SENTENCE NOTES
Sentence A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.
Are these sentences?
1. “Ashley walks to the park.”
2. “She takes a friend with her.”
3. “Climb a tree.”
Every sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject usually contains the main subject or noun, and the predicate tells what the subject is doing, which contains the verb of the sentence.
| Subject | Predicate |
| Ashley | walks to the park |
| She | takes a friend with her |
| Ashley and her friend | climb a tree |
Rules for writing sentences:
1. Every sentence must begin with a capital letter.
2. Every sentence must end with a punctuation mark. You use different marks for different kinds of sentences.
Handout: sentence journals
Run-on Sentences
There are two ways a sentence can be a run-on sentence: Run-On sentences are two or more sentences written together without any punctuation.
Comma Splices are run-on sentences that consist of two more sentences written together and separated by only a comma.
There are three ways to fix run-on sentences 1. Use a period and create two sentences from the run-on sentence
2. Use a semi-colon between the two sentences
3. Use a comma and a conjunction between the two sentences.
Handouts: sentence fragments and run-ons worksheet
Sentence Fragments
Sentence fragments are incomplete sentences. It is missing a subject, a predicate, or both, or
does not contain a complete thought.
To fix a sentence fragment Add the missing part of the sentence – the subject, predicate, or both, or make it a complete thought
Handouts: Sentence Fragment Activity
Parallelism / Parallel Structure
Parallel structure communicates ideas effectively. There are three main types: parallel words, parallel phrases, and parallel clauses. The thing to remember is that it must all match!
Parallel words: Words in a series should be either all nouns or all adjectives or all adverbs.
Incorrect: The Hollywood celebrity was charming, witty, and a beauty.
Parallel: The Hollywood celebrity was charming, witty, and beautiful.
Parallel phrases: Phrases in a series should be the same type.
Incorrect: Her aims were to study, to travel, and someday have a family.
Parallel: Her aims were to study, to travel, and someday to have a family.
Parallel clauses: All clauses in a series should be the same type.
Incorrect: What we say and the things we do are never quite the same.
Parallel: What we say and what we do are never quite the same.
Handouts:
Sentence Structure
Compound Sentences: A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses joined together with a conjunction and comma or a semi-colon.
Handouts: Sentence Structure activity
Identify the sentence structure
Honors Sentence Structure Handout