Grammar Practice-Sentence Structure

Sentence Structure Review – Walk Two Moons

 

ESL 222 A/B                                                             Name: _____________________

Intermediate Reading and Writing

Anna Cortesio

 

 

Sentence Structure Review

 

Forming Complete Sentences

Every sentence needs two parts, a subject and a predicate.

 

The groups of words below are not complete sentences. They are all missing a subject. The subject tells who or what is doing something in the sentence.

 

Add a subject to each predicate below. When you add a subject, the group of words will become a complete sentence. Remember to start each sentence with a capital letter.

 

  1. __________________ was heartbroken when her mother left.
  2. __________________ are very proper and respectable people.
  3. __________________ has a wild imagination.
  4. __________________ are funny and unpredictable.
  5. _________________ feels uncomfortable about her father’s relationship with Margaret.

 

The subjects below are not complete sentences. They are all missing a predicate. The predicate tells what the subject is, what the subject has, or what the subject does.

 

Add a predicate to each group of words. When you add a predicate, the group of words will become a complete sentence. Remember to add a period to the end of each sentence.

 

  1. Salamanca _________________________________________________________
  2. Gram and Gramps ___________________________________________________
  3. Chanhassen ________________________________________________________
  4. Mr. Winterbottom ____________________________________________________
  5. Phoebe and Prudence ________________________________________________

 

 

What are the two parts of a sentence? ________________________________________

 

Sentence Structure Review

Knowing how to write different kinds of sentences will help you understand what you read more easily and help you write more interesting paragraphs and essays. There are three types of sentences in English. Look at the examples below and notice how they are different.

 

Part One: Simple Sentences

 

  1. Phoebe was extremely quiet all day.

 

  1. She felt terrible.

 

Underline the subject and circle the verb in each of the sentences above.

 

A simple sentence has ____________________________________________.

 

Now write two simple sentences about something that happened in Chapters 20–22 of Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part Two: Compound Sentences

A compound sentence is made of two simple sentences joined by a coordinating conjunction.

 

Connecting Related Sentences

Coordinating conjunctions can be used to connect two simple sentences, and they can make your writing seem more sophisticated. There are seven coordinating conjunctions. The acronym FANBOYS may help you remember them.

 

Coordinating Conjunction Relationship between the two independent clauses Example sentence
F for cause
A and addition
N nor alternative (negative)
B but contrast
O or alternative
Y yet contrast
S so result

 

Phoebe is worried. Her mother has been missing for several days.

Phoebe is worried, for her mother has been missing for several days.

 

Sal’s mother left unexpectedly. Phoebe’s mother left unexpectedly.

Sal’s mother left unexpectedly, and Phoebe’s mother left unexpectedly.

 

Sal doesn’t want to talk to her father about Margaret. Sal doesn’t want to talk to Margaret.

Sal doesn’t want to talk to her father about Margaret, nor does she want to talk to Margaret.

 

Sal is nervous about traveling with her grandparents. Sal wants to reach Lewiston by her mother’s birthday.

Sal is nervous about traveling with her grandparents, but she wants to reach Lewiston by her mother’s birthday.

 

The lunatic might be a stranger. The lunatic might be someone that Mrs. Winterbottom knows.

The lunatic might be a stranger, or he might be someone that Mrs. Winterbottom knows.

 

Grams was bitten by a poisonous snake. She survived.

Grams was bitten by a poisonous snake, yet she survived.

 

Phoebe thinks her mother was kidnapped. Phoebe wants to call the police.

Phoebe thinks her mother was kidnapped, so she wants to call the police.

 

 

Complete the definition of a compound sentence:

 

A compound sentence has two _____________ sentences connected by a ____________ and a ______________.

 

 

Let’s practice. Use a coordinating conjunction to combine the simple sentences below into compound sentences.

 

  1. You can call her Salamanca. You can call her Sal.

 

 

  1. Grams was bitten by a snake. Gramps took her to the hospital.

 

 

  1. Sal is afraid of many things. Sal’s classmates think she is s brave.

 

 

  1. Sal was curious about kissing trees. She had seen her mother kiss a tree once.

 

 

  1. Chanhassen loves trees. Chanhassen loves animals.

 

 

  1. Sal is a country girl at heart. Sal and her father live in Euclid now.

 

 

  1. Sal is not afraid of spiders. Sal is not afraid of snakes.

 

 

  1. Sal knows that Phoebe has a wild imagination. Sal wants to believe some of the things Phoebe says about Margaret.

 

 

  1. Salamanca likes Ben. She flinches whenever he touches her.

 

 

  1. The marriage bed is special to Gramps. Gramps can’t sleep on it while they are traveling.

 

Part Three: Complex Sentences

Complex sentences include an independent clause and a dependent clause.

 

Review of Clauses

A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb. There are two kinds of clauses:

  • An independent clause:
    • has a subject
    • has a verb
    • expresses a complete thought
  • A dependent clause:
    • has a subject
    • has a verb
    • begins with a subordinating clause (because, before, after, when, while, although, even though, if)

 

Complex Sentences

Complex sentences include an independent clause and a dependent clause. They follow this pattern:

 

Independent Clause + Dependent Clause

Dependent Clause, + Independent Clause

 

Read the examples below.

 

  1. Although Mrs. Winterbottom took care of everyone, they didn’t show her much appreciation.

 

  1. Even though she wasn’t afraid of spiders, Salamanca didn’t feel brave.

 

  1. While they traveled to Idaho, Sal told her grandparents about Phoebe.

 

  1. We know that John loved Chanhassen because he treated her well.

 

  1. When Sal eats blackberries, she thinks about her mother.

 

Underline the subject and circle the verb in each of the sentences above.

 

Label the clauses in the example sentences with ID for independent clause and DC for dependent clause.

 

 

 

 

Sentence Structure Review

 

What are the three types of sentences? What are the characteristics of each type of sentence?
1.
2.
3.

 

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