Grammar Mini-Lesson #1

Phrases,

Clauses & the 4 Types of Sentences.

What is a phrase?

By definition, a phrase is a group of words that contains either a subject or a predicate, but not both, and serves a single part of speech.

There are many types of phrases:Verbal (derived from a verb, has the power of a verb,

but acts as another part of speech—i.e. “to appear cool” is an infinitive verbal phrase)

Prepositional (consists of a preposition, its object, and any modifiers—i.e. “in the park”)

Appositive (consists of a noun and its modifiers, follows another noun or pronoun and renames it—i.e. “I immediately recognized him as Buddy, my old boyfriend from college.”)

What is a clause?

By definition, a clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate (a verb).

There are two categories of clauses:Independent or Main (a clause that is a

sentence on its own)Dependent or Subordinate (a clause that needs

to be joined with an Independent clause)

What is a clause?

Within the dependent clause category there are three types:Adverb clauses (begin with subordinating

conjunctions i.e. when, since, if, and so on)

Adjective clauses (begin with relative pronouns i.e. who, which, that, and so on)

Noun clauses (begin with what, whatever, that, who, or whoever)

Practice

Identify each underlined clause, Independent or Dependent. For each dependent clause, identify it as an adjective clause, an adverb clause or a noun clause.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, casting a shadow.

(Independent clause)Scientists have studied what happens during a solar eclipse.

(noun dependent clause)In 1999, thousands of Europeans cheered as the moon’s shadow

fell upon them.

(independent clause)A solar eclipse is a natural phenomenon that can help scientists

learn more about our red-hot power source, the sun.

(adjective dependent clause)

Types of Sentences

Sentences can be classified in many ways, and it’s helpful to consider the potential effect a particular type of sentence might have on a reader in a certain situation. One of the most basic ways of classifying sentences is according to the number and type of clauses in them.

There are four types of sentences: Simple sentences Compound sentences Complex sentences Compound-complex sentences

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence has a single independent clause. Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union.

Within, its single clause, a simple sentence can have a compound subject, a compound verb, or both. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson struggled to save the

Union. Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union and persevered. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson struggled to save the

Union and persevered.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence has two (or more) independent clauses, each of which could exist as a simple sentence if you removed the conjunction connecting them.Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union, and

Andrew Johnson assisted him.Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson struggled to

save the Union and persevered, but the leaders of the Confederacy insisted that the rights of the states were more important than the maintenance of the Union.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent.When the leaders of the Confederacy insisted

that the rights of the states were more important than the maintenance of the Union, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson struggled to save the Union and persevered.

Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound-complex sentence has the defining features of both a compound sentence and a complex sentence: at least two independent and at least one dependent.When the leaders of the Confederacy insisted

that the rights of the states were more important than the maintenance of the Union, Abraham Lincoln struggled to save the Union and persevered, and Andrew Johnson assisted him.

Why should I be concerned with whether a sentence is simple, compound, complex, or compound, complex when I am analyzing someone else’s writing or planning your own?

Function grows out of form. When you need to make a succinct point, often a short,

simple sentence will do so effectively. A short simple sentences can suggest to a reader that you are in control, that you want to make a strong point.

If you’re trying to show how ideas are balanced and related in terms of equal importance, a compound sentence can convey that to the reader.

A single compound sentence or a series of them in a composition can suggest to your reader that you are the kind of person who takes a balanced view of challenging issues, that you want to give equal weight to more than one side of an issue.

Why should I be concerned with whether a sentence is simple, compound, complex, or compound, complex when I am analyzing someone else’s writing or planning your own?

If you want to show more complicated relationships between ideas, then complex and compound-complex sentences can communicate the intricacies of your thinking.

A single complex or compound –complex sentence or a series of them can cue a reader that yours is a mind that willingly takes up complicated issues and tries to make sense of them, both for yourself and for your readers.

Loose vs. Periodic Sentences

A second method of analyzing sentences looks at them in terms of another important structural distinction—as loose sentences or periodic sentences.

Sentences vary along the loose-periodic continuum according to how they incorporate extra details in relation to basic sentence elements.

Basic elements of every sentence in English are:Subjects, verbs, and complements.

Here is a sentence with just two basic elements:Abraham Lincoln wept.

Loose Sentences

A loose sentence is a basic sentence with details added immediately at the end of the basic sentence elements:Abraham Lincoln wept, fearing that the Union

would not survive if the southern states seceded.

Periodic Sentences

A periodic sentence is a sentence in which additional details are placed in one of two positions, either before the basic sentence elements or in the middle of them. Alone in his study, lost in somber thoughts

about his beloved country, dejected but not broken in spirit, Abraham Lincoln wept.

Abraham Lincoln, alone in his study, lost in somber thoughts about his beloved country, dejected but not broken in spirit, wept.

Loose vs. Periodic Sentences

Understanding the concepts of loose and periodic, you can achieve sentence variety by writing sentences that move along a loose-periodic continuum.Abraham Lincoln considered the Union an inviolable,

almost eternally inspired, concept.(loose sentence)

Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught philosopher, a political scientist even before there was such a field, considered the Union an inviolable, almost eternally inspired, concept.(periodic sentence)

Loose vs. Periodic Sentences

Differences in these sentences can be heard—in what is emphasized, as well as in how quickly a reader reads them. Writers use these sentences to effect changes in meaning. Readers use them to understand meaning more clearly.

The structure of a sentence affects the pacing of a text.

Loose sentences move quickly.Periodic sentences work with delay—postponing

the completing of the sentence until all the details have been provided.

Activity

Do you think the following sentence from Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery is loose or periodic?

In order to defend and protect the women and children who were left on the plantation when the white males went to war, the slaves would lay down their lives.