Anna Isha© May 2012

SENTENCE VARIETIES & descriptive sentence

1. a)We decided to move to New York, but it wasn't an easy decision.

b)(Even though)c)(Despite)--------------------------------------2. a) The children wanted to visit Disneyland, so

we booked a flight and hotel room for four days in June.

b) (Because of)c) (Therefore)d) (Because)

drills

A declarative sentence "declares" or states a fact, arrangement or opinion. Declarative sentences can be either positive or negative. A declarative sentences ends with a period (.).

I'll meet you at the train station.The sun rises in the East.He doesn't get up early.

Declarative

The imperative commands (or sometimes requests). The imperative takes no subject as 'you' is the implied subject. The imperative form ends with either a period (.) or an exclamation point (!).

ExamplesOpen the door.

Finish your homeworkPick up that mess.

Imperative

The interrogative asks a question. In the interrogative form the auxiliary verb precedes the subject which is then followed by the main verb (i.e., Are you coming ....?). The interrogative form ends with a question mark (?).

ExamplesHow long have you lived in France?

When does the bus leave?Do you enjoy listening to classical music?

Interrogative

The exclamatory form emphasizes a statement (either declarative or imperative) with an exclamation point (!).

ExamplesHurry up!

That sounds fantastic!I can't believe you said that!

Exclamatory

Simple Sentences Simple sentences contain no conjunction (i.e., and, but, or, etc.). Examples Frank ate his dinner quickly.

Peter and Sue visited the museum last Saturday.Are you coming to the party?

Compound Sentences Compound sentences contain two statements that are connected by

a conjunction (i.e., and, but, or, etc.). Examples I wanted to come, but it was late.

The company had an excellent year, so they gave everyone a bonus.I went shopping, and my wife went to her classes.

Complex SentencesComplex sentences contain a dependent clause and at

least one independent clause. The two clauses are connected by a subordinator (i.e, which, who, although, despite, if, since, etc.).

ExamplesMy daughter, who was late for class, arrived shortly

after the bell rang.That's the man who bought our houseAlthough it was difficult, the class passed the test with excellent marks.

Compound - complex sentences contain at least one dependent clause and more than one independent clause. The clauses are connected by both conjunctions (i.e., but, so, and, etc.) and subordinators (i.e., who, because, although, etc.)

Examples John, who briefly visited last month, won the prize, and he

took a short vacation.Jack forgot his friend's birthday, so he sent him a card when he finally remembered. The report which Tom compiled was presented to the board, but it was rejected because it was too complex.

Compound - Complex Sentences

Simple Sentence -> Complex SentenceExample: Tom is a boy. He is eight years old. He goes

to school in Philadelphia.Complex Sentence: -> Tom is an eight-year old boy

who goes to school in Philadelphia.Here are some simple rules to remember when

combining simple sentences into complex sentences:Don't repeat wordsChange words if necessaryAdd words to connect ideas

CHANGE SIMPLE TO COMPLEX

Complex Sentence ExerciseCombine the following sentences into complex sentences.

Remember that a number of answers may be correct. Click on the  following page to compare your answers with two possible paragraphs.

His name is Peter.He's a famous professional athlete.He's a baseball player.He has a large house in Miami.The house is beautiful.

He often travels around the US.He plays away games in different cities in the US. He travels by airplane.

He usually sleeps on the plane.He stays up late after games.

He is an excellent pitcher.Fans love his abilities.Coaches love his abilities.

Every week he plays a home game.The game is played in Glover Stadium.The game is usually sold out.

Glover Stadium is old.Glover Stadium doesn't have enough seats for all the fans.

The fans wait in line to buy tickets.The fans often pay more than $60 dollars for a ticket.

The fans are unhappy about the ticket prices.The fans love Peter.

Change this paragraph into complex sentencesComplex Sentence - Possible Paragraph 1Peter is a famous baseball player. He lives in a

beautiful house in Miami. He often flies around the United States to play away games. Both fans and coaches love his excellent pitching abilities. Every week he plays home games in Glover Stadium which is usually sold out. Glover Stadium is an old stadium without enough seats for all the fans. Fans wait in line to buy the tickets which often cost more than $60. Even though the fans are unhappy about ticket prices, they love Peter.

PARAGRAPH: SIMPLE TO COMPLEX

Complex Sentence - Possible Paragraph 2Peter is a famous baseball player who lives in

a beautiful house in Miami. He often flies to different cities around the United States to play away games. His excellent pitching is loved by both fans and coaches. Old Glover Stadium doesn't have enough seats for the fans who want to come to home games. Even though they are unhappy about ticket prices, the wait in line and pay more than $60 to see Peter play

CHANGED

Using 5 senses:sight sound touch feel smell“She opened the door and was overcome with ghost of

lemons and lavenderFocus on little details Instead of saying look tired- say”dark circles”“Perry walked in, and everyone noticed the dark circles

under his eyes.”Watch out for weak verbs“Mary spoke softly Mary mumbled, murmuredMore evocative“Jim walked quickly across the room”“Jim strode across the room”Engage readers-pat of the story

Descriptive changes weak verb to desciptive sentences

“Jenny jumps high over the fence”“Jenny gallops over the fence”

Read Over and revise as necessary

When I was a child, my grandfather built me Me the wonderful treehouse.It had wide pine

floorboards, and the walls were stained a rich walnut brown.One window faced the house ,where I could often see my mother cooking dinner in the kitchen, and the other window faced the woods behind our yard. When I lay on the floor of the treehouse, I could hear the wind rustling through the trees aroud me, and I could smell the breeze, which changed with each passing season. Eventhough my grandfather is no longer around, I still think of him whn I visit my parents’ house and climb up to sit in my old treehouse.

START WITH TOPIC SENTENCE

Write descriptive paragraph

Figure speech non literal terms includesMetaphor, simile, hyperbole, irony etc“It’s hot today”Changed to“It’s as hot as an oven today”“It’s a million degrees today”Irony-opposite the real meaning“It’s cool and pleasant day”Can do more than to compareAlliteration: weird words are wonderfulOnomatopeia : uses the object’s sound”splat”

Figure speech