Sentence Structure

1. Sentence Structure

2. Parts of speech Noun: Verbs: Adjective: Adverb: Pronoun: Preposition Conjunction:

3. Noun • Person, place or thing(What the sentence is about) • Used as a subject of the sentence • Used as an object of the sentence • Concrete (can touch) • Abstract (Cannot feel, smell, or touch) • Examples: • Love, Chaos, Anger, Judge, Car

4. Verbs • Shows action or state of being • Active or passive • Connects subject and predicate • Most important word in the sentence • Examples: • Pour, laugh (Active) • Am, is, are, was, were, will be, have been, will have been (Passive)

5. In passive voice, the subject is usually not present. If it is, it is at the end of a prepositional phrase. * The man was bitten by a mosquito. (passive voice)* The shed was burned by the fire. (passive voice)

6. In active voice, the subject of the sentence is present BEFORE the verb. The mosquito bit the man. (active)The fire burned the shed. (active)

7. You Try: 1. The movie was watched by the entire family.2. The computer was turned on by the student.3. the giant was fooled by jack.

8. In active voice, the subject of the sentence is present BEFORE the verb. The mosquito bit the man. (active)The fire burned the shed. (active)

9. Pronoun • Refers to, or replaces, the subject or noun • Reflexive: refer to themselves (myself, yourself, herself, itself) • Demonstrative: (specific persons, places, things: This, that, these, those) • Indefinite: Not specific and point to things. (all, any, anyone, both, either, few, many)

10. Adjective: • Describes, gives more information about, a noun • Tell which, what kind, and how many • Concrete (can see) • Abstract (idea about something) ** Warning: Adj. are good, but too many ruin the sentence.

11. Adverb • describes verb, adjective, adverb • Most, but not all, end in –ly • Answers: WHERE, WHEN, HOW, HOW OFTEN, HOW LONG, HOW MUCH • Ex: The frog crocked happily. The frong croaked grudgingly.

12. Prepositions • Words that tell how nouns and pronouns relate to other words in a sentence, other parts of a sentence. • Answers: When, Which, What, Where, Compares • Ex: The frog jumped. The frog on the lily pad (where) jumped into the rippling river (where)

13. Clauses • A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a verb. • It is different from a phrase in that a phrase does not include a subject and a verb relationship

14. Independent: A clause that can stand by itself and still make sense • These holes are called kettles, and they look just like scooped-out pots • By a comma and little conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and sometimes so). • By a semicolon, by itself • By a semicolon accompanied by a conjunctive adverb (such as however, moreover, nevertheless, as a result, consequently, etc.).

15. Dependent: A clause that cannot stand by itself. It depends on something else, an independent clause, for its meaning • ADVERB CLAUSES tend to tell us something about the sentence’s main verb: when, why, under what conditions • After Jubal Early invaded the outskirts of Washington, Congressional leaders took the southern threat more seriously.

16. ADJECTIVE CLAUSES modify nouns or pronouns in the rest of the sentence.. • The Internet, which started out as a means for military and academic types to share documents, has become a household necessity

17. Phrases • A phrase is a group of words. • There will NEVER be a subject or verb in a phrase. • One type of phrase is a prepositional phrase. • It must begin with a preposition. • It will end with a noun or pronoun that is called the object of the preposition. Ex: The car with the peeling paint is mine

18. Phrases • An appositive phrase renames or explains a noun in a sentence • An appositive phrase is normally set off by commas. • Appositives are noun phrases • The man, a doctor, said he would be with us in a minute.

19. Keith Polette’s Eleven Ways to Begin a Sentence • Noun • Rats peered from garbage cans. • Article + Noun • The rats peered from garbage cans. • Adjective. + Noun • Greedy rats peered from garbage cans. • .

20. Keith Polette’s Eleven Ways to Begin a Sentence • Pronoun + Verb • They peered from garbage cans. • Adverb + Noun • Cautiously, rats peered from garbage cans • Absolute Phrases • Noun + adjective • Eyes Wide, mouth open

21. Keith Polette’s Eleven Ways to Begin a Sentence • Absolute Phrases • Noun + present participle • Body quaking, hands, trembling • Noun + adjective, noun, = past participle • Eyes wide, ears twitching, rats peered from garbage cans • Noun + adjective, noun, = past participle • Head back, hands raised

22. Keith Polette’s Eleven Ways to Begin a Sentence • Absolute Phrases • Noun + linking verb + past participle • The sun having risen • Noun + linking verb + past participle + prepositional phrase • The night being filled with strange sounds • Adverb + Noun • Cautiously, rats peered from garbage cans

23. Keith Polette’s Eleven Ways to Begin a Sentence • Participle Phrases • Munching on stale cheese, rats peered from garbage cans. • Prepositional Phrases • Beneath the glow of a full moon, rats peered from garbage cans. • Infinitive Phrases • To watch for prowling cats, rats peered from garbage cans.

24. Keith Polette’s Eleven Ways to Begin a Sentence • Adverbial Clause • As the half moon arose in the dingy sky like a hunk of rancid cheese, rats peered from garbage cans. • Implied Adjective Clause • Suspicious of their surroundings, rats peered from garbage cans.