Teaching Sentence Structure - ESL Level 1
Overview
These lectures and assignments step ESL students through the process of learning sentence variety which is the key to writing that is both correct, mature, and interesting. Beginning with simple sentences as the foundation allows all students to add more sentence types to their writing in an organized way.
This module can be combined with the others uploaded in this folder about reading, grammar, and writing activities to create an entire OER based ESL class for this level.
Writing Simple Sentences
Writing Simple Sentences
- What is a Simple Sentence?
- First, we need to define the words phrase and clause.
- A phrase is a group of related words, so English has prepositional phrases, participle phrases, noun phrases, verb phrases, etc.
- A clause has both a subject and a related verb that must agree. Clauses can be independent (can stand by itself which means it can function as a sentence) and dependent/subordinate (must be in a sentence with an independent clause, or it is a fragment).
- So, a simple sentence is an independent clause with one subject and predicate (fancy word for the verb phrase because it is possible to have more than one verb with a single subject).
- Be Verbs
What are be verbs?
These verbs are forms of the verb to be. In present tense, they are is, am, and are.
- Action Verbs
- Action verbs show some form of action.
- English has many, many, many action verbs to choose from.
- To make your writing better and more interesting, choose more action verbs than be verbs. Of course, you will still use be verbs, but you should have more action verbs than be verbs in your writing.
- Simple Sentences Using be Verbs
- Simple Sentences with be verb plus a noun (predicate nominative). For these sentences the subject and the predicate nominative are the same person, place, or thing. The predicate nominative renames the subject, so the sentence could be reversed.
My favorite drink is coffee. OR Coffee is my favorite drink.
- Simple Sentences with a be verb plus an adjective (predicate adjective). The adjective describes
the subject.
The puppy is smart.
- Simple sentences with a be verb and an adverb or adverb phrase.
The puppy is here. OR The puppy is next to me.
- Simple sentence beginning with there is/are.
There are many vegetables to eat.
- Simple sentence beginning with it is.
It is a new semester.
- When to Choose Be Verbs or Action Verbs
- Generally, we prefer sentences with action verbs because action verbs add more meaning and allow readers to “see” what is happening.
- Sentences beginning with there is/are and it is are never the best option. They are 3. grammatically correct, but they are not stylistically preferable.
- Sometimes a be verb is preferable and/or necessary when you want to make an assertion (statement of truth).
- One of the most famous simple sentences with a be verb is the slogan for the Sanitation Workers’ Strike in the 1960s here in Memphis. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was attending their protests when he was assassinated (murdered). I am a man.
- Simple Sentences with Action Verbs
English has so many verbs to choose from! As you add more vocabulary, you will see that you can use walk but also stroll, saunter, or shuffle. Run can also be job, dash, dart, or sprint. For now use the words you know!
Most be verb sentences can be changed to action verb sentences, often by using a word already in the sentence as the action verb.
- Change My favorite drink is coffee to I drink coffee every morning.
- Change The puppy is smart to The puppy learns quickly.
- Change The puppy is next to me to The puppy sits next to me. OR
The puppy is sitting next to me.
- Change There are many vegetables to eat. to My family eats many
vegetables.
- Change It is a new semester to The new semester begins this month.
- Sources from the Web
“37 Simple Sentences” - “37 Simple Sentence Examples and Worksheet," Your Dictionary [webpage].
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/simple-sentence-examples.html
“To Be or Not to Be: Replacing to Be Verbs” - St. Louis Community College - College Writing Center. "To be or not To be: Replacing Be Verbs," 15 Apr. 2014.
https://stlcc.edu/docs/student-support/academic-support/college-writing-center/to-be-verbs.pdf
- Simple Sentences Assignment
Following the examples above, write five simple sentences using be verbs, one for each type. Then, change each of them to simple sentences using action verbs. You may have to add some words in order to make the second set of sentences make sense. So, you will have a total of 10 simple sentences.
Make sure you do your own work! Do not copy sentences from the internet!
Beginning Sentences with Adverbs
- Definition of an Adverb
- An adverb is one of the 8 parts of speech in English.
- They modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Sometimes they can modify entire clauses or sentences.
- Many adverbs have the –ly suffix (ending added to the end of the word), but not all adverbs have the –ly ending.
