BOYSsentences

He was a friendly man most of the time, but he could be really nasty.

He could be really friendly, or he could be miserable.

It was a warm day, yet storm clouds gathered over the distant mountains.

It was a beautiful morning for a walk, so he set off quite happily.

But, Or, Yet and So

2Asentences

He was a tall, awkward man with an old, crumpled jacket.

It was an overgrown, messy garden with a lifeless, leafless tree.

Each sentence has 2 adjectives before a first noun, followed by 2 adjectives before the second noun.

This type of sentence can be used to create strong images in the reader’s mind!

sentences

The moon hung above us LIKE A patient, pale white face.

Although it was August it was as cold AS Alate December evening.

Can you think of any for your writing?

3 _ed

These sentences are very good for showing us the emotional state of a character.

sentences

• Frightened, terrified, confused, they ran from the creature.

• Amused, amazed, excited, he left the circus reluctantly.

• Confused, troubled, worried, she didn’t know what had happened.

2 pairs

• Exhausted and worried, cold and hungry, they did not know how much further they could go.

• Injured and terrified, shocked and lost, he wandered aimlessly across the battlefield.

• Angry and bewildered, numb and fearful, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

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De:DeDescription : Details

• The vampire is a dreadful creature: it kills by sucking all the blood from its victims.

• Snails are slow: they take hours to cross the shortest of distances.

• I was exhausted: I hadn’t slept for more than two nights.

The first part is descriptive and then the second part adds detail.

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Verb, person

• Flying, John had always been terrified of it.

• Walking, he seemed to have been walking forever.

This type of sentence is very powerful when opening a story.The verb can be used to OPEN a sentence, followed by a

comma and then the name of the character.

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O. (I.) Outside : Inside

• He laughed heartily at the joke he had just been told. (At the same time it would be true to say he was quite embarrassed).

• She told the little girl not to be so naughty. (Inside, however, she was secretly amused by what she had done).

The first part of the sentence tells us what is happening on the OUTSIDE of the character. But the brackets tell us what

the character’s true (INNER) feelings are.

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If, if, if, then

• If the alarm had gone off, if the bus had been on time, if the road repairs had finished, then his life would not have been destroyed.

• If Hannibal hadn’t lost, if Rome hadn’t won, if Carthage hadn’t fallen, then the Mediterranean would be a lot different today.

This is an extremely effective way of starting or ending a story.

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• Desperate, she screamed for help.

• Terrified, he froze instantly.

• Anxious, they began to realise that they were lost in the forest.

This is an extremely effective way of highlighting the emotion that the character is feeling.

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Emotion word, (comma)

• Cakes, which taste fantastic, are not so good for your teeth.

noun embedded clause final part of sentence adding detail

• Snakes, which scare me, are not always poisonous.

• The garage, where he had his car repaired, had been closed down.

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Noun, who/which/where

• Where is the treasure? the diamonds? the gold? the rubies?

• What if it rained? it poured? it became stormy? thundered?

• How did I feel? yesterday? this morning? now?

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Many questions

• He was a fast runner, fast because he needed to be.

• He was a smart dresser, smart because he had the money to buy the best.

• It was a silent town, silent in a way that did not make you feel restless.

This is a great way to emphasise the adjective in a sentence without it sounding boring.

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Ad, same ad

• Greed, jealousy, hatred – which of these was John Brown’s worst trait?

• Incompetence, arrogance, stupidity – which of these was Caesar's fatal flaw?

• Thirst, heatstroke, exhaustion – which would kill him first?

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3 bad – question?

• He swam slowly and falteringly.

verb first adverb second adverb

• He rode determinedly and swiftly.

• He laughed heartily and loudly.

These are very precise sentences, adding detail.

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double ly ending

These are short sentences which begin with:

Who? What? Why? When? Where? Was? Will? What if?

They are used as: an opening, to engage the reader, or as an ending to make the reader think.

• Why do you think he ran away?

• What next for the endangered species of Tonga Lizard?

• Why is our climate changing?

sentences

All the W’s

sentences

LIST

These are the most simple of sentences, but can create a

perfect picture in the reader’s mind.

•It was a dark, long, leafy lane.

•She had a cold, cruel cackle.

•It was a cold, wet, miserable morning.

These sentences are compound sentences that use a semi-colon rather than a conjunction. They are a useful way of introducing an argument in fiction or non-fiction.

• Some people love football; others just can’t stand it.

• Some days are full of enjoyment; others begin and end terribly.

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Some; others

• The rain wept down the window = sad mood.

• The wind screamed through the branches = tense mood.

• The breeze murmured through the branches = happy mood.

• The snow smothered the town = tense, claustrophobic mood.

These are very useful for creating moods in a story.

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Personification of weather

P.C. means paired conjunctions.

• It was both cold and unpleasant for him to work there.

• It was not so much the lack of time as fear that stopped him.

• Neither money nor gifts could make him visit the house.

• He was as silly as a clown.

BA NA NN AA

Both/and not so/as neither/nor as/as

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P.C.

• The more upset she was, the more the tears flowed.

emotion comma action related to emotion

• The more happy she became, the more talkative she seemed to be.

• The more angry he became, the more he banged his fists on the table.

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The more, the more

Then it happened.

Everything failed.

Just like that.

Oh no.

Short sentences are formed using one, two or three words. They are very effective when used for dramatic affect after long sentences,

or as dialogue between characters.

“Where?”

“Up there!”

“What?”

“A gun.”

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short

• Our ‘luxury’ hotel turned out to be a farm building.

• The ‘trip of our dreams’ was, in fact, our worst nightmare.

• With dawn breaking the ‘beautiful view’ revealed itself to be a scrap-yard and rubbish tip.

The use of inverted commas shows the reader that the statement is not true.

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Irony

• Imagine a time when people were not afraid, when life was much simpler, when everyone helped each other: this is a story about that time.

• Imagine a place where the sun always shines, where wars never happen, where no-one ever dies: in the Andromeda system, there is such a planet.

This is a superb sentence to start a science fiction, or indeed any other, story.

sentences

Imagine 3 examples :

PEEPoint, Evidence, Explain. Use with non fiction togive a view point. e.g.

Should we stay at school till 4:30Point – We will be to tired to learn all day

at school.Evidence – Scientists have proven frequent breaks are

better than long hours.Explain - With less time in the class room we are able to

achieve more, allowing us to get better jobs in the future.