Sentence Types
This sentence type contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Complex Sentence
The old library became a popular community center after the renovation.
Choices:
Pattern #1: Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement
Pattern #2: Subject + Intransitive Verb
Pattern #3: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object
Pattern #4: Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
Pattern #5: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement
Pattern #1: Linking Verb
These are the three types of dependent clauses.
Adjective, Adverb, and Noun
Identify the Phrases in italics below:
I mean that we must figure out, together, what we are willing to lie about for the sake of a clean memory. The story ends with no sinners, because it must.
-- Hanif Abdurraqib, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
Prepositional Phrases
Build a sentence using a conjunctive adverb and a semicolon.
The exam is on Thursday; therefore, students should review both today and tomorrow.
This type of sentence combines two or more independent clauses using a coordinating conjunction or semicolon.
Compound Sentence
The chef carefully prepared an elaborate five-course meal.
Choices:
Pattern #1: Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement
Pattern #2: Subject + Intransitive Verb
Pattern #3: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object
Pattern #4: Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
Pattern #5: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement
Pattern #3
Identify the dependent clause in the sentence below:
The student who studied all night earned the highest score on the exam.
Adjective
Identify the phrase in italics below:
He'd always wanted better words for what it felt like to live, and to suffer, and to love it all so recklessly as to hate how it couldn't love you back the same.”
― Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars.
Infinitive Phrases
Build a compound-complex sentence using a subordinating conjunction.
Sample: Although the study guide was detailed, some students felt overwhelmed; however, the review session helped clarify expectations.
An imperative sentence often appears to be missing this part, because it is implied rather than stated.
A subject
The teacher gave her students a study guide to help prepare for the exam.
Choices:
Pattern #1: Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement
Pattern #2: Subject + Intransitive Verb
Pattern #3: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object
Pattern #4: Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
Pattern #5: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement
Pattern #4
Identify the dependent clause in the sentence below and explain the punctuation:
Because the exam covered five complex patterns, the instructor offered a review session.
Adverb Clause-- The comma is required because the adverb clause comes before the independent clause
Identify the phrases in italics below:
They remembered a million useless things, a quarrel with a workmate, a hunt for a lost bicycle pump, the expression on a long-dead sister’s face, the swirls of dust on a windy morning seventy years ago; but all the relevant facts were outside the range of their vision.
--George Orwell, 1984.
Appositive Phrases
Build a sentence using an appositive phrase and a colon for effect.
Sample: The instructor offered one final piece of advice: a careful review of every quiz and comments on homework assignments.
Identify the sentence type:
Although she studied all night, she still felt unprepared, but she took the test anyway.
Compound-Complex
The students found the study guide overwhelming.
Choices:
Pattern #1: Subject + Linking Verb + Subject Complement
Pattern #2: Subject + Intransitive Verb
Pattern #3: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object
Pattern #4: Subject + Transitive Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object
Pattern #5: Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement
Pattern #5
Identify the type of dependent clause and its function:
Whoever turns in homework assignments on time earns bonus points.
Noun Clause functioning as the subject
Identify the phrases set off by the em dash below:
The space was lived-in—books left open on tables, stacks of mail on top of anthologies and literary journals, a mug here or there on a coaster—but compared to his usual level of sloppiness, the room was meticulously neat.'
--Emily Henry, Beach Read
absolute phrases
Build a sentence using an absolute phrase and an em dash for effect.
Sample: The student sat down to take her exam—her thoughts finally clear, her one page of notes beside her.
Identify the sentence type:
The exhausted traveler, carrying a heavy backpack, slowly walked down the long and winding road toward the tiny village in the valley.
Simple Sentence
Even though there are a lot of phrases, this sentence only has one independent clause.
These five basic patterns underlie the core structure of approximately 95% of English clauses. What are they?
What are S+LV, S+IV+SC, S+TV+DO, S+TV+IO+DO, and S+TV+DO+OC?
Explain the difference in punctuation and meaning here:
The students who studied diligently aced the exam.
The students, who studied diligently, aced the exam.
What is the essential vs. nonessential adjective clause distinction? In the first sentence, "who studied diligently" is an essential clause meaning only the students who studied diligently aced it.
In the second sentence, the commas make the clause nonessential, implying that all the students studied diligently and all aced the exam.
Identify the two different phrases below:
But what are you going to do with me?” I asked for the second time, pushing back in my chair, a crackle of panic rising in my voice.
--Donn Tart, The Goldfinch (75).
pushing back in my chair: participial
a crackle of panic rising in my voice: absolute
Build a sentence using two participial phrases and intentional repetition.
Sample: Exhausted but hopeful, the students reviewed every quiz, every homework assignment, and every teacher comment, finally understanding that they were more prepared than they thought.