- In fact many, NOT all, adjectives can become adverbs by adding the -ly. The adjective beautiful can become the adverb beautifully. However, even though friendly is an –ly adverb, it does not correspond (match to) an adjective. Friend without the –ly is a noun, not an adjective.
- Adverbs answer the questions: how? When? Where? To what extent? The next slide will explain why.
- Five Types of Adverbs
- Adverbs of degree. These adverbs answer the question to what extent: very, almost, extremely, etc.
- Adverbs of frequency. These adverbs deal with how often something occurs. It is one half of the when question. Examples: never, often, frequently, always.
- Adverbs of manner. These adverbs answer the question how. Most of the –ly adverbs are these types of adverbs. Examples: quickly, noisily, helpfully. But also well and fast.
- Adverbs of place. These answer the question where. Examples: inside, nowhere, everywhere, etc.
- Adverbs of time. These are the other half of the when adverbs. Examples: yesterday, today, tomorrow, etc.
- Adverbs Have a Super Power
- We are discussing adverbs in a writing class because many adverbs, not all of them, can move.
- They are like Lego blocks and can be clicked onto the sentence in the usual place, directly after the verb, OR they can be moved to the beginning of the sentence, OR they can be at the end of the sentence.
- Sentence Variety
- The normal order of an English sentence is subject, verb, object.
- Some languages cannot vary the order of sentences. However, English has a lot of options for how to begin sentences.
- In fact native English speakers and readers EXPECT sentence variety.
- If anyone writes a paragraph in English where all of the sentences begin with the subject, the paragraph can be 100% grammatically correct, but native speakers will say the paragraph sounds like a child wrote it.
- To write well in English, writers MUST have sentence variety.
- Adverbs vs. Adverbials
- We have already defined adverbs and explained them. Adverbials are related to adverbs, but instead of a single word adverbials can be a phrase or even an entire clause.
- Adverbials still answer the questions how, when, where, and to what extent.
- They can still move to the beginning of the sentence.
- Remember this concept of adverbials because we will come back to it many times over the course of the semester.
- Which Adverbs Can Begin a Sentence?
- Adverbs that modify the entire sentence can occur at the beginning of the sentence.
- Adverbs that are transitional (moving from one thing to another) words can occur at the beginning of the sentence. Examples: however, on the other hand, next, therefore, in fact, furthermore.
- Most, but not all, -ly adverbs can begin a sentence.
- According to “Adverb Placement” by Marina Pantcheva, always, ever, rarely, seldom, and never cannot occur at the beginning of the sentence.
Pantcheva, Marina. “Adverb Placement | English Language Help Desk.” English Language Help Desk.
https://site.uit.no/english/grammar/adverb-placement/
- Notice the Comma
- When an adverb occurs at the beginning of a sentence, a comma is necessary .
- The comma comes directly after the introductory adverb.
- EXAMPLES:
- Quietly, I ate the chocolate.
- Happily, the girl skipped to the playground.
- Clearly, sentence variety is important in English.
- Writing Sentences with Introductory Adverbs Assignment
Write 5 sentences with the adverb at the beginning of the sentence. Let me know if you have questions or need help. Be brave. Mistakes are a wonderful learning tool!
- Sources from the Web
“Lolly Lolly Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here - Schoolhouse Rock.” YouTube, 3 Feb. 2011.
https://youtu.be/14fXm4FOMPM - Schoolhouse Rock, “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here”
Beginning Sentences with Prepositional Phrases
- What is a Preposition?
- Prepositions are one of the eight parts of speech in English.
- According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “A preposition is a word—and almost always a very small, very common word—that shows direction (to in "a letter to you"), location (at in "at the door"), or time (by in "by noon"), or that introduces an object (of in "a basket of apples"). Prepositions are typically followed by an object, which can be a noun (noon), a noun phrase (the door), or a pronoun (you).”
- Prepositions indicate that a noun will follow which is the object of the prepositional phrase.
- How to Identify Prepositions
- They are small, directional words.
- Think of a mouse and a trashcan. A mouse can be in a trashcan, on a trashcan, beside a trashcan, under a trashcan, above a trashcan, etc.
- The mouse and the trashcan will work for almost all of the prepositions.
- I have linked a webpage with a complete list at the bottom of the module.
- Adverbials and Adjectivals
- Adverbials and adjectivals are phrases and clauses that act like adverbs and adjectives.
