1. Mrs. Chawanna Chambers Pre-AP/TAG English 8 Sentence Structure

2. Simple Sentence Contains only one clause Examples “Ice melts.” “The ice melts quickly.” “The ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun.” Use these sentences when you want to close an argument or grab the reader’s attention, but use them sparingly.

3. Compound Sentence Consists of two or more independent clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction. Example Simple: Texas is a great state. It has a plethora of racial tension. Compound: Texas is a great state, but it has a plethora of racial tension. Use these sentences when you want to compare or contrast items or show a balance.

4. Complex Sentence Consists of one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Clauses are not equal. Example Simple: Jessica finished her dialectical journal. She does not want to turn it in. Complex: Although Jessica finished her dialectical journal, she does not want to turn it in. These sentences show the reader which idea is most important. Dependent Independent

5. Compound-Complex Sentence Joins two complex sentences together with a semicolon OR joins a simple sentence and a complex sentence with a conjunction. Examples Simple and Complex: Jessica received an ‘A’ on the assignment, but the teacher struggled with the grade before she saw Jessica’s extra notes. Two Complex: Regardless of Jessica’s worry, she turned in the assignment; after careful review, however, the teacher awarded her with an ‘A’. Simple Independent Dependent Independent Dependent Independent

6. Sentence Structure in Context With a partner, locate several examples of sentence structure variety in the text you are currently reading. Underline and annotate them within the text. On a T-Chart, record the various sentences on the left. Your right section is where you will analyze the author’s use of a particular structure and how it affects the sentence meaning. SentenceAnalysis “They said that Jose was born with a ring of dirt around his neck, with grime under his fingernails, and skin calloused from the grainy twist of a shovel” (142). (Complex sentence) This is an interesting sentence because it contains a simple sentence, prepositional phrase, and a dependent clause. I get the idea that Soto wants to show how many things were said about Jose, so he uses a variety of grammatical constructs to create the sentence.

7. Reference Megginson, David. The Structure of a Sentence. The Writing Centre. Retrieved 1 September 2010.