Sentence Structure and Speech Intonation

Sentence Basics

• A sentence starts with a capital letter and concludes with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
• Sentences must express a complete thought, including a subject and a predicate.
• Word groups lacking a complete thought are sentence fragments
• Two sentences improperly combined form a run-on sentence.

Qualities of Good Speech

• Good speech requires correct language sounds, intonation, and rhythm.

Intonation

• Intonation refers to the rise and fall of the voice during speech

• Rising intonation involves an upward pitch at the sentence's end.

• Rising intonation is typically used in yes/no questions, tag questions when unsure, adverbial tag questions, requests, and exclamatory sentences

• The rising-falling intonation commonly conveys short statements and information questions.

• Rising falling intonation is used for wh-questions, tag questions when fairly sure, declarative and imperative sentences, listings, and yes/no answers

• A shift occurs when the vocal tone changes abruptly at the statement's conclusion

• A glide occurs when the voice rises and falls within one syllable.

Stress

• Stress is the emphasis given to certain syllables or words.
• Most two-syllable words are stressed on the first syllable, like ALways, DRIver, and SUREly
• Intensive and reflexive pronouns emphasize the second syllable, such as mySELF, himSELF, and yourSELF.
• Numbers ending in -teen stress the teen, while those ending in -ty stress the first syllable; thirTEEN vs. THIRty
• Words ending in -tion, -sion, -ical, and -ity stress the syllable before the suffix; examiNAtion, compLEXity, hisTORical, geneROSITY, inVERsion, ilLUsion.
• Adding a suffix generally keeps the stress on the same syllable as the root word; HAPpy -> HAPpiness
• Shift in stress can differentiate nouns from verbs; NOUN: PREsent, VERB: preSENT Compound nouns generally emphasize the first component with primary stress and the second component with secondary stress; SUNset, THANKSgiving.
• Compound verbs usually emphasize the second component; overFLOW, underSTAND.

Nouns

• Nouns name entities: persons, places, things, or ideas
• Nouns inflect for plural (-es) and possessive (-s) forms.
• Nouns often use derivational suffixes from other parts of speech; e.g., break + age = breakage

Noun Cases

• Noun case indicates its function in a sentence:

  • Nominative: Used as subject, predicate nominative, nominative of address, or nominative in apposition.
  • Possessive: Shows ownership, possession, or connection.
  • Objective: Used as direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, or object in apposition.

• The subject designates the person, place, or thing being discussed in the sentence

• Predicate nominatives rename the subject and follow a linking verb

• Nominatives of address name the person being spoken to

• Nominatives in apposition define a noun or pronoun

  • Appositives adjoin the noun and provide explanation or identification

• Restrictive appositives specify the noun

• Nonrestrictive appositives add extra information and can be removed without changing the sentence's core meaning

• Direct objects receive the action

• Indirect objects indicate to whom or for whom the action is performed, preceding the direct object.

• Objects of prepositions follow prepositions and form prepositional phrases.

• Objects in apposition are appositives that describe nouns in the objective case, typically set off by commas unless restrictive

Noun Functions

• Nouns function as subjects of verbs and direct objects of verb.

Noun Types

• Common nouns refer to general entities
• Proper nouns refer to specific, unique entities

Pronouns

• Pronouns replace nouns
• Personal pronouns identify the speaker (first person), the person spoken to (second person), or the person spoken about (third person).
• Subject pronouns function as subjects or predicate nominatives
• Object pronouns function as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions.

Pronoun Cases

• Possessive pronouns indicate ownership
• Reflexive pronouns add information by referring back to a previous antecedent.
• Intensive pronouns emphasize a noun or pronoun without adding new information.

Prepositions

• Prepositions indicate relationships in time, place, or movement

Prepositions of Time

• Prepositions of time include at, on, and in
• "At": denotes specific times
• "On": denotes days and dates.
• "In": denotes nonspecific times within a day, month, season, or year

Prepositions of Place

• Prepositions of place also include at, on, and in

• "At": indicates specific addresses

• "On": indicates street names

• "In": indicates land areas like towns, counties, states, and countries.

• "To" expresses movement toward a place

• "Toward" and "towards": are alternatives for expressing movement

• No prepositions are needed with home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, or upstairs.

• "For" measures time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years)

• "Since" indicates a starting point in time

Verbs

• Verbs denote actions or states of being; action verbs display movement, while state-of-being verbs link subjects.
• Types of Verbs
  • Intransitive: doesn't take an object
  • Transitive: takes direct/indirect objects
  • Linking/Copula: links subject descriptions
• Tense marks time relative to speaking or events.
• Aspect describes how an event is viewed or experienced

Verb Tenses

• Simple Present
  • Habitual actions
  • General truths
  • Conditions not repeated
• Simple Past
  • Definite past events
  • Past situations
  • Past regular activities
• Simple Future
  • Express possible/intended future
  • Use the simple present with time expressions
  • To be + going expresses future
• Present continuous relates to the future with time expression

Modal Verbs

• Modal verbs (can, must, may, might, will, would, should) modify other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility etc.