- Prepositional phrases act as adverbials and adjectivals in sentences.
- Remember that adverbs answer the questions how, when, where, and to what extent. Most adverbials will answer when and where.
- In the morning answers when. By the lake answers where.
- Prepositional Phrases Can Move
- Just like adverbs, prepositional phrases can be moved to the beginning of sentences to provide sentence variety.
- You can have one, two, three, or even more prepositional phrases stacked one after the other.
- In the morning I go for a walk. In the morning before breakfast I go for a walk.
- Notice that you do NOT have a comma after the introductory prepositional phrases. Unlike other introductory elements you do not use commas with introductory prepositional phrases UNLESS you have three or more OR you need the comma for clarification (to make something clearer).
- One More Thing!
- The subject of an independent or dependent clause will NEVER be located in a prepositional phrase.
- The nouns and pronouns within prepositional phrases are objects of the preposition and CANNOT be subjects.
- You can cross out ALL prepositional phrases when you are trying to make subjects and verbs agree or are looking for the subject of your sentence or clause.
- Sources from the Web
OddballVQ. “Schoolhouse Rock Grammar Rock Busy Prepositions.” YouTube, 12 Dec. 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avC53wsZiJA&feature=youtu.be – Schoolhouse Rock – “Busy Prepositions”
ENGLISH PAGE.” Www.Englishpage.Com, 2020.
https://www.englishpage.com/prepositions/prepositions_list.htm - complete list of prepositions
Writing Compound Sentences
- What are Compound Sentences?
- A compound sentence has two independent clauses joined with a conjunction.
- You can remember all of the coordinating conjunctions in English with the mnemonic (tool to remember something by making a word or pattern out of the first letter of each item): FAN BOYS or for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
- When you connect two main clauses with a coordinating conjunction, you will need a comma before the conjunction. EXAMPLE: I was hungry, so I made a sandwich.
- Coordinating conjunctions do not have to connect entire sentences. They can also connect other parts of speech to make a compound subject, verb, etc. EXAMPLES: My mother and father are at work. My mother works and goes to school.
- Limitations of Compound Sentence
- In English you should only have two main clauses connected with coordinating conjunctions in a single sentence.
- This pattern is different than in Arabic, for example. In Arabic you can add one thought on top of another on top of another using and. Not in English.
- If you use too many compound sentences with the subject first, your writing will still seem childish to native speakers.
- How do we solve these limitations? Keep reading.
- Changing Simple Sentences to Compound Sentences
- Below is a paragraph from and exercise in Writing Skills Practice in EFL by Patricia Wilcox Peterson. Every sentence in this paragraph is a simple sentence, so the cadence (the beat) of the paragraph is very repetitious (sounds the same). This pattern is NOT desirable (what we want) in English. I have linked the entire book at the end of the module if you want to read more. The exercise comes from page 89.
- My name is June Taylor. My daughter Sara lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a working mother. I work as a camera woman for a T.V. station in Fairbanks. My job is interesting. I enjoy it. I didn’t always work. I didn’t plan to work. I started to work ten years ago. This is my story.
https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/developing_writing.pdf
Peterson, Patricia Wilcox. Writing Skills Practice Book for EFL Beginning/Intermediate Level, United States Department of
State: Office of English Language Programs, 1982.
- My name is June Taylor. My daughter Sara and I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a working mother, and I work as a camera woman for a T.V. station in Fairbanks. My job is interesting, so I enjoy it. I didn’t always work, nor did I plan to work. I started to work ten years ago, and this is my story.
- What do you think? It is better because you have a good mix of longer and shorter sentences. However, this changed paragraph still sounds repetitive because every sentence begins with the subject.
- The Importance of Sentence Variety
- To write well in English, you must have sentence variety which means that your sentences vary in length (some short, some long) AND in the way they begin.
- You do NOT want to begin all of your sentences with the subject first. You must begin some of them with something other than the subject.
- We have now learned two ways to begin sentences with something other than the subject: introductory adverbs and introductory prepositional phrases.
- Paragraph With Introductory Elements Added
- Here we have the same paragraph again. Now, I have added introductory adverbs and prepositional phrases. What do you think?
- My name is June Taylor. My daughter Sara and I live in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a working mother, and I work as a camera woman for a T.V. station in Fairbanks. My job is interesting, so I enjoy it. For years I didn’t work, nor did I plan to work. However, I started to work ten years ago, and this is my story.
