Week 4: Sentence Structure/Patterns

Question 1

Declarative sentences

Answer 1

STATE FACT
ex, “Tobey has too many items on his agenda.”
- Note: most sentences in academic writing are declarative

Question 2

Interrogative sentences

Answer 2

ASK A Q“Is Tobey free on Monday for my birthday?”

Question 3

Imperative sentences

Answer 3

INSTRUCT OR DEMAND“Please clear some space on your agenda.”

Question 4

Exclamatory sentences

Answer 4

EXPRESS EMOTIONAL EMPHASIS“Tobey is such a stooge!”

-Note: almost never used in academic writing

Question 5

building blocks of ANY sentence

Answer 5

Subjects and Predicates

Question 6

Subject

Answer 6

what acts or is talked about in the sentence
-usually a noun or pronoun, but sometimes a phrase/clause

Examples in sentences:

• Samantha walks home. (noun)
• Billy and Jimmy rode their bikes to town. (nouns)
• We will be eating pizza soon. (pronoun)
• Writing keeps us very busy. (gerund)

Question 7

Simple Subject

Answer 7

main noun or pronoun performing the action of a sentence (usually just one word)
-ex, The old cast on my wrist will be removed on Tuesday.
simple subject = cast

Question 8

Complete Subject

Answer 8

The [Complete Subject] includes the simple subject PLUS all associated modifiers (i.e. phrases and adjectives):
-ex, [The old cast on my wrist] will be removed on Tuesday.
simple subject = cast

Question 9

Predicate

Answer 9

what the subject does, or what is said about it.
Essential element = main verb
-predicate will always have a main verb.
predicates contain additional elements
o adjectives/adverbs, objects, prepositional phrases

MAIN VERB is always part of the PREDICATE; the main verb is NEVER part of the sentence’s subject (since the subject is what performs the verb’s action).

Question 10

simple sentence

Answer 10

has a single independent clause

i. Independent clause = subject + predicate
ii. NOTE (only independent clauses can stand alone to form a sentence)

b. Ex, Billy runs.
i. Billy = subject – a proper noun
ii. Runs = predicate – a verb
c. Ex, Billy runs the race.
i. Billy = subject
ii. Predicate + direct object
d. Ex, Billy runs the race in record time.
i. Billy = subject
ii. Predicate + direct object + prepositional phrase
1. Note – in is the modifier
e. simple sentence can sometimes contain TWO main verbs:
i. Ex, “Billy runs the race in record time and wins the top prize.”
1. single subject is performing both actions. (simple sentence with a compound predicate.)

Question 11

Compound sentences

Answer 11

2 independent clauses linked by a comma and coordinating junction (therefore, 2 simple subjects and 2 main verbs)
Examples:
a. [Nicolas Cage] grabbed his gun, and [he] kicked open the door.
b. [Nicolas Cage] grabbed his gun, but [the henchmen] were already waiting for him.
c. [Nicolas Cage] grabbed his gun; [the henchmen] were waiting for him.

Question 12

Complex sentences

Answer 12

1 independent clause and 1 dependent clause (subject + verb, but it does NOT make a complete statement – uses a subordinating conjunction)

a. As he threw away his gun, Nicolas Cage kicked open the door.
b. As he kicked open the door, Nicolas Cage threw away his gun.
.

Question 13

compound complex

Answer 13

Compound-Complex sentence consists of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clause.

Question 14

independent clause

Answer 14

has a subject and a predicate (main verb); can stand alone as a complete sentence.

Question 15

dependent clause

Answer 15

has a subject and predicate (main verb); it CANNOT stand alone as a complete sentence & must be attached to (or embedded in) an independent clause. Four subcategories of dependent clauses are the following: 1) Subordinate clause; 2) Noun clause; 3) Relative clause (adjectival clause); 4) Adverbial clause.

Question 16

Prepositional phrase

Answer 16

a word group guided by a preposition (to, from, in, about, on, by, for, etc.) and usually acting as an adjective or adverb. You will frequently encounter these phrases in your writing, so it is useful to be able to identify them!

Question 17

Sentence Boundary Errors

Answer 17

Comma splices
Fused (run-on) sentences
Sentence fragments

Question 18

comma splice

Answer 18

You can fix a comma splice by 1) adding a coordinating conjunction to create a COMPOUND SENTENCE; 2) replacing the comma with a subordinating conjunction to create a COMPLEX SENTENCE; or 3) replacing the comma with a semicolon to create a COMPOUND SENTENCE.

Question 19

fused sentence

Answer 19

You can fix a fused sentence by 1) adding a coordinating conjunction AND comma to create a COMPOUND SENTENCE; 2) adding a subordinating conjunction to create a COMPLEX SENTENCE; or 3) adding a semicolon to create a COMPOUND SENTENCE.

Question 20

sentence fragment

Answer 20

can fix a sentence fragment by 1) adding the fragment to a nearby independent clause; 2) adding in the missing element (a subject or main verb) that would make the fragment its own independent clause; or 3) arranging the fragments as a list that follows a COLON.