Super Sentences! - Vancouver Island...
Transcript of Super Sentences! - Vancouver Island...
Super
Sentences! Clarifying the
parts and the structure of
English sentences
Today’s program
1. Pre-Quiz
2. The Parts of Speech
3. Sentence Patterns
4. Phrases & Clauses
5. Kinds of Sentences
6. Post-Quiz
7. Q & A
8. Workshop Evaluation
The Parts of
Speech
There are 8 parts if speech.
• What are they?
• What do you know about them?
Verbs
“Go!”
Adverbs (place and time)
“Go there now!”
Adverbs (manner)
“Go there quickly!”
Nouns
Kato bought a car.
Pronouns
He drove the car.
Prepositions
He hit a tree
with his car.
Conjunctions
He wasn’t injured, but
the car was totaled.
Adjectives
Kato was lucky.
(He had insurance!)
Interjections
“Boy-oh-boy!” was all he could say.
Sentence
Patterns
What is a “sentence”? A group of words that has
• a subject
• a predicate
• a complete thought
• a final punctuation mark
The best things in life are free.
Subject
• WHO or WHAT the sentence is about
Sam read a book. (WHO did it?)
The book was fabulous! (WHAT was
fabulous?)
• Subjects can be nouns, pronouns, infinitives,
gerunds, or clauses.
Predicate • Tells about the subject
• Contains a verb and all its modifiers
Sam read a book. (WHAT did Sam DO?)
The book was fabulous! (HOW was the book?)
• There are 3 types of verbs: Action
Linking
Auxiliary
Action Verbs: 2 types
• Intransitive
Doesn’t have an object.
It rained. She is working.
• Transitive
An object follows the verb.
Kato bought a car. (Kato bought WHAT?)
Linking Verbs
• “Be” and others, especially those involving
the 5 senses
• Connect the subject and the complement.
• Is like an = sign.
Dogs are good pets. (Dogs = good pets)
George looks sad. (George = sad)
Pizza tastes delicious. (pizza = delicious)
Auxiliary Verbs
• Often called “helping verbs”
• Add meaning to the main verb
Bob was sleeping in class.
He has lived in Nanaimo for a year.
(show tense and aspect)
You should go if you can.
(also called “modals”)
Sentence Patterns • S-V (intransitive verb)
• S-V-A (verb with adverb)
• S-V-C (intransitive verb with complement)
• S-V-O (transitive verb with object)
• S-V-O-A (transitive verb …)
• S-V-IO-O (transitive verb with indirect and
direct objects)
• There/It-V-S (linking verb followed by subject)
S-V
Subject – Verb
She left.
The snow is falling.
It works!
S-V-A
Fay went upstairs.
The test took three hours
Subject – Verb – Adverb
S-V-C
Subject – Verb – Complement
Yuki is cute.
Wonshik looks tired.
The soup tastes great.
The test was very difficult.
S-V-O
Subject – Verb – Object
George studies English.
Sarah cooked dinner.
Obama won the election.
S – V – O – A
Subject – Verb – Object – Adverb
She wore her dress all night.
Our boss kept the money in her office.
They bought sunglasses at the mall.
Kids today understand technology perfectly.
S-V-IO-O Subject – Verb – Indirect Object – Object
The police officer gave Alan a ticket.
(Or: The police officer gave a ticket to Alan.)
S V O IO
Sarah baked her husband a cake.
Mark bought his wife a new car.
There/It-V-S There/It – Linking Verb – Subject
There are activities on Fridays.
(Activities are on Fridays.)
It was nice to meet you.
(To meet you was nice.)
Note: Only use a linking verb. Do not use “have.”
• S-V (intransitive verb)
• S-V-A (verb with adverb)
• S-V-C (intransitive verb)
• S-V-O (transitive verb with object)
• S-V-O-A (transitive verb …)
• S-V-IO-O (transitive verb + objects)
• There/It-V-S (linking verb)
Once more: Sentence Patterns
Phrases and
Clauses
What is a “phrase”?
A group of words that belongs together which is missing a subject or verb or both
“a very good student”
“on the desk”
“after class”
“to improve his English”
“drinking with my friends”
(Here, “drinking” is a gerund, not a verb.)
What is a “clause”?
A group of words that:
• has a subject
• has a verb
• might not be a complete thought on its own
• doesn’t necessarily include a final punctuation mark
Two Kinds of Clauses
• Independent clause (like a sentence –
expresses a complete thought)
Matty works out every day.
• Dependent clause (does not express a
compete thought)
because he loves it
Connecting Clauses
• If you don’t connect clauses correctly, you
could end up with two things English teachers
HATE!
• a fragment Because he loves it.
• a run-on sentence (“run ons”) Ming loves movies he watches one every day.
How to avoid fragments
and run-ons
1. Separate sentences with
appropriate punctuation.
2. Use coordination.
3. Use subordination.
Separate Sentences • Use final punctuation: a period, question
mark, or exclamation mark. ( ● ? ! )
• Ensure that each new subject (noun,
noun phrase, or pronoun) heads its own
sentence unless you are using a
conjunction (and, but, or, because, if…)
Ming loves movies. He watches one every
day.
Coordination
• Connects independent clauses to
other independent clauses.
• There are 3 ways to co-ordinate
independent clauses:
1. Use a comma (,) and a
coordinating conjunction
for and nor
but or yet so
Ming loves movies, so he watches one
every day.
2. Use a semicolon (;)
Ming loves movies; he watches one
every day.
3. Use a semicolon (;)followed by
a conjunctive adverb and, then,
by a comma (,)
however furthermore moreover
therefore for example in fact
etc…
Ming loves movies; therefore, he watches one
every day.
Subordination
Connects a dependent clause
to an independent clause with
a subordinating conjunction.
Subordinating Conjunctions
• Independent clause + dependent clause
Ming watches movies every day because he is a film student.
• Dependent clause + comma + independent clause
Because Ming is a film student, he watches a movie a day.
after because before even though
if since until although
when while unless etc…
Kinds of Sentences
• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-complex
Simple
• One independent clause
Ming went to the Vancouver International
Film Festival.
Compound • Two independent clauses
• Connect them with coordination.
Remember the three ways to do that?
Ming went to the VIFF, and he saw over forty
films. (Note: Ming went to the VIFF and saw over forty films.)
Ming had a great time at the VIFF; he saw
over forty films.
Ming watched over forty films, yet he was
not able to see all the movies he wanted to.
Complex
• ONE independent clause and at least
ONE dependent clause
Ming went to the VIFF after he had completed
his first year of film studies.
After he had completed his first year of film
studies, Ming went to the VIFF.
Compound-complex
• At least TWO ▪independent clauses and
at least ONE dependent clause
Ming preferred the independent films, but he
saw one big-studio film, which he really liked.
It was directed by a woman who had previously
made low-budget films, so this was her first
foray into major film making.
Finally . . .
Understanding
the parts and the structure
of English sentences
will help you read and write more clearly!
“Clear thinking
becomes
clear writing.”
(William Zinsser in On Writing Well)