Writing Complex Sentences
- What is a Complex Sentence?
- A complex sentence has only one main clause or sentence AND one or more dependent or subordinate clause.
- Dependent and subordinate mean the same thing: they cannot stand alone. This concept is very important! We will come back to it shortly.
- How to Write Complex Sentences
Below we have two simple sentences:
I was hungry. I cooked dinner.
You could combine these sentences to make a compound sentence:
I was hungry, so I cooked dinner.
OR you can use a subordinating conjunction. Conjunctions allow us to connect items in a sentence. Coordinating conjunctions (FAN BOYS) are only one type of conjunctions.
When I was hungry, I cooked dinner.
- Benefits of Complex Sentences
- Do you see the benefit of the complex sentence?
- Because of the way they are constructed, complex sentences provide sentence variety!
- The subject does not come first if you put the dependent/subordinate clause at the beginning of the sentence.
- You edit out extra words while keeping all of the ideas from your sentences.
- Dependent/Subordinate Clauses Can Move
- Remember that adverbs and adverbials can move in sentences.
- Did you notice the word when and that when is one of the questions that adverbs/adverbials answer?
- Just as phrases can be adverbial, so can clauses.
- So, these dependent/subordinate clauses can also move to the end of the sentence, and, in some cases, they can be in the middle of a longer sentence with more than one independent clause. EXAMPLE:
I cooked dinner when I was hungry.
- Punctuation Note
- Notice that when a dependent/subordinate clause comes at the beginning of a sentence, you must have a comma after the dependent/subordinate clause and before the main clause begins.
- Why? This introductory clause is like the entrance ramp to the interstate. The comma signals to the reader that the introductory information is over, and now, we are reading the main clause.
- However, you do NOT need a comma before a dependent/subordinate clause at the end of the sentence.
- Why? The subordinating conjunction itself signals that the dependent/subordinate clause is beginning. You do not need a comma because we already have the information we need.
- List of Subordinating Conjunctions
- We are going to limit how many subordinating conjunctions we deal with in this class. We will cover a total of 7, but we will cover 2 of them in the next module.
- Before, after, until, when, and while are 5 of the subordinating conjunctions we are going to discuss. You should notice that before, after, and until are ALSO prepositions. How you know the difference? If they are followed by a noun ONLY, they are prepositions; if they are followed by a noun AND a verb, they are subordinating conjunctions.
- Sources from the Web
https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/developing_writing.pdf -
Writing Skills Practice Book for EFL: Beginning/Intermediate Level
- Introductory Dependent Clauses Assignment
Complete Exercise IV on page 102 of Writing Skills Practice Book for EFL
Complex Sentences Continued
- Subordinating Conjunctions
- The most common subordinating conjunctions are because and even though/although. We will begin with those.
- However, there are many more subordinating conjunctions including since, if, when, after, before, while, etc.
- Before and after can be prepositions OR subordinating conjunctions. It they are followed by a noun only, they are prepositions. It they are followed by a subject and a verb, they are subordinating conjunctions. Context is the only way to determine which way they are acting in that sentence.
- How Subordinate/Dependent Clauses Work
- All clauses have a subject and a verb.
- Clauses can be independent (a sentence) or dependent/subordinate.
- Subordinate clauses cannot stand alone because they have been altered (changed) by adding a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun (who, which, that).
- Examples of independent clauses:
1. Eric finds snakes.
2. The snow fell for hours.
- Examples of subordinate/dependent clauses that now have to be added to a different independent clause:
1. When Eric finds snakes, he teaches people about them.
2. Because the snow fell for hours, we had many inches on the ground.
- Using Because
- Subordinating conjunctions have meanings that you must take into account.
- Because shows that whatever happened in the dependent/subordinate clause caused what happens in the independent clause to occur.
- So is the coordinating conjunction that matches meaning. You can always change compound sentences that use so into complex sentences that use because.
- Make sure your sentence makes sense.
- Problem Sentence: Because I had blonde hair when I was a child, I am a good reader. This sentence makes grammatical sense, but blonde hair as a child did not make me a good reader.
- Correction: Because I had blonde hair when I was a child, it often turned green if I swam in the pool.
- Using Even Though and Although
- Even though and although mean exactly the same thing and are interchangeable.
