HOW TO COMPOSE A TEXT?
Dra. Coral Ivy Hunt Gmez
[email protected]Despacho: 4.109
Universidad de Sevilla
2015-2016
1. Types
of Words
2. Basic Sentence
Structures
3. Punctuation Marks in
English
4. Register
Types of words
To understand sentence structures in the English
language, you must first have a general
understanding of the types of words that are used
to make sentences.
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Subject
Object
Noun
Noun- a person, place or thing
Singular examples (one):
brother, home, sock, mouse
Plural examples:
brothers, homes, socks, mice
Find the plural of these words
Salmon
n Swine
n Fish
n Tooth
n Woman
n Goose
n
Formula
n Crisis
n Series
n Datum
n Alumnos
n Corpus
n
Verb
Verb- an action
jump
sit
talk
have
Adjective
Adjective- describes a
noun
Colourful shirt
Funny story
Tall boy
Adjective
Adverb
Adverb- describes other
words (not nouns)
Jumped yesterday
Talks fast
Signs loud
Very pretty
Luckily for us
Subject
Subject- the noun or nouns
that perform the action
The dog jumped
Dogs and cats sleep
Object
Object- the noun or nouns
that receive the action
The girl drank milk
He is eating bread and cheese
Five
basic
sentence
structures
1.
Subject-Verb
The boy plays. Jack eats. Sara sits.
2.
Subject- Verb- Object
I love apples. Bill kicks the ball.
3.
Subject- Verb- Adjective
Lisa is pretty. I am happy.
4.
Subject- Verb- Adverb
Maria laughs loudly. Apples are everywhere.
5.
Subject- Verb- Noun
I am the teacher. The boy is a student.
Expanding
sentences
Basic sentences can be expanded by adding
adjectives, adverbs and objects. Subject-Verb
Subject- Verb
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Jack
Jack
Jack
Jack
Jack
eats (+ adverb= 2)
quickly eats (+ object = 3)
quickly eats carrots (+ adverb =4)
quickly eats carrots at home (+ adjective= 5)
quicly eats fresh carrots at home
Please
expand
the
following
sentences
1.
Subject- Verb- Object
Bill kicks the ball
2.
Subject- Verb- Adjective
She looks pretty
3.
4.
Subject- Verb- Adverb
Apples are everywhere
Subject- Verb- Noun
John is a student
Period
(full
stop)
(
.
)
Comma
(
,
)
Ques6on
mark
(
?
)
Colon
(
:
)
Semicolon
(
;
)
Quota6on
marks
(
)
Parentheses
(
)
Brackets
[
]
Hypen
(-)
En
dash
(-)
Em
dash
(
_
)
Ellipsis
(.
.
.)
Apostrophe
(
)
Slash
(
/
)
Punctuation Marks
in English
A
punctua:on
mark
is
a
sign
used
in
wri:ng
to
divide
text
into
phrases
and
sentences.
English
Punctua6on
Rules
nTo
end
a
sentence
nPeriod
nQues:on
mark
nExclama:on
mark
nEllipsis
Period
(full
stop)
The period looks like a small dot ( . ). The period
is the most common form of punctuation used to
end a sentence in the English language.
We
use
periods
at
the
end
of
sentences.
n
that
are
statements
I
like
to
eat
pizza
n
that
are
commands
Hand
me
the
pencil
that
are
indirect
ques:ons
Tim
asked
about
that
book
Periods are also used for abbreviations and website
addresses.
n
Ques6on
Mark
We
use
ques:on
marks
when
trying
to
get
informa:on.
Where
is
the
gas
sta:on?
Do
you
like
pizza?
We
can
turn
statements
into
ques:ons
See
you
there
at
eight
tonight?
With
tag
ques:ons
You
speak
English,
dont
you?
AMer
rhetorical
ques:ons
Who
cares?
Exclama6on
Mark
A
warning
Watch
out!
A
direct
order
Do
not
enter!
Expressing
strong
feelings
Its
good
to
see
you
again!
Not
to
be
used
in
formal
wri:ng
Not
to
be
overused
Ellipses
()
It
is
a
form
of
punctua:on
used
in
wriPen
English
language
to
show
an
omission
of
a
word
in
a
quote
AMer
school
I
went
to
her
houseand
then
came
home
to
show
a
pause
in
a
though,
to
create
suspense
I
opened
he
door
and
I
sawa
cake!
