Clauses = a group of words that contains a subject and a verb

Independent Clauses Dependent Clauses

 Clauses

Contains a subject and a verb Contains a subject and a verb

Expresses a complete thought Does NOT express a complete thought

She studies engineering. Because he parked illegally

**Review “PARTS OF SPEECH”.

Make sure you understand:

nouns
pronouns
verbs
adjectives
adverbs
prepositions
conjunctions
 ?
sentence
What is a
= It is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

He is a graduate student.
It is hot today.
He looks mad.
Are you ready?
Who’s there?
Be quiet!
 sasubject?
What i The subject tells who or what the sentence is about.
It is often a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun.
Highlight the entire subjects in blue.

noun

Mrs. Smith is on the couch.

The mother and her children are on the couch reading a book.
noun phrase

They are on the couch reading a book.

pronoun
What else can be in subject position?

It is...
… and what else can be in subject position?
How do we often introduce things?

There is...

There are...
What are these words called?

run
speak
hike
seem
‘be’

Verbs = a word or group of words that expresses an action, feeling, or state

Mark the verbs in yellow.

Mr. Bolton speaks clearly.

The boy seems frustrated.

The air is fresh in the forest.

The children are running.

 Mark lost his keys.

His girlfriend found them.

What are the words in green called?

Objects = NOTE: some sentences have objects (but not all).

The object receives the action of certain action verbs.
 Sentence Structure

Sentence: A sentence is a group of words that

(a) contains at least one subject and one verb AND
(b) expresses a complete thought.

There are four kinds of sentences in English:

1) Simple sentences
2) Compound sentences
3) Complex sentences
4) Compound-complex sentences
Simple Sentences

A simple sentence can have one of several possible “formulas.” Here are four possibilities.

Sentence “formula”

1. Human beings are curious. SV

2. Men and women constantly search for explanations. SSV

3. They ask questions and guess at answers to their questions. SVV

4. Scientists and researchers make observations and conduct experiments. SSVV

A simple sentence is a sentence with one independent clause.

Each sentence above is one independent clause.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence is composed of at least two simple sentences joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

Independent Clause + , (comma) FANBOYS + Independent Clause

FANBOYS =
, for reason
, and plus (in addition)
, nor add negative information
, but contrast
, or choice
, yet show concession/contrast
, so result

Ana is a student, and she works at H&M.

 Independent Clause + ; (semi-colon) transition word, (comma) + Independent Clause

Transition words

; in addition,
; moreover, (similar to ‘and’) addition
; furthermore,
Compound Sentence
; however, contrast
; nevertheless, (similar to ‘but’) unexpected result

; otherwise, (‘or’ + result)

; therefore,
; consequently, (similar to ‘so’) result
; as a result,
; thus,

Tom studies in the morning; however, his brother studies at night.

Compound Sentence

Independent Clause ; (semi-colon) Independent Clause

Tom studies at FIU ; he is a student.

Complex Sentences = DEPENDENT CLAUSE

Contains a subject and a verb

Does NOT express a complete thought

...Think
MUST be attached to an
Independent Clause

A complex sentence is a combination of one independent clause and one (or more) dependent clause(s).
 Clause
= a group of words that contains at least one subject and one verb.

Independent Clause Dependent Clause

has a subject and a verb AND CANNOT be a sentence by itself because its meaning is
can be a sentence by itself. NOT complete.

It is also called a simple sentence. It “depends” on something else to complete its meaning.

Dependent Clauses begin with a Subordinator.

 Independent Clauses-

Anna left the party early.

Finish washing the dishes.

Dependent Clauses-

Because she was tired

Subordinating Conjunctions Before you go to bed
(= Subordinators)
 Anna left the party early because she was tired.

Finish washing the dishes before you go to bed.

Complex Sentences
 Punctuation of Dependent Clauses

After we ate dinner together , we went to the movies.

We went to the movies after we ate dinner together.

* * When a (time) dependent clause comes before an independent clause, it is followed by a comma.

Complex Sentences
There are three kinds of dependent clauses:

Adverbial

Adjective

Noun
 Adverbial Clauses

Time Cause/Effect Condition Contrast Purpose

when because if although so that

while since unless even though
whenever as as if though
after even if while
as
as soon as
before
until
since
Subordinators- (Adverbial)

Time Subordinators

after He goes to school after he finishes work.

as* (can be either time or reason subordinator) Several overcrowded buses passed as we were waiting.

as soon as She felt better as soon as she took the medicine.

before Before you apply to college, you have to take an entrance exam

since It has been a year since I left home.

until We can’t leave the room until everyone has finished the test.

when When you start college, you sometimes have to take a placement
test.

whenever Whenever I don’t sleep, I feel sick the next day.

while Several overcrowded buses passed while they were waiting.

Subordinators- (Adverbial)

Reason Subordinators

because Jack excels at sports because he trains hard.

since Since she works out daily, Jill is in great condition.

as* (can be either time or reason subordinator) As they want to compete in a marathon, they run every day.

Place Subordinators

where I can never remember where I put my house keys.

wherever A baby animal follows its mother wherever she goes.

Adjective Clauses

Who

Whom

Which

That

Whose

etc.
Noun Clauses

Who

What

That

When

etc.
Compound-Complex Sentences
= has at least three clauses, including at least one independent and one dependent clause

Young people who participate in sports are usually in good health because they get so much exercise.
 Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs agree in number.

My sister is married. (singular)

My sisters are married. (plural)

My brother and I are single. (plural)

Subject/verb agreement is sometimes confusing in the following situations.

1) There is a student in the hall.

There are three students in the hall.
There was no reason for his action.
There were many reasons for his success.

2) One (of my sisters) is a singer.

The color (of her eyes) changes when she is angry.
 Subject-Verb Agreement

3) Some words are always singular.

One (of my brothers) is a musician.

Neither (of my parents) is living.
Much (of my time) is spent in the library.
Each (of my brothers) wants his own car.
Nothing ever happens in my life.
Is anyone home?

4) A few words are always plural:

Both (of my parents) are teachers.

Several (of the teachers) speak my language.
Many (of my friends) work in the library.
 Subject-Verb Agreement

5) A few words can be either singular or plural. In these cases, you must refer to the noun in the prepositional
phrase.

Some (of the money) was missing. (singular)

Some (of the students) were missing. (plural)

All (of my time) is spent in the library. (singular)

All (of my brothers) are singers. (plural)

Most (of the ice) was melted. (singular)

Most (of the ice cubes) were melted. (plural)

A lot (of the work) was too easy. (singular)

A lot (of the people) were angry. (plural)

None (of the fruit) is fresh. (singular)

None (of the apples) are fresh. (plural)
Sources:

Longman Academic Writing Series 2: Paragraphs, 3rd ed, A. Hogue

Longman Academic Writing Series 3: Paragraphs to Essays, A. Oshima and A. Hogue

Fundamentals of English Grammar, 4th ed., B. Azar & S. Hagen