WC3: Sentences Workshop
Completion requirements
Sentences Workshop
In this Lesson, you will look at
- Complete sentences
- Sentence variety
You are expected to understand and be able to identify these concepts when reading and use them correctly in your own writing.
Nothing distracts the reader so much as sentence errors.
They are roadblocks that hinder the communication process.
A sentence is a complete thought containing at least one subject (noun) and its predicate (verb). A sentence contains the thing you are talking about (subject) and what you say about it (predicate).
Subjects
The subject of a sentence can be a
- person (Mr. Kearney, Dr. Callahan, Mom, Jo)
- place (Grande Prairie, North Saskatchewan River, Rocky Mountains, Alberta)
- thing (cat, table, ski hill)
- feeling or idea (love, jealousy, peace, fright)
The essential part of the predicate is the verb. Verb (from the Latin, verbum, word) is a word used to express
- action (sit, fight, walk, sing, read)
- state of being (feel, seems, exists, appears, is)
Predicates
The verb is the most important word in the sentence.
Every sentence must have a verb, either expressed or understood. The verbs in the sentences below appear in bold green font.Example:Army Vehicle Disappears
An Australian army vehicle worth $74,000 has gone missing after being painted camouflage.
Figure 1
An incomplete sentence or sentence fragment might appear to be a sentence, but it does not contain a complete thought because either the subject or verb is missing.
In the following incomplete sentences, subjects are pink and verbs are green.
In the following incomplete sentences, subjects are pink and verbs are green.
Examples:
When I grow up...
Nobody is perfect and since I am nobody... (The thought I am perfect is implied, but it is missing).
Here are some common fragments:
You will note that they have some meaning - if you make some assumptions about context!
Examples:...because I don't want to!
"No way!"
" You, too?"
The following sentence is missing a
subject.
To make the sentence complete, you could supply a subject - Who caught the headline?
Example:
Caught this headline: "Boy Saves Sister's Life but says, 'I wouldn't do it again; she's been a pain this week!'"
To make the sentence complete, you could supply a subject - Who caught the headline?
I caught this headline: "Boy Saves Sister's Life but says, 'I wouldn't do it again; she's been a pain this week!'"
Figure 2
The following sentence is missing a
predicate.
To make the sentence complete, you could supply some action or description of the bike patrol officers or add a verb among the given words:
Example:
The officers on bike patrol.
To make the sentence complete, you could supply some action or description of the bike patrol officers or add a verb among the given words:
Examples:
The officers on bike patrol were able to catch the thief.
The officers are on bike patrol.
Read "The Correct Sentence" on p. 2 and "You Complete Me: Sentence Fragments" on p. 4-9 in
iSkills: Start with the Sentence
iSkills: Start with the Sentence
Sentence fragments can be used for effect if they are intentional and advance the story – and connect to other statements enough to convey appropriate meanings.
Fragments can be resolved by
- identifying the problem
- adding a subject or predicate
- evaluating the effectiveness of the new sentence.
Figure 3
Another reading roadblock is a run-on sentence which occurs when two independent clauses join together without appropriate punctuation or conjunctions. (See figure 3).
To correct the run-on in Figure 3 write:
Many people dislike run-on sentences; they think run-ons disrupt essays. I feel this is discrimination.
Example:
It was a terrible summer for Humpty Dumpty he had a great fall. X run-on sentence
- Add punctuation such as a semi-colon or period.
Example:
It was a terrible summer for Humpty Dumpty; he had a great fall.
- Use a subordinating conjunction to show the relationship of the two parts.
Example:
It was a terrible summer for Humpty Dumpty because he had a great fall.
- Use a co-ordinating conjunction and a comma.
Example:
It was a terrible summer for Humpty Dumpty, for he had a great fall.
Read "Running On and On and On..." on p. 10 - 15 in iSkills: Start with the Sentence
Additional Resources for Sentence Structure
- Khan Academy: Fragments and Run-Ons
- Wordzila Grammar: Sentence Structure
When you are confident in the correct structure of sentences, take the Sentence Structure Quiz.
