. Whereas learning about nutrition is not difficult, having the discipline to make wise food
choices is often a problem.
29. Even though you can't always control your time, it will help you to set priorities and
make a daily To Do list.
30. Unless you are willing to let others control your time, you must learn to politely say no
to other people's requests.
31. Change your negative inner dialogue whenever you realize you are being too hard on
yourself.
32. So that you feel less stress and enjoy life more, develop your sense of humor.
33. Sit down with a piece of paper and create a plan for solving the problem when you find
yourself worrying over one.
34. While there are many relaxation techniques, sitting quietly with your eyes closed and
taking a few deep breaths will quickly calm you.
4
35. Cultivate a positive attitude, because it enables you to enjoy life more.
36. I made an airplane out of stone.
37. I put a piece of cantaloupe underneath the microscope.
38. While fishing in the blue lagoon, I caught a lovely silver fish.
39. They say if you step on a crack, you will break your mother's back.
40. They just had a contest for scariest mask, and I was the wild and daring one who won
the contest for scariest mask.
41. My voice was raspy, rough, and cracked.
42. I opened my eyes and looked up at the rain, and it dripped in my head and flowed into
my brain.
43. They say that once in Zanzibar a boy stuck out his tongue so far that it reached the
heavens and touched a star, which burned him rather badly.
44. I joke with the bats and have intimate chats with the cooties who crawl through my hair.
45. The animals snarled and screeched and growled and whinnied and whimpered and
hooted and howled and gobbled up the whole ice cream stand.
46. The antlers of a standing moose, as everybody knows, are just the perfect place to
hang your wet and drippy clothes.
47. We'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, and we'll go where the chalk-white
arrows go.
48. I am writing these poems from inside a lion, and it's rather dark in here.
49. A piece of sky broke off and fell through the crack in the ceiling right into my soup.
50. The traffic light simply would not turn green, so the people stopped to wait as the traffic
rolled and the wind blew cold, and the hour grew dark and late.

4. Identify each of the following sentences as declarative, interrogative, imperative, or

exclamatory.
1. "How beautiful a street is in winter!"
2. "Have the skillet hot and keep it well greased."
3. "We boarded our train with feelings of unbounded relief."
4. "Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank
bed and a pot of drinking water."
5. "Where were the blackbirds?"
6. "Always obey your parents, when they are present."
7. "The house was so big that there was always a room to hide in, and I had a red pony
and a garden where I could wander."
8. "Why does a funeral always sharpen one's sense of humor and rouse one's spirits?"
9. "How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company?"
10. "He was exceedingly poor, wearing only a ragged shirt and trousers."

5
11. "Quietly go in, sit down, look at your man until you have seen him enough, and then
go."
12. "I looked tired, but my complexion was good."
13. "She carried her spectacles on a gold chain hung around her neck."
14. "What was the connection between reading and learning?"
15. "Is that all you want?"
16. "Summer people move into the houses that had stood empty, unseen, and unnoticed
all winter."
17. "Have you ever considered leaving New York?"
18. "The shacks were built of one thickness of pine planking covered with tarpaper."
19. "She had backed just halfway out of the garage when the engine died."
20. "Don't ask him the time."
21. "The old lady had already risen and placed a saucepan on the fire to prepare the
morning milk."
22. "I stopped on a rise and looked back at the valley, which was vanishing in purple
haze."
23. "Would I, filled with bookish notions, act in a manner that would make the whites dislike
me?"
24. "I visited the spring often in those first years, and had friends there--a frog, a
woodcock, and an eel which had churned its way all the way up through the pasture
creek to enjoy the luxury of pure water."
25. "If we object to corporal punishment, and I assume we do, on what grounds is this
objection based?"