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Singular subjects need singular verbs, and plural subjects need plural verbs

• Verbs don't pluralize with "s", unlike nouns.

• Indefinite pronouns (anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody) are always singular

• Some indefinite pronouns (all, some) are singular/plural based on what they refer to.

• "None" can be singular or plural, context determines verb choice.

• Everybody feels like more than one person, but are still singular.

• Phrases like together with and as well as don't compound subjects

• Pronouns like neither are singular

• "Or/Nor": Subject closer to the verb dictates the number.

• There and here are never subjects

• Third-person singular verbs (he/she/it) add -s in the present tense.

• Modifiers shouldn't affect subject-verb agreements

• Nouns such as glasses and pants use plural verbs.

• Some words that end with -s are actually singular (news).

• Fractional expressions depend on meaning

• Compound subjects require singular verbs

• If sentences compound positive/negative subjects, verbs agree with the positive subject

Voices of Verbs

• Verb voice indicates if a subject performs/receives an action
  • Active voice emphasizes the performer
  • Passive voice emphasizes the receiver

Moods of Verbs

• Mood presents fact/question
  • Indicative: statements/questions
  • Imperative: commands/requests
  • Subjunctive: expresses wishes, possibilities, or unreal situations

Antecedents

• Pronouns get meaning from antecedents (the words they stand for)
• Pronouns must agree with antecedents in number, person, and gender
• Singular antecedents linked by or/nor need singular pronouns
• Plural antecedents linked by and need plural pronouns
• Avoid person/gender shifts in pronoun agreement.

Basic Sentence Patterns

• Natural word order means statements start with subjects

• Inverted word order means predicates precede subjects

• S-LV-C (subject-linking verb-complement) pattern

  • Subject complements- predicate nominatives and adjectives- connects back to the subject to describe it

• S-IV (subject-intransitive verb)= subject verb

• S-TV-DO (subject-transitive verb-direct object)= subject, verb answers whom or what question

• An intransitive verb does not have a receiver

• A transitive verb has a receiver

• A direct object receives the action of a verb

Question Types

• Tag Questions
  • Affirm or negate statements
  • Invert statement polarity in the tag.
• Informative Questions- seeks detailed answers with interrogative pronouns
• Yes-No Questions- confirm/validate information with inverted sentences

Sentence Structures

• Simple Sentences contain a subject, verb, and a complete thought
• Compound Sentences contains independent clauses linked by coordinators (FANBOYS) Complex sentences contain independent clauses with dependent clauses and subordinators

Misplaced/Dangling Modifiers

• Misplaced modifiers are improperly separated from what they modify, distorting meaning with confused text.
• Dangling Modifiers- is not clearly and logically related to the word or words it modifies

Adjective Order

• The order for adjectives are: determiner,quantity/number, quality/opinion, size, age, shape, color, proper adjective,purpose or qualifier, noun

Infinitives

• Infinitive pattern: to + verb

• Because an infinitive is not a verb, you cannot add s, es, ed, or ing to the end.

• Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs

• Exceptions can occur. An infinitive will lose the preposition to when it follows certain verbs. These verbs are feel, hear, help, let, make, see, and watch

Infinitive Usage

• Infinitives can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in sentences

• Typically, an infinitive at the beginning of a sentence will be part of an adverbial phrase

• Example: To run seemed dangerous given the conditions

• Split infinitives happen when there is word in between to and the verb. To correct this avoid split infinitives by keeping it to and verb.

  • Original: I need to definitely see that movie!
  • Revised: I definitely need to see that movie

Gerunds

• Gerunds are verbals ending in -ing that function as nouns
• Gerund phrases consist of gerunds and their modifiers, acting as nouns.

Uses of Gerunds

• Noun Functions
• As subject
• As direct object
• As object of preposition
• As predicate nominative
• As appositive

Ways to Expand Sentence Pattern

• Expand with:
  • Adverb clauses that give context.
  • Prepositional phrases that give extra information.
  • Adverbs modify verbs, adj, or adverbs.
  • Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns.
  • Adjective clauses which modify nouns, pronouns beginning with relative clauses, who, whom, etc.

Avoiding double negatives:

• As a reviewer, it's essential to identify and correct these instances to ensure clarity and accuracy
• "He did not have no idea."
• Revised: "He always eats meat."