Sentences and Types of Sentences

To be able to identify a sentence, you first need to understand what its like and what makes a complete sentence. Basic components of a sentence A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. Generally, a sentence consists of a subject (noun or pronoun) as an agent to act and a predicate (verb) as an acting part. S P She cried. S P Susan doesnt know much about cooking. S P The man with a beard is my beloved uncle. S P His new and bright car roared past us 10 minutes ago. S P The longest river in the world died. Characteristics of a sentence We can determine if a set of words is a sentence or not by considering these characteristics: 1. Initiating with capital letter and ending with (?) or (.) or (!) (We will know this by looking at the writing style.) 2. Having subject + predicate (V). (We have to be able to identify both S and V.) 3. Having a complete idea. (We have to understand its meaning.)

Examples Find the key Susan ! Is Susan looking for the key? Susan is looking for the keys.
In a rush hour in the morning, Susan is looking for the key. To enter into the room, Susan is looking for the key. Susan is looking for the key that can unlock the door, and her son is screaming inside. Because she wants to enter into the room, Susan is looking for the key. Susan is looking for the key because she wants to enter into the room. Susan is looking for the key that can unlock the door, and her son is screaming inside.
(*Susan is a persons name. It is always initiated by a capital letter wherever it is in any sentences.)

Exercise1: Correct following sentences into the correct ones. 1. the house is on the top of the hill ____________________________________________ 2. what are you doing ____________________________________________ 3. stand up ! ____________________________________________ 4. We wanted some cake, ____________________________________________ 5. many people dont like snakes because They are scary ____________________________________________ 6. in our life time, We might meet a lot of people but only a handful of them can be real friends ____________________________________________ 7. to go to school on time, I drove the motorbike there today ____________________________________________ 8. is she coming to the party tonight ____________________________________________ 9. monkeys Love eating bananas, ____________________________________________ 10. Our mother made a good dish of fried rice ____________________________________________ Exercise2: Choose the complete sentences by putting the characteristics given above. X in front of any items considering

____1. The beautiful and expensive watch is a special gift for Susan. ____2. The shoes which are in that box are from Italy. ____3. The shirt which is in the closet. ____4. My sister came to see me this morning and she brought a dog with her. ____5. The man who has a big house. ____6. After 6 in the evening, all of us have a big supper as usual. ____7. The clock hung on the wall. ____8. Frightened by the loud explosion, the dog was scared. ____9. The star that is brightest in the sky is Venus and it is the second planet from the sun. ____10. When Peter met Susan after the meeting. ____11. The plane that flied to Mexico ____12. War is a cruel activity of human to waste a lot of lives and properties. ____13. Eating out everyday with the guy who she met online.

____14. To pass these courses with good grades ____15. Smoking two packs of cigarettes daily without stopping for 10 years killed him. Sets of words in items 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15 are all sentences because they meet all three characteristics of a sentence. However, for numbers 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, they are not any sentences because they miss some points required to be a sentence. Even though there are some words that look like SUBJECTS (boldface ones) or VERBS (italic ones) in these groups of words, these groups of words cant be any sentences because they give no complete meaning. 3. The shirt which is in the closet. ( ) 5. The man who has a big house. ( ) 7. The clock hung on the wall. () 10. When Peter met Susan after the meeting. ( ) 11. The plane that flied to Mexico ( ) 13. Eating out everyday with the guy who has a big car. ( ) 14. To pass these courses with good grades ( ) The corrections to make them sentences might be following: 3. The shirt which is in the closet is very old. ( ) 5. The man who has a big house is Mr. Richard. () 7. I like the clock hung on the wall. () 10. When Peter met Susan after the meeting, he gave her roses. ( ) 11. The plane that flied to Mexico exploded. ( )

13. Eating out everyday with the guy who has a big car, Susan fell in love with him. ( ) 14. To pass these courses with good grades, Susan is working quite hard this semester. ( )

