Chapter 8Sentence Structure

Lesson 1:What is a Clause?

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.

Not this guy…

Independent Clauses

There are two types of clauses.Independent clauses: express a

complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.Some students work in the

food pantry.

 

Dependent Clauses

Dependent clauses: do not express complete thoughts and cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Most dependent clauses are introduced by words like because, when, if, while, and that.

Example

Some students work in the food pantry because they care about helping hungry people.

Students also make bag lunches that are distributed at a shelter.

Subordinate Clauses

Dependent clauses are known as subordinate clauses.

They cannot stand alone and are dependent on the main clause.

Lesson 2: Simple and Compound Sentences

A simple sentence contains one independent clause and no dependent clauses.

Simple Sentences

Each of the following sentences only has one independent clause.Shawn tutors.Benita teaches young children

acrobatics after school.

Compound Sentences

Compound sentences contain two or more independent clauses and no dependent clauses.

Compound Sentences

The clauses in a compound sentence must be closely related in thought.Shawn tutors, and he helps

students learn math.

 

Joining Independent Clauses

Independent clauses must be joined by either a comma with a coordinating conjunction (,and) or a semi-colon. (;)

Examples of Compound Sentences

Some children have no books, and volunteers can hold book drives for them.

Some children have no toys; volunteers can collect donated toys for them.

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so.

Be Careful!

Don’t mistake a simple sentence with a compound predicate for a compound sentence. No punctuation should separate the parts of a compound predicate.The Newcomers’ Club wrote a

clever script and then filmed it.

Lesson 3: Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Dependent Clauses

Most dependent clauses start with words like when, until, who, where, because, and that.

Dependent Clauses

These clauses might tell when something happened, which person was involved, or where the event took place.

Examples of Complex Sentences

When we visited, Mrs. Brodsky shared her memories of working in a shipyard during World War II.

Mr. Ruiz was a photographer until he was drafted.

Mr. Liuzzo, who is a retired pilot, talked to us about his experiences in enemy territory, where he was a prisoner of war.

Complex Sentences

Complex sentences can be used to clarify relationships between ideas.

Punctuating Complex Sentences (Add to

notes)If the dependent clause comes

first, it should be FOLLOWED by a comma.

If the dependent clause is at the end of the sentence, there will (probably) be no comma.

If the dep. clause interrupts the main clause, there should be commas before and after the dep. clause.

Lesson 4: Kinds of Dependent Clauses

Adjective clauses: dependent clauses used as adjectivesModify a noun or a pronoun.Tell which one, what kind, or

how many

Example of Adj. Clause

Student volunteers read stories to the children who were in the daycare center.

Adjective Clauses

Adjective clauses are usually introduced by relative pronouns.Who, whom, whose, that, which

The story, which made them laugh, was about a monkey.

Notice that a clause that begins with which is set off with commas.

Adverbial Dependent Clauses

Adverb clauses: dependent clauses used as adverbsModifies a verb, an adjective, or

an adverb.Tell where, when, how, why, to

what extent, or under what conditions.

Adverbial Dependent Clauses

Introduced by subordinating conjunctions.If, because, even though, than, so

that, while, where, when, as if, sinceThey were happy because they

were going to the zoo.The zoo closed earlier than they

expected.

Punctuating Adverbial Clauses

An adverb clause should be followed by a comma when it comes before an independent clause.When the field trip ended, the

volunteers took the children back to the daycare center.

Punctuating Adverbial Clauses

If the adverb clause comes after the independent clause, a comma may or may not be required.The volunteers took the children

back to the daycare center when the field trip ended.

Noun Clauses

Noun clauses: dependent clauses used as nouns.

Can serve as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, an object of a preposition, or a predicate noun.

Examples of Noun Clauses

What frustrates many physically challenged people is the problem of getting around.

Volunteers know that physically challenged people do not want special treatment.

Noun Clauses

Noun clauses are introduced by the following words:That, how, when, where,

whether, why, what, whatever, who, whom, whoever, whomever, which, whichever.

Noun Clause Test

If you can substitute the words something or someone for a clause in a sentence, it is a noun clause.

Lesson 5: Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound –complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

Examples of Compound-Complex

SentencesWhen our school celebrates Earth

Day, we sign up for environmental projects, and we try to complete them all in one day.

Students have cleaned up the beaches, and they have planted flowers in the park so that the shore looks inviting to visitors.

Compound-Complex Sentences

Compound-complex sentences show complicated relationships between events and ideas.