Phrases, Clauses and Sentences

Phrases

• A phrase is a group of words that work together, but do not contain both a subject and a predicate
• A phrase does not form a complete thought
• Types of Phrases
  • Gerund Phrase: A phrase that starts with a verb ending in -ing; for example, "Running fast."
  • Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that starts with a preposition; for example, "In the park."

Clauses

• A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate
• Types of Clauses
  • Independent Clause: It can stand alone as a complete sentence, and expresses a complete thought; for example, "She is reading a book."
  • Subordinate (Dependent) Clause: It has a subject and a predicate but cannot stand alone because it doesn't express a complete thought; it depends on an independent clause to form a complete sentence; for example, "Because she was tired"
  • Example of dependent clause used in complete sentence: "She went to bed early because she was tired."

Sentence Components

• Subject: The noun or pronoun that the sentence is about
• Predicate: The part of the sentence that tells what the subject does or is; it contains the verb
• Conjunction: A word that connects clauses or phrases
  • Coordinating Conjunctions: Connects equal parts of a sentence; for example, "I like pizza and pasta"
  • Subordinating Conjunction: Connects an independent clause to a dependent clause; for example, "I stayed home because it was raining"

Task Breakdown: Sentence Analysis

• Identify the independent clause: the complete thought that can stand alone
• Identify the subordinate clause: the incomplete thought that cannot stand alone
• Underline the independent clause, bold/circle the subordinate clause, and highlight the subordinating conjunction

Example Sentences Breakdown

• Whenever I wiggle my ears, my eyebrows move
  • Independent Clause: my eyebrows move (can stand alone as a sentence)
  • Subordinate Clause: Whenever I wiggle my ears (cannot stand alone, needs the independent clause to complete the thought)
  • Subordinating Conjunction: Whenever
• Alex thanked the man who sold us the tickets
  • Independent Clause: Alex thanked the man (can stand alone)
  • Subordinate Clause: who sold us the tickets (cannot stand alone)
  • Subordinating Conjunction: who
• I left my wallet in my bag, which is on the bus that I took to school this morning
  • Independent Clause: I left my wallet in my bag (can stand alone)
  • Subordinate Clause: which is on the bus that I took to school this morning (cannot stand alone)
  • Subordinating Conjunction: which and that
• Since Ms. Pirrello is teaching us about sentences, she is probably going to expect us to use these strategies in our essays
  • Independent Clause: she is probably going to expect us to use these strategies in our essays (can stand alone)
  • Subordinate Clause: Since Ms. Pirrello is teaching us about sentences (cannot stand alone)
  • Subordinating Conjunction: Since

Consolidation Activity: Sentence Construction

• Independent Clause: A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought; it can stand alone as a sentence
• Subordinate Clause: A group of words that has both a subject and a predicate but does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence
• Subordinate Conjunction: A word that introduces a subordinate clause and shows the relationship between the subordinate clause and the independent clause

Sentence Examples with Independent and Subordinate Clauses

• "I will go to the store if it stops raining"
  • Independent Clause: I will go to the store
  • Subordinate Clause: if it stops raining
  • Subordinating Conjunction: if
• "Although I studied hard, I didn't do well on the test"
  • Independent Clause: I didn't do well on the test
  • Subordinate Clause: Although I studied hard
  • Subordinating Conjunction: Although

Simple Conjunction

• A conjunction that connects two independent clauses in a compound sentence
• Examples: and, or, but, for, so, yet, nor

Task 1: Identifying Clauses

• Identify the independent clause
• Identify the subordinate clause
• Identify the subordinate conjunction
• "My running shoes kept falling off because the shoelaces were missing"
  • Independent Clause: My running shoes kept falling off
  • Subordinate Clause: because the shoelaces were missing
  • Subordinate Conjunction: because
• "Before I added two cups of baking soda, I should have checked the recipe"
  • Independent Clause: I should have checked the recipe
  • Subordinate Clause: Before I added two cups of baking soda
  • Subordinate Conjunction: Before
• "My heart starts to beat faster when I think about my boyfriend"
  • Independent Clause: My heart starts to beat faster
  • Subordinate Clause: when I think about my boyfriend
  • Subordinate Conjunction: when

Task 2: Identifying Types of Sentences

• "While I was eating lunch, I spilled my soup"
  • Type: Complex Sentence
  • Reason: One independent clause ("I spilled my soup") and one subordinate clause ("While I was eating lunch")
• "The girl in the red shirt had a very interesting voice"
  • Type: Simple Sentence
  • Reason: It contains only one independent clause with a subject and a predicate
• "My toes were numb, and my fingers were aching"
  • Type: Compound Sentence
  • Reason: Two independent clauses ("My toes were numb" and "my fingers were aching") joined by the conjunction "and."
• "English grammar is full of quirks, and although I enjoy it, it can be very frustrating"
  • Type: Compound-Complex Sentence
  • Reason: Two independent clauses ("English grammar is full of quirks" and "it can be very frustrating") and one subordinate clause ("although I enjoy it")
• Explain what you mean by that
  • Type: Simple Sentence
  • Reason: This sentence has only one independent clause

Task 3: Creating Different Types of Sentences

• Create a simple sentence
  • "I love reading books"
• Turn the simple sentence into a compound sentence
  • "I love reading books, and I enjoy writing stories"
• Change one of the independent clauses into a subordinate clause to create a complex sentence
  • "Although I love reading books, I enjoy writing stories"
• Add one more independent clause to transform the sentence into a compound-complex sentence
  • "Although I love reading books, I enjoy writing stories, and I also like watching movies"

Summary of Sentence Types

• Simple Sentence: One independent clause
• Compound Sentence: Two independent clauses joined by a conjunction
• Complex Sentence: One independent clause and one subordinate clause
• Compound-Complex Sentence: At least two independent clauses and one subordinate clause

