SENTENCES, PHRASES, AND CLAUSES

Grammar Part II

Part 1: Sentences

A Sentence is a group of words that make a complete idea.

Sentences are made up of 3 parts: 1. The Subject – what is being spoken

of. 2. Verb – word (or phrase) that

expresses action or state of being. 3. The Predicate – what is being said of

the subject.

Simple and Complete

“The condors of California soar gracefully in the sky.”

Simple Subject – the key noun or pronoun in a sentence. Ex. Condors

Simple Predicate – the verb or verb phrase that tells something about the subject. Ex. Soar

Complete Subject – the simple subject plus the words that modify it. Ex. The condors of California

Complete Predicate – the simple predicate and all the words that modify it. Ex. Soar gracefully in the sky

Compound Subjects and Predicates

Compound Subject – two or more simple subjects joined by a conjunction and that share the same verb. Ex. “Eagles and Owls hunt for food.”

Compound Predicate (or Verb) – two or more verbs or verb phrases joined by a conjunction and that share the same subject. Ex. “Eagles soar and plunge.”

Some sentences have both: “Eagles and Owls soar and plunge in the sky.”

Sentence Order

The subject comes before the verb in most sentences in English. However, …

Commands: You is often understood rather than expressed. Ex. [You] Jump! [You] Tear it down!

Questions: frequently begin with a verb or helping verb. Ex. Is he right? Will you visit your cousin?

There or here: When there or here begins a sentence, followed by the verb “to be”, the subject will follow the predicate.

Ex. “There are three owls in the nest.” Ex. “Here is my loudmouth sister.”

Inverted Order

Inverted Order – A sentence in which the predicate comes before the subject. It adds emphasis. (Predicate Verb Subject)

Example: “Two eagles soared over the mountain.”

Example: “Over the mountain soared two eagles.”

Complements

“Birds fly” = complete thought “The mechanic is” = incomplete thought Complement – a word or group of words

that completes the meaning of a verb. Four types: Direct Objects Indirect Objects Object Complements Subject Complements

Direct Object

Direct Object – a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb.

Whom? What? of a verb: Ex: “The message reached the lawyer.” Direct Objects can be compound: My mother invited Uncle Bill and Aunt

Clara. A Direct Object is never an adverb or the

noun or pronoun at the end of a prepositional phrase.

Indirect Object

Indirect Object – a noun or pronoun that comes after an action verb and before a Direct Object.

Names the person or thing to which something is done.

To or for Whom? To or for What? A sentence cannot have an Indirect

Object unless it contains a Direct Object.

Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object

“Dave gave each car a new color.”

Object and Subject Complements

Object Complement – Completes the meaning of a Direct Object by identifying or describing it.

Ex. “Engineers find plans essential.” Subject Complement – follows a subject and a linking

verb and identifies or describes the subject (two types). 1. Predicate Noun/ Pronoun (Nominative) – a noun

or pronoun following a linking verb that identifies the subject further.

Ex. “Engineers are scientists.” 2. Predicate Adjective – an adjective that follows a

linking verb that identifies the subject further. Ex. “Engineers are inventive.”

Phrases

A Phrase is a group of words that functions as a single part of speech; phrases do not contain a Subject or a Verb.

1. Prepositional 2. Appositive 3. Participial 4. Gerund 5. Infinitive

Prepositional Phrase

A Prepositional Phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun called the Object of the Preposition.

Ex. “under the window” Ex. “at the store” Ex. “near the flowers and the trees” Can serve as Adjectives or Adverbs.

Appositives and Appositive Phrases

An Appositive is a noun or pronoun placed after another noun or pronoun to identify, rename, or explain the preceding word.

Ex. “The poet Robert Frost is much admired.”

Appositive Phrase Ex. “Robert Frost, a famous writer, is

much admired for his poetry.”

Verbals

Verbals are verb forms used as another part of speech.

There are three kinds: Participles (used as adjectives) Gerunds (used as nouns) Infinitives (used as nouns, adjectives, or

adverbs)

Participles

Many adjectives are actually participles: a form of verb that acts as an adjective.

Two kinds: 1. Present Participles (end in –ing):

going, playing, growing, telling, reading 2. Past Participles (usually end in –ed, -t,

-en): marked, jumped, moved, hurt, chosen

Participle Phrase:

Gerunds

Gerunds end in –ing. Gerunds are used as nouns. Gerunds can be used as subjects, direct

objects, predicate nouns, and objects of prepositions.

A Gerund Phrase is a gerund with modifiers or a complement, all acting together as a noun.

Infinitives

An Infinitive is the form of a verb that comes after the word to and acts as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

An infinitive phrase is an infinitive with modifiers or a complement.

Ex. To be, to live. To work, To cry, To laugh, etc.`

Clauses

A Clause is a group of words with its own subject and verb.

There are two types: 1. An Independent Clause (AKA. MAIN

CLAUSE) has its own subject and verb and is a complete thought.

2. A Subordinate Clause has a subject and a verb but is an incomplete thought.

Subordinate Clauses

Subordinate clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns.

Subordinating conjunctions: if, since, when, although, because, and while.

Relative pronouns: who, which, or that. A subordinating clause must be

combined with an independent clause to form a sentence.

Adjective Clauses

An adjective clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or pronoun.

Usually begins with: that, which, who, whom, or whose; sometimes when or where.

Ex. They visited the memorial that remembers Holocaust victims.

Ex. The museum whose artifacts include the Dead Sea Scrolls is located in West Jerusalem.

Two sentences can be combined into one sentence by changing one into an adj. clause.

Adverb Clauses

An adverb clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adjective, or adverb.

Adverb clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions.

Ex. Jerusalem is interesting because it is home to several diverse religions.

In certain adverb clauses, words are left out.

Elliptical Adverb Ex. My brother can eat as much as I {can

eat}.

Noun Clause

A noun clause is a subordinate clause used as a noun.

It can function in all the ways that a regular noun can: subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, or a predicate noun.

Ex. Whoever lives on a farm often eats home-grown food.

Ex. A drought affects whatever grows outdoors.

Sentence Structure

There are four basic sentence structures: 1. Simple – 1 independent clause 2. Compound – 2 or more independent clauses 3. Complex – 1 independent clause, 1 or more

subordinate clauses. 4. Compound-Complex – 2 or more

independent clauses, 1 or more subordinate clauses.

The length of the sentence does not necessarily alter its structure identity.

Simple Sentence

A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause.

It contains a subject and a verb. It can be short or long. It does not contain any subordinate

clauses. Ex. The siren sounded. Ex. Art and Archeology reflect and

explain Jerusalem’s history.

The Compound Sentence

A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses.

The independent clauses are joined by a comma, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet).

Ex. The population of Israel is approximately 4,700,000, but only 8 percent of the people live in rural areas.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence consists of one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

The main clause and each subordinate clause have their own subjects and verbs; those in the main clause are called the subject of the sentence and the main verb.

Ex. When the fog lifted, we continued our trip.

Compound-Complex

A compound-complex sentence consists of two or more independent clauses and one or more subordinate clauses.

Ex. As he was leaving for school, Larry remembered to take his lunch, but he forgot the report that he had finished the night before.