WRITERS' WORKSHOP
Week/Lesson 16. Sentence
Construction
“He [Churchill] mobilized the English
language, and sent it into battle.”
Edward Murrow
a.
Review the definitions and distinctions which
differentiate:
Simple, Compound, Complex and Compound-Complex Sentences
b. read “Ten Ways to Start a Sentence”
c. read “Twenty Sentence Patterns”
d. memorize “Six Ways to Start a Sentence”
e. write ten sentences using the email format sent by the tutor
f. prepare for a vocabulary quiz (10 words)
g.
prepare for a quiz on literary terms (5 terms)
DEFINITION & EXAMPLES
Sentence: a group
of words which expresses a complete thought and contains at least one subject and one verb. A sentence is therefore a
means of communicating. Sentences serve
four basic types of communication: (1) Declarative: making a statement; (2)
Interrogative: asking a question; (3) Imperative: giving an order; and (4)
Exclamatory: expressing strong emotion.
A sentence must be able to stand alone and still be clearly
understood. It is thus referred to as an
“independent clause.” All sentences
include two basic elements: a subject
and predicate (verb). Sentences can be constructed in four basic
clause—combinations: SEE: “Simple Sentence;” “Compound Sentence;” “Complex
Sentence;” and “Compound Complex Sentence.”
Simple Sentence: a sentence which contains a
subject and a verb, expresses a complete thought, and makes a single
statement. It is also called an
independent clause because it stands on its own. A Simple Sentence may have a compound
subject, and/or a compound verb, but they are combined in a single thought or
statement. Here is the sentence pattern:
Subject (single or compound) + Verb (single or compound).
The student waited for the tutor
(single subject; single verb).
The student and the tutor took the
train (compound subject; single verb).
The student waited and read a book
(single subject; compound verb).
The student and the tutor arrived at
the station before noon and left
on the bus before we arrived
(compound subject; compound verb).
Compound Sentence:
a sentence composed of two or more independent or main clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). NOTE: The first letter of
each of the coordinating conjunctions together spells FANBOYS. Except for very short sentences, coordinators
are usually preceded by a comma. Here
are the common patterns for compound sentences:
(1) Subject + Predicate, Coordinating Conjunction + Subject + Predicate.
The teacher lectured for over an
hour, and his students slept soundly.
The old man wanted to hide his money, for
he feared someone would steal it.
The student had a test the next day,
so
she studied all night long.
(2) Subject + Predicate; Subject + Predicate.
The teacher lectured for over an
hour; his students slept soundly.
The old man wanted to hide his
money; he feared someone would steal it.
The student had a test the next day;
she studied all night long.
(3) Subject + Predicate ; Conjunctive Adverb, Subject + Predicate.
The teacher lectured for over an
hour; consequently, his students slept soundly.
The old man wanted to hide his
money; however, he couldn’t find a safe place.
The student had a test the next day;
moreover,
it was the final exam.
SEE ALSO: “Conjunctive Adverbs”
Complex Sentence: a sentence composed of a single main clause together with
one or more dependent (subordinate or relative) clauses. A simple test to identify a dependent clause:
Does it make sense by itself?
Independent clauses do make sense when they stand alone; dependent
clauses do not. A complex sentence always contains a subordinating
conjunction which introduces the dependent clause (because, since, after,
although, when, etc.) or a relative pronoun (that, who, which,
etc). SEE: “Conjunctions:
Subordinating.” Here are the common
patterns for complex sentences:
(1) Subject + Predicate + Sub. Conjunction + subject + predicate.
I could see that
she still hadn’t finished her homework.
The dog kept running although
his owner called frantically.
(2) Sub. Conjunction + Subject + Predicate, subject + predicate.
When I looked into the
mirror, I saw an old man.
Until he left home, he had no focus in life.
Compound Complex Sentence:
a sentence composed of two or more independent or main clauses and one or more
dependent (subordinate or relative) clauses.
It is a combination of a compound and a complex sentence. Sentence
Pattern:
Sub. Conj. + Subject + Pred., Subject
+ Pred., Coord. Conj. + Subject + Pred.
When I looked into the mirror, I saw
an old man, and I was surprised.
As I look out the window, I see no
clouds, but the weather report predicted rain.
Whenever the old man walked around
the mansion, he wanted hide his money,
for he feared his
children would steal it from him.