After knowing general characteristics of sentences, we should be able to identify types of sentences, too. Normally we divide English sentences into: 1. Simple Sentences A simple sentence has only one main (independent) clause. It does not have any subordinate (dependent) clauses. A simple sentence may have a compound subject and/or a compound verb. It may also have adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, appositives, and verbal phrases. Sometimes a simple sentence may seem anything but simple! Just remember, as long as a sentence has only one main clause and no subordinate clauses, it is a simple sentence. Susan stood at the top of the slope. Susan was nervous. Susan skied fast. Susan felt exited. Susan fell on snow. Susans friends fell on snow. The simple sentences are also the ones that have and to link Subjects or Verbs together as follows: Susan stood at the top of the slope and was nervous. Susan skied and felt exited. Susan and her friends fell on snow. 2. Compound Sentences A compound sentence has two or more main clauses and no subordinate clauses. These clauses may be separated by - A: a conjunction and, but, nor, yet, so, or for Susan stood at the top of the slope and she was nervous. Susan skied fast so she felt exited. Susan stood at the top of the slope and she was nervous but she skied fast.

B: a semicolon (;) without conjunction Susan stood at the top of the slope; she was nervous. This was the first time Susan had skied; she felt exited. C: a semi colon (;) and conjunctive adverbs (also, conversely, for example, furthermore, however, indeed, instead, likewise, meanwhile, moreover, namely, nevertheless, otherwise, similarly, subsequently, then, therefore, in addition, however, hence, thus etc.) then followed by a comma (,) Susan stood at the top of the slope; hence, she was nervous. Susan stood at the top of the slope; therefore, she was nervous. This was the first time Susan had skied; therefore, she felt exited. This was the first time Susan had skied; thus, she felt exited.

3. Complex Sentences : A complex sentence has one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses (the clause initiate by signal words like when, that, where, after, before, which, if etc.). MC SC Susan stood at the top of the slope where she could feel strong wind.

MC SC Susan was nervous when the wind blew. MC SC MC Susan, who was my teacher, skied fast. MC SC Susan felt exited because its her first time. MC SC Susan fell on snow which was thick. MC SC Susans friends fell on snow after they tried to ski faster. MC SC I knew that your sister has passed the exam. MC SC The company confirmed that they will deliver the goods by train. MC SC Some people believe that god exists. 4. Compound-Complex Sentences: A compound-complex sentence has more than one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. MC MC SC Susan stood at the top of the slope and she was nervous when the wind blew. MC SC MC SC Susan, who was my teacher, skied fast and she felt exited because it was her first time. As you write, be sure that every sentence contains at least on main clause. A subordinate clause cannot stand on its own as a sentence. If you try to use subordinate clauses as sentences, your writing will be confusing for the reader. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Exercise 3: Match the right types of sentence to the sentences below by putting A for simple sentence B for compound sentence, C for complex sentence, and D for compound complex sentence in front of each sentence. _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ 1. The ducks were swimming in the pond and the cows were grazing peacefully. 2. Sally does excellent work and will surely win the trophy. 3. He wasnt there when I arrived; thus, I had to call him. 4. Bob played the guitar and he sang a song that he wrote. 5. The sunflowers are all yellow but the tulips have many colors. 6. The boy who won the race is my cousin. 7. Whoever wins tonight will receive a medal. 8. The fog cleared and we set out. 9. For Christmas I got a bicycle, a camera, and a box of stationery. 10. If you are late, your salary will be deducted or in the worst case you will be fired. 11. The door burst open, he stormed in and everyone stared. 12. I know that Mary will come.

Pre-test: Part A : Select the complete sentences written correctly. 1. A. a girl who is my sister B. I saw her. C. my dog barked loudly. D. Do it quick, 2. A. When we have time B. When will you go? C. when I tell my mother. D. When police came to the crime scene, 3. A. My nieces and my nephews visited my grandmother. B. If you dont like it, C. Where we live when we were children. D. He runs fast but She doesnt. 4. A. do you have some money? B. She stopped to buy some food C. Our children are Smart. D. A cat died. 5. A. Richard turned on the radio. B. In the party last night. C. My village is very far from downtown, D. it is an empty Road. Part B : Identify the correct type of each sentence below. Select A if it is a simple sentence B if it is a compound sentence C if it is a complex sentence D if it is a compound complex sentence _____6. You should tell your mother before you leave. _____7. To be an intelligent student, reading books everyday can help. _____8. The first printer was invented over 500 years ago but we didnt use it widely like today. _____9. Its an accident that caused death to many people. _____10. Junk food looks delicious but it can make you fat. _____11. If I dont have time, I will ask you to help; otherwise, the boss will be angry. _____12. After a very fantastic dinner, they went out to the theater at Central Airport Department Store. _____13. Because the dog barked, the baby woke up. _____14. According to their plan, Soldiers prepared themselves to skirmish at midnight. _____15. I found a small island where you should visit once in your live.