- Make sure you only use them when you have a change from one thing or position to a different thing or position.
- But is the coordinating conjunction that matches meaning. You can always change compound sentences that use but into complex sentences that use even though or although.
- Problem sentence: Although I was hungry, I ate dinner.
- Correction: Although I was hungry, I did not eat dinner. You must have the opposite happen in order to use these subordinating conjunctions.
- Writing Sentences with Introductory Clauses Assignment
Write three sentences using because as a subordinating conjunction at the beginning of the sentences, two using even though, and two using although for a total of 7 sentences.
Using Relative Clauses
- Relative Clauses are Another Way to Add Sentence Variety
- Changes the length of the sentence.
- Changes the middle or end of the sentence.
- Does not vary the beginning.
- Alternative to Coordinating Conjunctions
- The relative pronouns are pronouns.
- Using them helps avoid repetition.
- They can be a required part of the sentence that does not need commas on either side or an extra part of the sentence that does need commas on each side of the relative clause.
- A Different Way to Combine Sentences
The girl is sleepy. The girl has been doing her homework for hours.
Could be Because the girl has been doing her homework for hours, she is sleepy.
OR
The girl who has been doing her homework for hours is sleepy.
- Sources from the Web
"Relative Pronouns."Grammar Monster.
https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/relative_pronouns.htm
Traffis, Catherine. "What Is a Relative Pronoun and How Does It Work?" GrammarlyBlog.
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/relative-pronouns/
- Relative Pronoun Assignments
Complete Exercise II on pages 123-4 in Writing Skills Practice Book for EFL
Using Participle Phrases
- What are Participle Phrases?
- Participle phrases act like multi-word adjectives that modify the subject of a sentence.
- In the simplest terms a participle is the –ing or the –ed form of a verb that we are using in a different way.
- Because they modify the subject, they must come before or after the subject.
- We are going to focus on using participle phrases before the subject as another way to begin sentences with something before the subject. They are another option for introductory elements.
- How to Create a Participle Phrase
- Begin with a compound sentence that has a progressive form of the verb in one of the clauses.
- The boy was running across campus, and he knocked over a professor.
- To create the participle phrase, take out the auxiliary be verb and the coordinating conjunction. The first clause will now only be a phrase that cannot stand alone.
- Running across campus, the boy knocked over a professor.
- Notice that you have to use the boy instead of he because it is the first time you mention the boy. Also notice that they boy is who is running across campus. You could not have the computer be the subject because it cannot run across campus. Questions?
- Why Do We Use Participle Phrases?
- They add more variety to our writing.
- They let us avoid using coordinating conjunctions over and over.
- They let us be less wordy and eliminate unnecessary words.
- They let us embed (put inside) information in shorter phrase that does not need an entire clause.
- Gerunds
- We have another way to use the –ing form of the verb.
- Participles are –ing or –ed verbs that are now acting as adjective.
- Gerunds are –ing verbs acting as nouns.
- You should definitely use them, but they do not add sentence variety.
- EXAMPLES: Running is my favorite sport.
Reading takes me a long time.
- More Examples
- Sleeping all day in the car, the baby never cried.
- Exhausted, mom fell asleep as soon as she sat down.
- Texting while driving, the inconsiderate driver caused an accident.
- Working at home, the writer completed the article before the deadline.
- A Word of Caution
- Not all –ed verbs work as participles. The –ing participle phrases are much easier to use.
- The process to create a participle phrase with an –ed verb is a little more complicated. The thing to remember is that the subject that comes immediately after the participle phrase MUST be what the participle phrase is talking about.
- EXAMPLE: The pit master basted the barbeque all day, and his customers bought it all in three hours.
Basted all day, the barbeque sold out in three hours.
- Using Participle Phrases Assignment
Write four sentence with introductory participle phrases.
Comprehensive Sentence Variety Lecture and Assignment
- Standard Order of English Sentences
The standard order in an English sentence is
S – V – O (Subject, Verb, Object)
- Why Do We Want to Change that Order?
- Although English can be frustrating because of all of its variety and rule breaking, that trait is also what makes English powerful.
- English is a Ferrari (really fancy sports car), so we are not going to ride around in a golf cart all of the time.
- English speakers EXPECT this variety when they read. When they read an entire paragraph where every sentence is S-V-O, they perceive that writing as childish and/or boring.