Key Terms Review

• Subordinate Clause: A group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate, which does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence
  • Example: "Although I was tired" (this is incomplete without an independent clause like "I stayed up late.")
• Independent Clause: A group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought; it can stand alone as a sentence
  • Example: "She studied hard."
• Compound Sentence: A sentence that has at least two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet)
• Example: "I wanted to go swimming, but it started raining"
• Complex Sentence: A sentence that has one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause
  • Example: "I stayed home because it was raining"
• Compound-Complex Sentence: A sentence that has at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause
  • Example: "Although it was raining, I went for a run, and I didn't mind getting wet"

Identifying Different Types of Sentences

• "I can't believe it; I lost my job"
  • Type: Compound Sentence
  • Reason: Two independent clauses ("I can't believe it" and "I lost my job") joined by a semicolon "I like to eat pizza, but it makes my breath smell of garlic"
  • Type: Compound Sentence
  • Reason: Two independent clauses ("I like to eat pizza" and "it makes my breath smell of garlic") joined by the conjunction but
• "Although Valentine's Day has come and gone, I am still enjoying chocolates"
  • Type: Complex Sentence
  • Reason: One independent clause ("I am still enjoying chocolates") and one subordinate clause ("Although Valentine's Day has come and gone")
• "Although WWF has fought to protect ecosystems over the past century, many animals are still endangered because they are losing their habitat"
  • Type: Compound-Complex Sentence
  • Reason: Two independent clauses ("WWF has fought to protect ecosystems over the past century" and "many animals are still endangered") and two subordinate clauses ("Although WWF has fought..." and "because they are losing their habitat")

Explanation of Sentence Types (Rewritten Paragraph)

• Simple Sentence: "Paleontologists were digging in Madagascar."
• Compound Sentence: "The dinosaur was about 2 meters long and weighed about 35 kg, but it probably lived 65 to 70 million years ago."
• Complex Sentence: "The front teeth pointed straight outward from the jaw, which made scientists speculate about their purpose."
• Compound-Complex Sentence: "We're not sure, but the teeth could have been designed for catching small prey."

Key Terms Review (Sentence Structure)

• Complex Sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one subordinate (dependent) clause
  • Example: "Although it rained, we went for a walk."
• Compound-Complex Sentence: A sentence with at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate (dependent) clause
  • Example: "Although it rained, we went for a walk, and we stopped for coffee afterward."
• Subordinate Clause: A group of words that has both a subject and a predicate, but does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence; it relies on an independent clause to form a complete sentence
  • Example: "Although I was tired..." (This needs another independent clause to be complete, such as "I went to bed early.")

Identifying Sentence Fragments

• Sentence Fragment: A group of words that is punctuated as a complete sentence but lacks a subject or predicate, making it an incomplete thought
• Independent Clause: A group of words that has both a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought; it can stand alone as a sentence
• Conjunction: A word that connects two or more clauses or phrases

Examples of Determining Sentence Fragments

• "Considering the state of the government these days."
  • Fragment
  • Reason: This is a subordinate clause that doesn't express a complete thought and is missing a subject or predicate that makes it a full sentence
• "Softly falls the night."
  • Complete Sentence
  • Reason: This is a complete sentence, with a subject ("the night") and a predicate ("falls softly")
• "The results of the survey conducted last spring."
  • Fragment
  • Reason: This is a noun phrase and lacks a verb; it's not a complete thought
• "No, I'm not."
  • Complete Sentence
  • Reason: This is a complete sentence, as it has a subject ("I") and a predicate ("am not")
• "Don't eat the glue!"
  • Complete Sentence
  • Reason: This is an imperative sentence with an implied subject ("you") and a predicate ("don't eat the glue")
• "We get results"
  • Complete Sentence
  • Reason: This is a complete sentence, with a subject ("we") and a predicate ("get results")
• "Canada's highest mountain, Mount Logan."
  • Fragment
  • Reason: This is a noun phrase and lacks a verb or complete thought

Fixing Sentence Fragments

• If a phrase is a sentence fragment it can be resolved by:
  • Adding an independent clause to complete the thought
  • Adding a verb so the predicate can complete the intended action

Identifying Run-On Sentences and Comma Splice Errors

• The grass is soaked, the garden hose was left on too long
  • Type: Comma Splice Error
  • Reason: Two independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a comma without a conjunction or proper punctuation
• First we did some research then we built the model
  • Type: Run-On Sentence
  • Reason: Two independent clauses are joined without any punctuation or conjunction between them
• We went to the mall we were supposed to meet our friends all of us were going to see a movie together
  • Type: Run-On Sentence
  • Reason: Multiple independent clauses are joined without any punctuation or conjunctions
• Joseph Boyden was at Chapters he was signing copies of his novel Three Day Road
  • Type: Run-On Sentence
  • Reason: Two independent clauses are joined incorrectly without punctuation or conjunctions
• Watching Wayne Gretzky play hockey was like watching ballet on ice, he made everything look easy
  • Type: Comma Splice Error
  • Reason: Two independent clauses are joined incorrectly by a comma

Fixing Run-On Sentences and Comma Splice Errors

• Separate the independent clauses into two sentences
• Add a conjunction to connect the clauses
• Use a semicolon to join the independent clauses

Summary of Run-On Sentences, Comma Splice Errors, and Fixing Strategies

• Run-on sentences occur when two independent clauses are joined without proper punctuation or conjunctions
• Comma splice errors happen when two independent clauses are joined with just a comma
• Strategies to rectify it:
  • Use a period to separate the independent clauses
  • Use a semicolon to join the clauses
  • Use a conjunction to join the clauses properly