Sentences

Sentences English 0750 March 2009

What is a Sentence? 

Group of words  

Generally 10-25 words Expresses a “complete thought”

Basic unit of communication  Action + Agent 

 

Who does what? Subject + Verb (+Other Stuff)

Examples Sally studied.  Sally studied for her test.  At the library yesterday, Sally feverishly studied for her math test tomorrow.  Sally studied for her test, but Bob went to the beach instead.  Because she studied, Sally passed the test, while Bob failed miserably. 

Exercise 

Identify the subject and verb in each sentence:

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Sue asked a good question.

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The dog barked all night.

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Tomorrow we will go to the baseball game.

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She went to Las Cruces for the weekend.

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Everyone needs to be more serious in class..

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Joe walked and Anne drove.

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My brother slept in, but everyone else woke up early.

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The doctor told me that I need to exercise more.

Clauses • • •

A clause is the core of the sentence Subject + Verb Two types of clauses: • Independent • Dependent

Independent Clauses • •

An independent clause can act alone Example: • Sally Studied

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Independent clauses can be combined with a coordinator • For, And, Nor But, Or, Yet, So

Dependent Clauses • • •

A dependent clause relies on an independent clause It cannot function by itself Example: • While Sally studied

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The dependent clause is joined to an independent clause by a subordinator • While, because, if, so that, although, why, that, when, what, even though,

Exercise •

Identify the clauses in the following sentences: • I rode my motorcycle to work today. • Jim went to the party, but Joe had to work. • She called and I answered the phone. • Because I went to the baseball game, I missed my favorite TV show. • He knows that you want to buy the car. • When the alarm went off I rolled over, but I couldn’t sleep in.