What is a sentence?
A sentence is a word, a group of words or
phrases that have a complete thought,
idea or meaning.
• Here are three sentences:
– He smiles.
– Autumn leaves twirled gently to the
ground.
– The park district will open an outdoor
ice skating rink in November.
Length does not determine what is and is not a
sentence.
Regardless of how long or short a group of
words is, it needs two parts to be a sentence: a
subject and a predicate.
•The subject tells us who or what.
•The predicate tells us what about it.
Who or what? What about it?
He smiles.
Autumn leaves twirl gently to the ground.
The park district will open an outdoor ice
skating rink in November.
These two parts connect to form a basic
sentence, also known as an independent
clause.
Another way to describe a sentence is to
compare it to a bike…
The subject is one wheel;
the predicate is the other wheel.
These two parts connect to form a stable
structure.
We can have just one word in each wheel…
Children play.
Students studied.
But most of the time our ideas include more
details. We add extra words to the wheels.
The neighborhood children play basketball
at the community center.
Students in the biology lab studied cells
under an electron microscope.
We can expand the wheels by adding
adjectives:
Old magazines are stacked under the kitchen
table.
The weekend seminar explains how to start a
small business.
Meditation helps create a peaceful mind and
healthy body.
We can expand the wheels by adding
adverbs:
Airline employees worked diligently to
reschedule our flights.
We carefully loaded the van with furniture.
The driver realized immediately that he had
missed the exit.
We can also add prepositional phrases:
The windows rattled in the winter storm.
We loaded our hamburgers with ketchup,
mustard, and onion.
Some car dealers make most of their profit
on parts and services.
Regardless of how much detail we add, the
wheels give the same kind of information. The
subject tells us who or what. The predicate tells us
what about it.
Who or what? What about it?
Randy loves pizza.
Companies benefit from customer loyalty.
Efficient train service will decrease traffic
congestion.
Subjects and predicates connect directly.
Do not separate them with a comma.
Incorrect: Carlos and his family, showed
me that honor is more important than
winning.
Correct: Carlos and his family showed me
that honor is more important than
winning.
Dependent Clauses
Dependent clauses cannot stand alone.
They are like baskets that need to be
attached to a basic sentence.
One kind of dependent clause begins with
a subordinating conjunction.
When the music began
Everyone started to dance.
When the music began,
everyone started to dance.
Here are some more dependent clauses:
As soon as it stopped raining
Because I registered early
When we need a quiet place to study
We can place these baskets
on the front of a bike.
As soon as it stopped raining, we saw a double
rainbow.
Because I registered early, I got the classes I
wanted.
When we need a quiet place to study, we go to the
library.
We can also place them
on the back of a bike.
We saw a double rainbow as soon as it stopped
raining.
I got the classes I wanted because I registered
early.
We go to the library when we need a quiet place
to study.
More Dependent
Clauses
Another kind of dependent clause begins
with the relative pronouns who, which, and
that.
who works part-time
which includes a swimming pool
that is parked in my driveway
These clauses are not sentences. They are like
baskets that need to be attached to a bike.
These baskets go after the word
they describe.
Sometimes they’re in the
middle of the bike.
Frank, who works part-time, will be our guide.
The new fitness center, which includes a
swimming pool, will open in February.
The car that is parked in my driveway is
Henry’s.
Sometimes they are
on the back of the
bike.
We are making pasta for the Richardsons,
who do not eat meat.
I have tickets to the jazz festival, which begins
at noon.
Karen likes books that have a happy ending.
Sentence Support
Regardless of what kind of basket we add, we
need a basic sentence to support it.
Example: The new fitness center, which includes
a swimming pool, will open in April.
Basic sentence: The new fitness center will
open in April.
Basket: which includes a swimming pool
Fragments
A fragment is just a part of a sentence.
It may lack a subject or a predicate.
Often it’s a disconnected basket.
Disconnected Dependent Clauses
As soon as I understood the problem. I thought
of a solution.
I was not responsible. When I was sixteen.
The village will enlarge the parking lot. Which
serves weekday commuters.
Let’s rent the same movie. That we saw last
weekend.
Disconnected Description and Detail
It was an easy task. Especially for someone so
small.
The corporation provides employees with
benefits. Like medical insurance and a pension.
We have ordered everything on the menu.
Except fried buffalo wings.
We put an ad in the Lake Norman Times. Our
local newspaper.
Disconnected -ing and –to Fragments
I sprinted down the street. Trying to catch the
train.
The scientists continued their research. Hoping
to find a cure.
To celebrate their anniversary. They are going
to Asheville for the weekend.
We walked up sixteen flights of stairs. To
prove to ourselves we could do it.
We can correct these fragments by attaching
them to the sentence.
As soon as I understood the
problem, I thought of a solution.
I sprinted down the street,
trying to catch the train.
Sentence Variety
Baskets are excellent ways to create
sentence variety.
Once we have a stable structure, we can
add a variety of baskets on the front, in
the middle, or on the back.
We can add a variety
of baskets on the front.
Earlier this spring, the viaduct was closed
because of flooding.
Eight months ago, we bought a truck.
By the time we got home, it was dark.
Irritable after a long day at work, we took a
nap before studying.
A variety of baskets
in the middle:
My little brother, unable to sleep, turned on the
light.
The elderly couple, walking slowly up the
driveway, waved at their grandchildren.
A modern art gallery, funded by a million dollar
grant, is under construction.
John Jackson, a friend since grade school, is my
math tutor.
And a variety of
baskets on the back:
Jeff wants a hybrid, his best hope for good gas
mileage.
A gentle rain fell throughout the night, lulling
us to sleep.
We are building a home with Habitat for
Humanity, a national volunteer program.
Everyone wants to leave at noon, even my
sister.
The Logic of Punctuation
Readers are looking for the who or what and
what about it of a sentence, the main idea.
Commas help them see that main idea.
• If you begin a sentence with a basket, use a
comma to show readers where the addition ends
and the basic sentence begins.
According to the weather report, tomorrow will
be hot and humid.
If we go to the early movie, we can save money.
If the basket interrupts the
sentence, use commas to
show readers where the
addition begins and ends.
The art gallery, which opens this weekend,
features local artists.
Ruby, my sister’s best friend, will loan me
her car.
If the basket is attached to the
end of the sentence, the
comma shows readers where
the addition begins.
The award was given to James Johnson, the
most respected person in our town.
They are living in the present, not the past.
A CONCRETE IMAGE
OF HOW SENTENCES WORK
