Syntax: Word Order

Key Skills

Sentence TypesSentence Types

Simple, compound

and complex

Learning Objectives

•To understand the definition of a clause.•To understand how clauses create simple, compound and complex sentences.

What is a clause?

A clause has a subject and verb/verb phrase:

You are invited to a big adventure. Artemis Fowl desires power.

Northern Lights captivates millions of readers.

“I have a dream”

A simple sentence is a sentence with one clause. A sentence consisting of one clause.

How many clauses are in these

sentences?

•The characters are believable and Nicholson’s style is engaging.

• The author uses interesting vocabulary but the structure could be simpler and the ending could be clearer.

•In this novel, Kestrel must choose the princess or choose her people.

• The characters are believable and Nicholson’s style is engaging.

• The author uses interesting vocabulary but the structure could be simpler and the ending could be clearer.

• In this novel, Kestrel must choose the princess or choose her people

• Each clause is joined by a coordinating conjuction: and/or/but. A sentence consisting of two or more main clauses, connected by coordinating conjunctions.

Compound sentences

Write a compound sentence about recent news.

Identify the clauses in the following sentences and state if they are simple or

compound sentences.• The dog barked loudly.• The dog barked loudly and the baby woke up. • The baby woke up his mother with a loud cry.• Harry Potter loved school but he hated the

holidays.• Wuthering Heights is set in Yorkshire.• Wuthering Heights is set in Yorkshire but

Villette is set in Belgium.

Linking sentence structure to meaning.

• Syntactical Parallelism: The repetition of sentence structure e.g.

If she trusted him, she had to believe him.

If she loved him, she had to trust him.

How is this effective in speeches? • Balanced Structure-A sentence where the

two halves balance each other. It may also be a contrast or antithesis (i.e. contrasts).

I like chocolate but I don’t like sprouts.

Answer the following questions.

1) What is a clause?

2) What is a simple sentence?

3) What is a compound sentence?

Give examples

1) A clause has one verb.

The band played for two hours.

2) A simple sentence has a subject and a verb. It expresses a complete thought or action.•The snow falls. •The band played for two hours.•I went to Manchester.•On the 21st of this month, the Mayan calendar completes a 5,125 year long sentence.

3) A compound sentence is an independent clause linked to another independent clause.

I went to Manchester and (I went) to Liverpool.

He wrote more than 60 books on astronomy and The Sky At Night has inspired successive generations of stargazers.

• A main clause joined to a subordinate clause.

• The baby woke up when the dog barked.• Subordinating connectives:

because/when/since/until/while. • Until Harry Potter receives a letter from Hogwarts,

Harry Potter doesn’t know he’s a wizard.

Complex Sentences

• Lucy discovers Narnia, when she hides in the wardrobe.

• Until Kestrel reunites with her family, her people remain in slavery.

• Although the Dursleys are muggles, Harry Potter is a wizard.

• Artemis Fowl has been alone since his father was reported missing.

• Even though Catherine loves Heathcliff, Catherine haunts him, when she dies.

• Despite repenting for the death of the Albatross, the Mariner is punished.

Separate the main clause from the subordinate clause.

• Lucy discovers Narnia, when she hides in the wardrobe.

• Until Kestrel reunites with her family, the Manth people remain in slavery.

• Although the Dursleys are muggles, Harry Potter is a wizard.

• Artemis Fowl has been alone since his father was reported missing.

Compound-Complex Sentences

• Two main clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction but/and/or and a subordinate clause.

Some of the children went home early but others remained because they had no transport.

Minor Sentences• Minor Sentences-Lacks a verb.

1.Absolutely.

2.Winter.

3.London.

4.Sounds good.

5.Goodbye

6.Nice weather.

7.The world’s most elitist election

8.Barking Blondes: Yuletide doggy treats, pet advent calendars and Christmas hazards.

A03-Creating Meaning

The scientific community is under the microscope as it nears hybrid embryo creation.

Mad scientists are on the verge of creating monsters.

The scientific community is under the microscope as it nears hybrid embryo creation.

Mad scientists are on the verge of creating monsters.

The intention to find new ways of treating hitherto untreatable illnesses is no doubt laudable but the cost to human life will be incalculable as live embryos will be destroyed after fourteen days.

Living embryos will be trashed after fourteen days.

TestMinor Sentences or Simple Sentences:

1.Good afternoon

2.The doctor is here.

