THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

Key Concepts: Phrase, Clause, Sentence, Simple Sentence, Complex Sentence, Compound Sentence.

PHRASE : a syntactic construction which typically contains more than one word, but which lacks the subject predicate structure usually found in a clause.

Examples:

 Terribly slowly  Easy to please (adjective phrase)  (adverb phrase) Would have been repaired phrase) (verb  A large user of aluminium alloys (noun phrase)  At the same time (prepositional phrase)

CLAUSE : a structural unit smaller than a sentence but larger than phrases or words. Clauses are made up out of elements, each expressing a particular kind of meaning. Subject and predicate are the two main elements of a clause.

Examples:



I stayed quietly at home.



They became students.



She got her dress wet.



They showed us the books.



He yawned four times.

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE

: one that expresses a complete thought:

 I managed to find the street.

 I’ll be able to speak good French in a few months.

 The rain came down heavily.

DEPENDENT OR SUBORDINATE CLAUSE:



the meaning of this clause is dependent upon another (the independent clause):

…as the newspaper reported.

…who had been waiting.

…when Adriana dropped the plates.

…because the sky is blue.

A subordinate clause

is normally an adjective clause or an adverb clause.

Adjective clauses

begin with relative pronouns such as who, whose, which and

that

.

Adverb clauses

begin with subordinating conjunctions such as

after

,

because

,

till

,

if

, and

when

.

EXAMPLES:

 Where’s the girl that sells the tickets?

 I saw a girl whose beauty took my breath away.

 We visited the city where the streets have no name.

 I never heard the bells ringing till there was you.

 Katya’s crying because she had a row with her boyfriend.

This is the video which caused such a sensation.

When she pressed the button the lift stopped.

SENTENCE:

a group of words beginning with a capital letter and ending with a full stop that expresses a statement, command, question or exclamation. A sentence consists of one or more clauses:

Examples:

* Can you read Latin?

* She spent her senior year in the Lansing Manufacturing Area.

*They came down the last hundred yards, moving carefully from tree to tree in the shadows and now, through the last pines of the steep hillside, the bridge was only fifty yards away.

*The cat will scratch you if you pull her tail.

SIMPLE SENTENCE:

a simple sentence has one independent clause, and no subordinate clauses:

Examples:

 I ate raw fish in Japan last year  It never rains in Southern California  You don’t bring me flowers anymore  Walk like an Egyptian  Why does it always rain on me?

COMPLEX SENTENCE:



A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause.

Examples:

 I was really nervous before I started.

 Michelle was telling us a joke when Adriana dropped the plates that she had bought that day.

 I know automation scares a lot of people because it costs a lot of money that could be spent in other areas.

Compound Sentence:



one formed by two or more clauses, joined by a connector (coordinating conjunction): and, or, but.

Rodrigo travels often, and he enjoys travelling.

He stays in hotels, or he visits friends.

Franz speaks German but Julio speaks French.

EXERCISES

Identify the S and the V in these sentences      The debate on education has been postponed.

Someone cooked a meal here lately.

The burglar went straight to the safe.

All the girls are afraid of mice.

That beach is safe for bathing.

*Two chief hallmarks of the traditional era account for much of the negative reaction which can arise when people talk about the subject of grammar.

*The ship will leave in a few minutes.

*Traditional grammars recognized four types of sentence function.

Identify the independent clause and the subordinate clause in these complex sentences:    I’m going to wait till it stops raining.

He was dancing with a student who had a slight limp.

The man whom I had come to see was sitting at the desk.

     I’ve been waiting for Tom since 6:00.

I went to Munich which I had always wanted to visit.

If it’s fine tomorrow we’ll go for a walk.

I finished early because I worked fast.

The girl who is in the third row told me the whole story.

     The plant which has blue flowers has been removed.

The time that is set aside for reading will be extended to 30 minutes.

When Jason searched for the Golden Fleece, he battled a fierce dragon.

I will study until Mother comes home.

I study where it is quiet.

Identifying and classifying clauses: independent and subordinate clauses.

 We did warm-up exercises before we practiced for the next game.

 Students who are interested in attending the science fair at the community college should sign up now.

   The musical West Side Story is a modern version of the story of Romeo and Juliet.

The first poem in the book is about spring, and the second one is about autumn.

Carson McCullers, who wrote The Sad Café Ballad, was born in Georgia.

   We took notes while the teacher discussed the causes of the American Revolution.

It rained saturday morning, but the sun came out in time for the opening of the Special Olympics.

Not all stringed instruments sound alike, for their shapes and the number of their strings vary.