English
Puctua:on
Rules
n To
separate
phrases
or
items
nComma
nSemicolon
Are
used
n
when
lis:ng
items
in
a
sentence
or
separa:ng
words
or
phrases
of
three
or
more
Commas
My
best
friends
are
Richard,
Nick,
Beth
and
Lisa.
n
to
separate
two
adjec:ves
if
you
can
reverse
the
order
or
insert
and
between
them.
He
is
a
liPle,
short
man
>
The
man
is
liPle
and
short
when
wri:ng
a
date
in
a
sentence
He
was
born
on
March
17th,
1993.
n
when
wri:ng
a
loca:on
I
am
traveling
to
Glasgow,
Scotland,
this
week.
n
when
directly
addressing
someone.
Do
you
like
ice-creams,
Rob?
n
Are
used
n
with
an
introductory
phrase
to
set
it
apart
from
the
main
sentence
Commas
In
about
two
weeks,
I
will
nally
be
18
years
old.
n
with
a
coordina:ng
conjunc:on
to
connet
two
independent
clauses.
She
likes
owers,
so
I
bought
her
a
bouquet.
n
when
wri:ng
a
quote
Please,
take
care
of
yourself?,
said
the
doctor.
when
wri:ng
tag
ques:ons
His
name
is
Bill,
isnt
it?
n when
you
have
two
contras:ng
phrases
I
am
:red,
but
s:ll
awake.
n
Semicolon
Are
used
n
to
connect
two
related,
or
similar,
sentences.
My
shirt
is
green;
my
brothers
is
blue
n
to
join
to
related
,
or
similar,
sentences
when
using
a
conjunc:ve
adverb.
We
will
drive
to
school;
then,
we
will
go
to
the
museum.
n
to
connect
items
in
a
list
if
there
are
already
commas
in
the
sentence
I
have
lived
in
Paris,
France;
London,
England;
and
Edinburgh,
Scotland.
English
Punctua:on
Rules
Colon
nTo
begin
a
list
I
like
healthy
foods:
carrots,
broccoli,
apples,
spinach
and
oranges.
nAMer
the
gree:ng
Dear
Sir
or
Madam:
English
Punctua:on
Rules
To
quote
or
indicate
a
:tle
n
Single
quota:on
marks
nDouble
quota:on
marks
Quota:on
Marks
Bri:sh
English
Double
quota:on
marks
for
a
quota:on
within
a
quota:on
The
Red
Ballon
is
my
favourite
story
,
my
father
said.
Scare
quotes,
ironic
words
or
phrases,
or
being
used
in
an
unusual
way.
My
brother
shared
his
wisdom
with
me.
English
Punctua:on
Rules
n To
indicate
extra
informa:on
n
Parentheses
n
Brackets
n
Em
dash
Language
Register
The
language
register
determines
the
vocabulary,
structure,
and
some
grammar
in
your
wri:ng.
Formal-
professional
wri:ng
and
lePers
to
a
boss
or
stranger
Informal
conversa:onal
and
appropriate
when
wri:ng
to
friends
and
people
you
know
very
well.
Neutral-
non-emo:onal
and
s:cks
to
the
facts.
Technical
wri:ngs.
Formal
Register
When
do
we
use
formal
wri:ng?
n Business
LePers
n LePers
of
complain
n Some
essays
n Reports
n Ocial
speeches
n Professional
emails
Rules
of
the
formal
register
1.
2.
3.
4.
Do
not
use
contrac:ons
Spell
out
numbers
less
than
one
hundred
Write
in
the
third
person
point
of
view
Avoid
using
slang,
idioms,
hyperboles
and
clichs
Rules
of
the
formal
register
6.
7.
8.
9.
D o
n o t
u s e
s l a n g
abbrevia:ons
or
symbols
that
you
would
use
in
friendly
emails
and
texts.
Do
not
start
sentences
with
words
like,
so,
but,
also.
Always
write
in
complete
sentences
W r i t e
l o n g e r ,
m o r e
complex
sentences.
Informal
Language
Register
When
do
we
use
formal
wri:ng?
n Personal
emails
n Phone
text
n Short
notes
n Friendly
LePers
n Most
blogs
n Diaries
Rules
of
the
informal
register
There are no major
rules to informal
writing
You
can
include
n
n
n
n
n
Slang
and
clichs
Symbols
and
abbrevia6ons
Incomplete
sentences
Extra
punctua6on
Jokes
Neutral
Language
Register
When
do
we
use
formal
wri:ng?
Non-emo:onal
topics
and
informa:on
n Reviews
n Ar:cles
n Some
lePers
n Some
essays
n Technical
wri:ng