3.The band was late.

4.Your turn.

Complex sentence or complex-compound sentence.

Identify the main clause and subordinate clause:

I will stay in bed today because I’m not feeling very well.

The band played brilliantly and the crowd screamed for more until the lights went out.

Relative Clauses• Begins with who, whose, which or that.A monument to evil that can teach the modern

world.

Today’s students especially those who get middle-income jobs, will face an enormous debt.

He couldn’t read which surprised me.

The boy, whose job was to carry the suitcases, became lost.

Embedded Clauses1. The boy, who was only seven, could play the piano.

2. The beach, which was very crowded, was hotter than ever.

3. The ball, which was kicked by the goal keeper, flew through the air.

Embedded Clauses: subordinate clauses which are used between the subject and verb of a main clause.

You can find the embedded clause by finding the commas.

Add the commas to find the embedded clause

The music which was too loud gave me a headache.

The old lady who had lots of bags waited for a taxi.

The bus which was empty sped down the street.

The loaf of bread which she bought last week was mouldy.

The singer who was on the stage sang to the audience.

Adverbial Clauses

• Clauses that act as adverbials. They explain when, where or why something happened. They are introduced by conjunctions such as:

• Before/until/while/because/since.

She left before I arrived.

She left because it was late.

Finite and Non-Finite Clauses

• The verb/verb phrase in finite clauses show tense.

• The verb/verb phrase in non-finite clauses do not show tense or person and does not need a subject.

1.Everybody left just after the ceremony.

2.Inviting your sister was not a great decision.

3.The girl has gone.

4.He decided to go.

5.He left the party feeling ill.

Clause Elements

1.Subject A. The item/person that has been affected by the action. It answers the question “who or what has something been done to?”

2.Verb/Verb Phrase

B.This gives more information about the subject or the object.

3.Object C.The word that states the action. It could be dynamic or stative.

4.Complement D. Provides information about time, place, manner, comment and degree.

5.Adverbial E.The main person or item that commits the action; the main focus of the clause.

1.Subject E.The main person or item that commits the action; the main focus of the clause.

2.Verb/Verb Phrase

C.The word that states the action. It could be dynamic or stative.

3.Object A. The item/person that has been affected by the action. It answers the question “who or what has something been done to?”

4.Complement B.This gives more information about the subject or the object.

5.Adverbial D. Provides information about time, place, manner, comment and degree.

Harry chased the squirrel

Subject

Verb

Object

Harry caught the squirrel quickly.

Subject

Verb

Object

adverbial

Subject Verb Object (s) Complement

Adverbial

He closed the gate.

Tom gave mea screwdriver

I found the film disturbing

She smiled broadly

I caught the train yesterday

My teacher

called my project a masterpiece

yesterday

My teacher called my project a masterpiece yesterday.

Subject VerbObject Complement

Adverbial

Identify the clause elements in these sentences:

1. My brother lent me his jacket.

2. He considered the verdict unjust.

3. The tree toppled.

4. The sea was rough.

5. The waves lashed the shore.

6. The audience cheered enthusiastically.

7. I ate the burger hungrily.

Subject Verb Object (s) Complement

Adverbial

My brother

lent me his jacket

He considered

the verdict unjust

The tree toppled

The sea was rough

The waves

lashed the shore

The audienceI

cheered

ate the burger

enthusiasticallyhungrily.

Clause jokes:

What are Santa's elves?  subordinate clauses.

What do you call someone who doesn't believe in Father Christmas? a rebel without a clause.

What do you call someone who doesn't believe in Father Christmas? a rebel without a clause.

What do you call a cat on the beach on Christmas morning? Sandy Claws.

SackLong white Beard

hat

Boots

toys

Twinkling eyes

Order of Clause ElementsThe normal word order/sentence or clause structure in English is subject, verb, object.Sometimes the verb can be first.Close the door. The subject is elliptical (it can be missed out).

Closing the door, she sneaked into the room and grabbed the cookies.

Ellipsis Part of a grammatical structure is left out of the sentence without affecting the meaning.

•Anger over nurse’s death in royal hospital hoax. •People are angry over the nurse’s death because of the hoax in the hospital used by the Royal family.•Global war: A world gripped by conflict. •Is the world gripped by conflict and a global war?•According to experts, 20 wars are raging in the world today. From Syria to Mexico, tens of thousands of lives are lost to them each year.