62 Understanding Sentences

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Understanding Sentences

Start-Up Activity

A sentence is the smallest complete thought that can stand on its own. But an interesting enough sentence can be expanded into a paragraph, or an essay, or even something bigger. In the "Declaration of Independence," the founders of the United States wrote this sentence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." That one sentence later expanded into the entire Constitution of the United States.

Think About It

"The paragraph is a mini-essay. It is also a maxi-sentence."

—Donald Hall

Page 467 from Writers Express

Parts of a Sentence (Continued)

Help students understand that the predicate (verb) tells something about the subject. It shows what the subject is doing, what is happening to the subject, or what the subject is. Some sentences have just one verb, but some have two or more (compound predicates).

Show how modifiers do just that—modify the meaning of nouns, verbs, and other words.

Finally, touch on subject-verb agreement, showing that singular subjects need singular verbs and plural subjects need plural verbs. Use the minilessons for extension activities.

 

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Clauses and Phrases

Use this page to help students understand the two basic types of word groups.

  • A clause has a subject and a verb.
  • A phrase does not have a subject and a verb.

In addition, there are two basic types of clauses:

  • An independent clause is a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.
  • A dependent clause is not a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence. (It must be connected to one or more independent clauses.)

The bottom of the page gives a quick overview of different types of phrases. You'll find more information in the next section of the "Proofreader's Guide."

 

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Types of Sentences

Use this page to help students understand how independent and dependent clauses can be joined together in different forms.

  • A simple sentence is one independent clause.
  • A compound sentence is two or more independent clauses.
  • A complex sentence is one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
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Kinds of Sentences

Review with students the four basic types of sentences:

  • Statements (declarative sentences) give information.
  • Questions (interrogative sentences) request information.
  • Commands (imperative sentences) tell the reader what to do.
  • Exclamations (exclamatory sentences) express strong emotion.
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