Experienced writers use various types and lengths of sentences to make their writing more interesting.
Short Sentences
Short sentences can provide emphasis or deliver forceful ideas.
They can leave lasting impressions. However, too many simple sentences can become irritatingly choppy.“It should be here somewhere,” Evan said. He scrutinized a black briefcase closely.
Timothy Hutchinson had died. He had hidden his will. The video tape said he would share his wealth with us. We needed to work together. Often, Timothy liked to hide his pet’s dog bone in his brief case.
We found Buck’s dog collar. Buck’s name gave us the clue to open the brief case combination lock: 2 – 21 – 3 – 11. Inside was the next clue. It was a treasure hunt.
Timothy Hutchinson had died. He had hidden his will. The video tape said he would share his wealth with us. We needed to work together. Often, Timothy liked to hide his pet’s dog bone in his brief case.
We found Buck’s dog collar. Buck’s name gave us the clue to open the brief case combination lock: 2 – 21 – 3 – 11. Inside was the next clue. It was a treasure hunt.
You get the point in this description, but the ride was rough – bouncing from one to another!
Long Sentences
Long sentences include much information and show how ideas are related.
However, too many long complex sentences slow reading, making the material difficult to understand.| "An' them's buffalo," he said. "Once this prairie was overrun by buffalo an’ they nearly disappeared an' now they're increasin' again. Yep, in those days I lived off baked beans over an open fire. That’s the best part of livin’:
a horse, a saddle, an open sky... But to the point...er.... Now then, where was I.... Oh yes, I was kickin’ back, legs crossed, just sippin’ my coffee, but I had a placid look, when suddenly...."
|
The old cowboy in the lines above is characterized by rambling speeches with fond recollections of the past. His voice is distinct because he chatters on and on. Where’s he going with his point?
Read "Sentence Types and Lengths: The Long and Short of It" on p. 122 - 129 in iSkills: Start with the Sentence
Incomplete Sentences
Sometimes authors use incomplete sentences for effect to make their writing more descriptive. For example,
This character uses few words. His voice is tight and economical. We envision him by his abrupt manner.
| Example: “Name. Address. Bank account numbers,” he stated tersely. |
This character uses few words. His voice is tight and economical. We envision him by his abrupt manner.
Sentence Variety
A variety of sentences adds life to writing or adds voice.
The key to writing effective sentences and paragraphs is balance.
| “It should be here somewhere,” Evan said. He closely scrutinized a battered black briefcase with silver locks. It was the briefcase of old Timothy Hutchinson, the town miser who had recently passed away. “Look at this,” Cal said in a low hard voice between cracked lips. Evan whistled over Cal’s shoulder as Cal showed him a plain black dog collar. The metal tag was inscribed “Buck 1,2,3=a,b,c”. The lawyer who had played a DVD at our school assembly had piqued the interest of my friends and me. In the video, Timothy had stated, “If you are watching this, I will have died. I have left my millions to the youth in our town, to be shared equally among those aged ten to sixteen on the date my will is found. It will state my name. Address. Bank account numbers. Everything you need for the money to be yours. Only if you work together will you find my hidden will. My lawyer Nate will tell you all about me. He will even tell you how I liked to hide my dog’s bone in various places. I loved to watch him sniff it out. Sometimes, I hid the bone in my briefcase. Happy hunting.” We went to the lawyer’s office, and when he learned of our interest, he took us to the old man’s rambling ranch house. Now, Buck’s name had given us the clue to open the briefcase combination lock: 2 – 21 – 3 – 11. Inside the briefcase were four coloured chess queens. Our eyes immediately went to the chess board on the other side of the room. The treasure hunt had begun. |
The key to writing effective sentences and paragraphs is balance.
Additional Resources for Sentence Variety
- Khan Academy: Simple and Compound Sentences
- Khan Academy: Complex Sentences
- Khan Academy: Compound-Complex Sentences
- Khan Academy: Phrases and Clauses
- Wordzila Grammar: Relative Clauses
- British Council: English Grammar - Sentences