Sentence Writing Strategies

A Review

Simple Sentences

• A sentence that has ____ ________________ clause.

one independent

Independent Clause

• An independent clause is a group of words that makes up a ________ __________ and can ________ __________. This means that the group of words makes sense by itself.

• Example- Susan ran.

It has two important things: _________ and a __________.

subject

verb

complete thought/statement

stand alone

The Subject

• The subject of a sentence is the _________, ________, _________, _________, or ____________ that the sentence is about.

• These are all ___________ (part of speech).

person

place thing quality

idea

nouns

The Verb

• The next part of the simple sentence is the VERB.

• A verb is a word that shows ___________ or• _____________.

action

state of being

Verbs (cont.)

• Verbs that show a state of being are called ___________ verbs.

• Example- Jesse is happy.

• The verb ________ shows Jesse’s state of being. It links the subject (Jesse) to his state of being (happy).

linking

is

More Verbs

• There are really three types of verbs:Physical Action, Mental Action, and

State of Being/Linking Verbs.

• Let’s brainstorm some of these….

Verb-Subject Identification

• You must know how to identify subjects and verbs to determine if you have a ______ ________.

• To identify a verb and subject, you will need to go through a two step process.

complete

sentence

Verb-Subject Identification

• FIRST, look through the sentence to discover words that show mental or physical action or a state of being. You are looking for the action or linking verb.

• Example- Kevin reported the theft.

Verb-Subject Identification

• Second, you ask yourself ________ or _______ and add the verb. In the previous example, you would ask ______ or _______ “reported.”

Another example- Paula is an astronaut.

Lets look at some more examples!

Who?

What?

who what

Noun Phrases

• Sometimes two or more words are used as the subject. When several words are used together as the subject, they are called a NOUN PHRASE.

• The NOUN PHRASE is the COMPLETE SUBJECT.

• Example- The old gray mare limped down the lane.

Noun Phrases (Cont)

• In the previous example, “mare” is the MAIN SUBJECT.

• For this class, we are going to be concerned mainly with the MAIN SUBJECT.

Verb Phrases

• Just like several words can form the subject of a sentence, several words can form the verb of a sentence.

• This is called a VERB PHRASE.

• Example- The bus must have left by now.

• The words form the COMPLETE VERB.

Verb Phrases

• Verb phrases are formed by putting one or more HELPING VERBS in front of a main verb.

• Here is a list of HELPING VERBS:• Am, are, is, be, been, being, was, were• Can, could, may, might, must, do, does, did,

shall, should, has, have, had, will, would

Verb Phrases

• For this class, any time you are asked to identify the verb of a sentence, you should identify the VERB PHRASE. This will include the linking or helping verb AND the main verb

The Infinitive Problem

• Sometimes there are verbs in a sentence that show action but are not the main verb.

• Chad hoped to go sledding.

• An verb that has the word “to” in front of it is an infinitive. Whenever you see a sentence with multiple action verbs, you should look for the word “to.” Verbs with “to” in front are NOT your main verb or part of your main verb phrases.

Types of Simple Sentences

• Compound Subjects• Example- Bill and Sue want to go to the

movies.

• Compound Verbs• Example- The dogs barked all day and slept all

night

Types of Simple Sentences

• Compound subject and compound verb

• Example- Candles and flowers can brighten the table and can make a meal feel special.

Simple Sentence Formulas

• SV- Subject/Verb

• SSV- Subject-Subject/Verb

• SVV-Subject/Verb-Verb

• SSVV-Subject-Subject/Verb-Verb

The PENS Strategy

• Pick a formula- • SV, SSV, SVV, SSVV• Explore words to fit the formula• Remember noun phrases and verb phrases• Note the words• Write the words down; capitalize; punctuate.• Search and check• Use verb-subject ID; check for helping verbs;

remember infinitives.

Compound Sentences

• A compound sentence contains two (2) or more independent clauses.

• Most often, it contains two independent sentences.

• What is included in an independent clause?• SUBJECT and VERB

Compound Sentences

• Writing a compound sentence is like putting two simple sentences together into one.

• Example- The students finished class, and they went to lunch.

• Example- The basketball team won the game, so they went to Pizza Hut.

Compound Sentences

• FANBOYS – A way to remember your Coordinating Conjunctions!

• For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

Join two independent clauses with a FANBOY to create a Compound Sentence…

The students dressed crazy, so they went crazy!

Compound Sentences

• You can join two independent clauses with a semi-colon to create a Compound Sentence.

• The students went crazy; they lost their minds.

• Semicolons are used when the ideas are related.

Compound Sentences

• Two Formulas

• I, cI (I= Independent Clause, c= conjuction[fanboy]Independent Clause)

• I;I (Independent Clause ; Independent Clause)