 STANDARD 6B

Every complete sentence contains two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tells something about the subject.

A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point.

The different types of sentences are identified by how they are constructed and by how they express thoughts.

A simple sentence has one independent clause. An independent clause has a subject and a predicate. It cannot be divided into two or more separate sentences. Examples:  The dog barks.  The cat and dog fight.  The dog likes to chase his tail and dig holes in the garden.  After a walk, my dog wants a long drink of water.

Hilda raced up the stairs. She did not want to be late. A. Hilda raced up the stairs, she did not want to be late. B. Hilda raced up the stairs and she did not want to be late. C. Hilda raced up the stairs; she did not want to be late. D. Hilda raced up the stairs but she did not want to be late.

The boy smiled at the kitten. The kitten curled up in his lap. A. The boy smiled at the kitten, and the kitten curled up in his lap. B. The boy smiled at the kitten; but the kitten curled up in his lap. C. The boy smiled at the kitten or the kitten curled up in his lap. D. The boy smiled at the kitten, the kitten curled up in his lap.

 A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses. An independent clause has a subject and a predicate. To identify a compound sentence, look for two complete sentences joined by a semicolon or a comma and conjunction.  Examples:  (The independent clauses are underlined.)  The dog barks, and the cat purrs.  Sue is a good student, but she forgot her homework today.  Tracy likes to go on field trips; she really likes to go to the zoo.

A. Travis's bike was broken, so he walked to school. B. Jerome's model airplane still had wet paint. C. Pita was walking soon after she hurt her ankle. D. Lucy told her mom that her kitten was so playful.

A. After giving the dog a bath, Karen took him home to his owners. B. Victor and Ryan were afraid of the dentists and his noisy machines. C. The boy worked hard on his story, for he wanted to win the contest. D. The nurse gave the crying child a sticker for being very brave.

A sentence fragment is a sentence that is missing a subject or a verb. Without a subject or a verb, you cannot have a complete sentence. Sentence fragments usually happen when a writer breaks up sentences into too many parts or pieces.

Example: The puppy running in the park. Went to his water bowl to get a drink.

A. The store was completely out of pineapple. B. Finished her homework very late that night. C. Tina spent her afternoon watching a movie. D. A bright yellow car sped down the street.

The twin girls. A. The twin girls who always wore the exact same clothes. B. Since they looked exactly like each other, the twin girls. C. Though they were usually very nice, the twin girls. D. The twin girls liked to play pranks on their teachers.

To write well, your ideas should be clear and complete. The only way to do this is with clear, complete sentences. When your thoughts break into too many parts, or when your thoughts run together, it is hard for the reader to follow your writing. Sentence fragments can make it tough for a reader to understand what you mean when you write.