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The Basics of Sentence Structure

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What is a sentence?• In linguistics, a sentence is a unit of

language, characterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb. For example, “The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog.”

• Traditionally, each sentence is regarded as having a subject, an object and a verb, even if one of these is implied.

• In academic writing, you need at least a subject and a verb in order to have a complete sentence.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(grammar)

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What is a clause?• No, a clause is not the same thing as

Santa Claus!

• A clause is a group of words consisting of a subject and a finite form of a verb.

• Very often, a sentence and a clause are the same thing. This is not always the case, so lets learn about two different types of clauses.

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Independent Clause

An independent clause is a group ofwords that contains a subject and a verband expresses a complete thought. Anindependent clause is a completesentence.

I like English very much.S V

My name is Ms. McLaughlin-Rojas.S V

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Dependent ClauseA dependent clause is a group of words thatcontains a subject and verb but does not express acomplete thought.

A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often adependent clause is marked by a dependent clausemarker (also known as a subordinating

conjunction).

Because I like English very much, …DCM S V

Because I like English very much, I study it every day.

DC IC

(Now that I have added an independent clause to thedependent clause, the sentence is complete.)

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Dependent Clause Markers (Subordinating Conjunctions)

Here is a list of some common dependent clausemarkers (subordinating conjunctions):

after, although, as, as if,because, before, even if,even though, if, if only, ratherthan, since, that, though,unless, until, when, where,whereas, wherever, whether,which, while

You’ll learn more about how to use these words ina future lesson.

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Sentence Types

To achieve sentence variety andavoid monotony in writing, foursentence types or formats can beused:

Simple

Compound

Complex

Compound-Complex

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Simple Sentences

• A simple sentence consists of onlyone independent clause:

I went to class.S V

• Notice that this simple sentence(or independent clause) has botha subject and a verb. To be asentence or clause, it must have a subject and a verb.

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Compound Sentences• A compound sentence consists of two

independent clauses joined in one of thetwo following ways:

1. I went to class yesterday, and I took a test.(The two parts of this sentence are joined with a coordinating

conjunction and a comma.)

2. I went to class; I took a test.(The two parts of this sentence are joined with a semicolon.)

• Sometimes using a simple sentence is agreat way to communicate an idea in aclear and direct way. However, you might choose to use a compound sentence using a connector word like “and” instead. Why?

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Coordinating ConjunctionsHere are some coordinating conjunctionsthat will be useful for building compoundsentences: • For• And• Nor• But• Or• Yet• SoRemember the acronym “FANBOYS.” Itwill help you remember all thecoordinating conjunctions.

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Complex Sentences• A complex sentence has one independent clause and

at least one dependent clause (the order can change).

1. Because I like English very much, I study it every day.

DC IC2. I study English every day because I like it very

much.IC DC

• In the first example above, notice that the dependentclause comes first, followed by a comma and theindependent clause.

• In the second example, notice that the independentclause comes first, followed by the dependent clause.No comma is necessary when the independent clausecomes first in the sentence.

• Why use a complex sentence? It shows that one pieceof information depends on another piece ofinformation. You can express your ideas in a morecomplex way.

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Compound-Complex Sentences• These sentences are often the longest, consisting of at

least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause:

Because I went to class, I passed the midterm DC IC

exam, but absent students weren’t so lucky.IC

• Do you notice that the first part of the sentence is a dependent clause marked by the dependent marker word (or subordinating conjunction) “because”? The second part is an independent clause, and the third part is another independent clause joined to the rest of the sentence with the coordinating conjunction “but.”

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ClassworkWrite an example ofeach type of sentence that youlearned about in this presentation. If youneed help, just ask.

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Some Definitions• Clause - A clause is a part of a sentence that contains a

Subject and a Verb. A clause can be independent or dependent.

• Coordinating Conjunction - A coordinating conjunction connect words, phrases or clauses that are of equal importance or have the same grammatical structure within a sentencehttp://grammar.uoregon.edu/conjunctions/coordinating.html

• Dependent Clause - A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_clause.html

Dependent Marker Word (Subordinating Conjunction) – A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an independent clause that makes it into a dependent clause. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_clause.html

• Finite verb - The finite forms of a verb are the forms where the verb shows tense, person or singular plural. Non-finite verb forms have no person, tense or number.

– I go, she goes, he went - These verb forms are finite.– To go, going - These verb forms are non-finite or

infinitive.http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/finite-verb.html

• Independent Clause - a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_clause.html

• Monotony – sameness, lack of variety

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Improving Your Sentence Structure

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Why is it important to study sentence structure?Although even native speakers of Englishinstinctively know how to speakgrammatically, as writers even they canmake errors if they don’t fully understandhow the parts of a sentence work together.

For writers, another important issue isknowing how we can manipulate or playwith these sentence elements to makeour writing more lively. Varying oursentence structure can make our writingmore rhythmic or emphasize certaininformation.

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Sentence FragmentsA sentence fragment is an incompletesentence. It is missing either a subject ora verb, or both. Can you see sentencefragments in the following examples?What corrections would you make?

I am very busy on the weekends. Studying very hard for myexams and practicing tennis. It isn’t easy being a student.

Studying very hard for my exams and practicing tennis.Who is studying very hard? The subject is missing in thissentence.

I went shopping this weekend to get ready for the newsemester. I bought a lot of things. Clothes, dishes for thekitchen and books for my classes. It was more expensivethan I thought it was going to be!

Clothes, dishes for the kitchen and books for my classes.Where is the verb in this sentence?

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Correcting sentence fragmentsLet’s take a look at the examples from theprevious slide and some example corrections.

I am very busy on the weekends. I am studying very hard for my exams and practicing tennis. It isn’t easy being a student.

I went shopping this weekend to get ready for the new semester. I bought a lot of clothes, dishes for the kitchen and books for my classes. It was more expensive than I thought it was going to be!

Notice that there is now a subject and verb in the

highlighted sentences above. Remember that in

formal academic writing, complete sentences must

have subjects and verbs.

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Correcting Comma SplicesThere are three ways to correct a comma

splice:We had a nice time, I hope we can meet again soon. S V S V

• Insert a coordinating or subordinating conjunction between the two independent clauses.We had a nice time, and I hope we can meet again soon.We had a nice time because you were there.

• Start a new sentence.

We had a nice time. I hope we can meet again soon.

• Insert a semi-colon between the two independent clauses (only in cases where the independent clauses are closely related topics).We had a nice time; I hope we can meet again soon.

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Parallel Sentence StructureThe parts of a sentence that are in sequence need to havethe same grammatical structure. This gives the sentence asense of balance and shows that the ideas in the sentencehave the same level of importance. We usually join theseparallel structures with coordinating conjunctions like “and” or“or.” Look at the color-coded structures in the sentences below. Dothe sentences have parallel structure? Do they feelbalanced? I like to play soccer, studying English and going to parties.

This report summarizes the processes involved, the problems

encountered, and how they were solved.