1. Sentence Sense What you need to know about sentences All sentences are made up of: Words—which are the smallest units in a sentence Phrases—which are groups of words Clauses—which are groups of words with a subject and a verb. There are two kinds of clauses: Independent clause—a clause containing both a subject and a verb and expressing a complete thought. Dependent clause—a clause that contains a noun and a verb but does not express a complete thought.

2. How can we tell if a group of words is a sentence? 1.Sentences must have a subject and a verb. 2.To determine if the group of words has a subject ask: Who (or What) did (or is) something? The answer is the subject of the sentence. If the question cannot be answered, the sentence does not have a subject. 3.To determine if the group of words have a verb ask: What did they do? OR What are they? 4. Sentence fragments are missing either a subject or a verb.

3. Misconceptions about sentences Just because the group of words have a capital letter and a period does not mean the sentence is complete. Using the –ing verb form doesn’t make a sentence. NOT a sentence: Students editing. But this IS a sentence: Students edit.

4. Remember: Simple sentences are the core of ALL WRITING. They are independent clauses and stand on their own. Independent Clauses have subjects and verbs and stand on their own, making a complete thought. Therefore, independent clauses can be complete sentences.

5. Let’s practice: Is this a sentence? My hair wakes up stupid. 1.Ask: Who/what did or is something? Answer: My hair; therefore, my hair is the subject. 2. Ask: What did my hair do? Or What is my hair? Answer: wakes up; therefore, wakes up is the verb. The group of words has a subject and a verb. It has a complete thought, so I can conclude that this is a sentence.

6. Is this a sentence? My sweat smells like peanut butter. 1.Ask: Who/what did or is something? Answer: My sweat; therefore, my sweat is the subject. 2. Ask: What did my sweat do? Or What is my sweat? Answer: smells; therefore, smells is the verb. The group of words has a subject and a verb. They make a complete thought, so I can conclude that this is a sentence.

7. Now it is your turn. Determine whether the following clauses are complete sentences. 1. Ask the subject question about each clause. 2. Ask the verb question about each clause. 3. Write YES if the clause is a sentence; write NO if the clause is not a sentence. 1.He paced. 2.And mosquitoes. 3.Stacey gasped. 4.Eric stirred. 5.And gnats. 6.Another corpse. 7.Jeff shrugged. 8.Amy turned. 9.To look. 10.Stan nodded. 11.Allison sighed. 1.Yes 2.No 3.Yes 4.Yes 5.No 6.No 7.Yes 8.Yes 9.No 10.Yes 11.yes

8. One way to make simple sentences more interesting is to add phrases. We can add: Prepositional phrases Adverb phrases Infinitive phrases Adjective and participle phrases Let’s begin by adding prepositional phrases to simple sentences to add detail. Writers use prepositions to show the relationship between words in a sentence. Prepositional Phrase Prepositional Phrase Example: The panda sat on the branch of the tree.

9. about above across after against around at before behind below beneath beside besides between beyond by down during except for from in inside into like near of off on out outside over since through throughout till to toward under until up upon with without according to because of by way of in addition to in front of in place of in regard to in spite of instead of on account of out of Common Prepositions

10. 1.He paced. 2.Mosquitoes buzzed. 3.Stacey gasped. 4.Eric stirred. 5.Gnats hovered. 6.The corpse rose. 7.Jeff shrugged. 8.Amy turned. 9.James looked. 10.Stan nodded. 11.Allison sighed. Now use prepositional phrases to add detail to the simple sentences below.