- The Simple Sentence
- The Simple sentence has only one subject and one verb.
2. Actually, this sentence can be the most powerful one in English, but you only want to use a few. A famous Bible verse is a classic example: “Jesus Wept.”
3. Because this sentence is the first one children learn, you cannot use a lot of them in your writing without sounding like a 7 year old.
- EXAMPLE: The businesswoman ate breakfast.
- Combining Sentences with Coordinating Conjunctions (Compound Sentences)
- English has 7 coordinating conjunctions which you can remember with the phrase FAN BOYS: for, and, or, but, or, yet, so. These words are used along with a comma to join two complete sentences together.
- These words are the first way children and non-native speakers learn to combine sentences. You will always have some of these sentences in your writing.
- Using these sentences is a matter of balance. You do not want too many of them. Arabic, on the other hand, uses this construct over and over.
- EXAMPLE: The businesswoman ate her breakfast, and she hurried to leave for work on time.
- Combining Sentences with Subordinating Conjunctions (Complex Sentences)
- Rather than coordinate over and over, English relies on subordinating. Subordinate means unable to stand alone, so what is happening is that one sentence becomes dependent on the other.
- There are many subordinating conjunctions. They include: because, even though, since, when, after, although, etc. Be careful though because these words do have meaning.
- To use these, the subordinating conjunction goes in front of one of the subjects, and a comma is necessary after the subordinate clause.
- EXAMPLE: After the businesswoman ate her breakfast, she left to go to work.
- Combining Sentences by Using Participle Phrases
- Another way to combine sentences is to keep part of the verb of one sentence while eliminating the subject and the auxiliary verb.
- The resulting pattern is a participle phrase which can be a present participle (-ing form) or past participle (third form of the verb).
- Original sentence:
The businesswoman was eating her breakfast, and she checked her
email.
- Note: The subject that follows the participle phrase must make sense.
In the example below, you could NOT say: Eating her breakfast, the stove…
- EXAMPLE: Eating her breakfast, the businesswoman checked her email.
- Combining Sentences Using Relative Clauses
- Relative clauses allow two sentences that share a subject to be combined.
- For these sentences one of the subjects is replaced by a relative
pronoun such as who, which, or that.
- EXAMPLE: The businesswoman, who was in a hurry, ate a cold breakfast.
- Sentence Variety that is not Sentence Combining
- Begin with 1, 2, 3, or more prepositional phrases.
EXAMPLE: On Saturday before her big meeting the businesswoman
wolfed down her breakfast and left for work.
- Begin with an introductory adverb.
EXAMPLE: Quickly, the businesswoman ate her breakfast and left
for work.
- Comma Note
Remember that one of the comma rules is to set off most introductory elements.
So, all of the examples we have just covered have a comma after them EXCEPT the introductory prepositional phrases. You do not put a comma after introductory prepositional phrases unless you have three or more.
- Putting It All Together
On the next slide is the opening paragraph of an essay titled “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” by Brent Staples. The essay is about a black man being upset because some white women see him as threatening when he is simply living his life. I have linked the entire essay below if you want to keep reading. NOTE: He is NOT actually threatening anyone!!!!! He is actually a really nice guy which is the point of his essay.
- Opening Paragraph of “Just Walk On By…” by Brent Staples
My first victim was a woman – white, well-dressed, probably in her early twenties. I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park, a relatively affluent neighborhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago. As I swung onto the avenue behind her, there seemed to be a discreet, uninflammatory distance between us. Not so. She cast back a worried glance. To her, the youngish black man – a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket – seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street.
- Notice the Sentence Patterns We Have Discussed
- Although the author does not use all of the patterns we have covered, he does use many of them.
- Which ones do you recognize?
- You should also recognize that there are even more sentence patterns that we have not discussed. English has A LOT of sentence variety.
- Cumulative Sentence Variety Assignment
For homework take the original sentence and modify it to create sentences that have the following patterns. It will be the same way I modified the example sentence. Put your sentences in a WORD document that you will upload to the Assignments Folder.
Your simple sentence: The student did her homework.
1. Use a coordinating conjunction.
2. Use a subordinating conjunction.
3. Use a participle phrase.
4. Use a relative clause.
5. Use introductory prepositional phrase or phrases.
6. Use an introductory adverb.