Key
Exercise1: Correct following sentences into the correct ones. 1. The house is on the top of the hill . ____________________________________________ 2. What are you doing? ____________________________________________ 3. Stand up ! ____________________________________________ 4. We wanted some cake. ____________________________________________ 5. Many people dont like snakes because they are scary. ____________________________________________ 6. In our life time, we might meet a lot of people but only a handful of them can be real friends. ____________________________________________ 7. To go to school on time, I drove the motorbike there today. ____________________________________________ 8. Is she coming to the party tonight? ____________________________________________ 9. Monkeys love eating bananas. ____________________________________________ 10. Our mother made a good dish of fried rice. ____________________________________________ Exercise2: Choose the complete sentences by putting the characteristics given above. X in front of any items considering

__x__1. The beautiful and expensive watch is a special gift for Susan. __x__2. The shoes which are in that box are from Italy. ____3. The shirt which is in the closet. __x__4. My sister came to see me this morning and she brought a dog with her. ____5. The man who has a big house. __x__6. After 6 in the evening, all of us have a big supper as usual.

____7. The clock hung on the wall. __x__8. Frightened by the loud explosion, the dog was scared. __x__9. The star that is brightest in the sky is Venus and it is the second planet from the sun. ____10. When Peter met Susan after the meeting. ____11. The plane that flied to Mexico __x__12. War is a cruel activity of human to waste a lot of lives and properties. ____13. Eating out everyday with the guy who she met online. ____14. To pass these courses with good grades __x__15. Smoking two packs of cigarettes daily without stopping for 10 years killed him.

Exercise 3: Match the right types of sentence to the sentences below by putting A for simple sentence B for compound sentence, C for complex sentence, and D for compound complex sentence in front of each sentence. ___B__ 1. The ducks were swimming in the pond and the cows were grazing peacefully. ___A__ 2. Sally does excellent work and will surely win the trophy. ___B__ 3. He wasnt there when I arrived; thus, I had to call him. ___D__4. Bob played the guitar and he sang a song that he wrote. ___B__ 5. The sunflowers are all yellow but the tulips have many colors. ___C__ 6. The boy who won the race is my cousin. ___C__ 7. Whoever wins tonight will receive a medal. ___B__ 8. The fog cleared and we set out. ___A__ 9. For Christmas I got a bicycle, a camera, and a box of stationery. ___D__ 10. If you are late, your salary will be deducted or in the worst case you will be fired. ___B__ 11. The door burst open, he stormed in and everyone stared. ___C__ 12. I know that Mary will come.

Pre-test: Part A : Select the complete sentences written correctly. 1. A. a girl who is my sister B. I saw her. C. my dog barked loudly. D. Do it quick, 2. A. When we have time B. When will you go? C. when I tell my mother. D. When police came to the crime scene, 3. A. My nieces and my nephews visited my grandmother. B. If you dont like it, C. Where we live when we were children. D. He runs fast but She doesnt. 4. A. do you have some money? B. She stopped to buy some food C. Our children are Smart. D. A cat died. 5. A. Richard turned on the radio. B. In the party last night. C. My village is very far from downtown, D. it is an empty Road. Part B : Identify the correct type of each sentence below. Select A if it is a simple sentence B if it is a compound sentence C if it is a complex sentence D if it is a compound complex sentence __C___6. You should tell your mother before you leave. __A___7. To be an intelligent student, reading books everyday can help. ___B__8. The first printer was invented over 500 years ago but we didnt use it widely like today. ___C__9. Its an accident that caused death to many people. ___B__10. Junk food looks delicious but it can make you fat. ___D__11. If I dont have time, I will ask you to help; otherwise, the boss will be angry. ___A__12. After a very fantastic dinner, they went out to the theater at Central Airport Department Store. ___C__13. Because the dog barked, the baby woke up. ___A__14. According to their plan, Soldiers prepared themselves to skirmish at midnight. ___C__15. I found a small island where you should visit once in your live.

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