Sentence Sense

1. Sentence Sense • What you need to know about sentences • All sentences are made up of: • Words—which are the smallest units in a sentence • Phrases—which are groups of words • Clauses—which are groups of words with a subject and a verb. • There are two kindsof clauses: • Independent clause—a clause containing both a subject and a verb and expressing a complete thought. • Dependent clause—a clause that contains a noun and a verb but does not express a complete thought.

2. How can we tell if a group of words is a sentence? • Sentences must have a subject and a verb. • To determine if the group of words has a subject ask: • Who (or What) did (or is) something? • The answer is the subject of the sentence. If the question cannot be answered, the sentence does not have a subject. • To determine if the group of words have a verb ask: • What did they do? ORWhat are they? • 4. Sentence fragments are missing either a subject or a verb.

3. Misconceptions about sentences • Just because the group of words have a capital letter and a period does not mean the sentence is complete. • Using the –ingverb form doesn’t make a sentence. • NOT a sentence: Students editing. • But this IS a sentence: Students edit.

4. Remember: Simple sentences are the core of ALL WRITING. They are independent clauses and stand on their own. Independent Clauseshave subjects and verbs and stand on their own, making a complete thought. Therefore,independent clauses can be complete sentences.

5. Let’s practice: • Is this a sentence? • My hair wakes up stupid. • Ask: Who/what did or is something? • Answer: My hair; therefore, my hair is the subject. • 2. Ask: What did my hair do? Or What is my hair? • Answer: wakes up; therefore, wakes up is the verb. • The group of words has a subject and a verb. It has a complete thought, so I can conclude that this is a sentence.

6. Is this a sentence? • My sweat smells like peanut butter. • Ask: Who/what did or is something? • Answer: My sweat; therefore, my sweat is the subject. • 2. Ask: What did my sweat do? Or What is my sweat? • Answer: smells; therefore, smells is the verb. • The group of words has a subject and a verb. They make a complete thought, so I can conclude that this is a sentence.

7. Now it is your turn. Determine whether the following clauses are complete sentences. • 1. Ask the subject question about each clause. • 2. Ask the verb question about each clause. • 3. Write YES if the clause is a sentence; write NO if the clause is not a sentence. He paced. And mosquitoes. Stacey gasped. Eric stirred. And gnats. Another corpse. Jeff shrugged. Amy turned. To look. Stan nodded. Allison sighed. Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes yes

8. One way to make simple sentences more interesting is to add phrases. • We can add: • Prepositional phrases • Adverb phrases • Infinitive phrases • Adjective and participle phrases Let’s begin by adding prepositional phrases to simple sentences to add detail. • Writers use prepositions to show the relationship between words in a sentence. Prepositional Phrase Prepositional Phrase • Example: • The panda sat on the branch of the tree.

9. Common Prepositions aboutaboveacrossafteragainstaroundatbeforebehindbelowbeneathbesidebesidesbetweenbeyondbydownduringexceptforfromininsideintolikenearofoffonoutoutsideoversincethroughthroughouttilltotowardunderuntilupuponwithwithoutaccording tobecause ofby way ofin addition toin front ofin place ofin regard toin spite ofinstead ofon account ofout of

10. Now use prepositional phrases to add detail to the simple sentences below. • He paced. • Mosquitoes buzzed. • Stacey gasped. • Eric stirred. • Gnats hovered. • The corpse rose. • Jeff shrugged. • Amy turned. • James looked. • Stan nodded. • Allison sighed.