ENGLISH

TWELFTH GRADE

Module 1 - Lesson 1

Skill: Writing (Sentence Structure)

Instructions:

1.    This lesson will introduce you to sentence structure.

2.    Read each of the informative sections.

3.    Work on each exercise carefully.

Complete Sentence Rules: Sentences must…

begin with a capital letter.

end in a punctuation mark.

have a subject and a predicate.

     SUBJECT  may contains…

               Nouns

               Pronouns

               Adjectives

               Articles

               Conjunctions

     PREDICATE may contains…

               Nouns

               Pronouns

               Articles

               Verbs

               Adjectives

               Adverbs

               Conjunctions

               Interjections

Types of Sentences:

1. Simple sentences: A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects are in yellow, and verbs are in green.  

2. Compound sentences: A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each of the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma. In the following compound sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the coordinators and the commas that precede them are in red. 

3. Complex sentences: A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the following complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the subordinators and their commas (when required) are in red.

Kinds of Sentences

Declarative - A declarative sentence makes a statement. A declarative sentence ends with a period.

Example: The house will be built on a hill.

Interrogative - An interrogative sentence asks a question. An interrogative sentence ends with a question mark.

Example: How did you find the card?

Exclamatory - An exclamatory sentence shows strong feeling. An exclamatory sentence ends with an exclamation mark.

Example: The monster is attacking!

Imperative - An imperative sentence gives a command.

Example: Cheryl, try the other door.

Sometimes the subject of an imperative sentence (you) is understood.

Example: Look in the closet. (You, look in the closet.)

Exercise I

Select the correct type of sentence.

1.  Pauline and Bruno have a big argument every summer over where they should spend their summer vacation.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

2.  Pauline loves to go to the beach and spend her days sunbathing.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

3.  Bruno, on the other hand, likes the view that he gets from the log cabin up in the mountains, and he enjoys hiking in the forest.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

4.  Pauline says there is nothing relaxing about chopping wood, swatting mosquitoes, and cooking over a woodstove.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

5.  Bruno dislikes sitting on the beach; he always gets a nasty sunburn.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

6.  Bruno tends to get bored sitting on the beach, watching the waves, getting sand in his swimsuit, and reading detective novels for a week.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

7.  This year, after a lengthy, noisy debate, they decided to take separate vacations.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

8.  Bruno went to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Pauline went to Cape Cod.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

9.  Although they are 250 miles apart, they keep in constant contact on the internet.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

10.  Bruno took the desktop computer that he uses at work, and Pauline sits on the beach with her laptop computer, which she connects to the internet with a cellular phone.
A. Simple Sentence
B. Compound Sentence
C. Complex Sentence
D. Compound-Complex Sentence

(Taken from: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/sentence_types_quiz.htm )

Exercise II

Sentence Structure: Re-arranging each sentences so that it is a complete sentence. Remember all the rules.

(Taken from: http://web.uvic.ca/lancenrd/martin/weblang/weblang12.htm )

Exercise III 

Identify the kind of sentence. The first two have been done for you.

1. Why do you believe that? interrogative

2. I want to know why you believe that. declarative (This is not a question.)

3. Please accept my apology. _____________________________

4. Your face is frightening the baby! _____________________________

5. My shoe is on fire! ________________________________

6. When did you first notice that your shoe was on fire? _______________

7. My doctor told me to take these vitamins. ________________________

8. Ask Doris for the recipe. _____________________________________

9. Did you solve the puzzle yet? _________________________________

10. Ann, hand me your coat. ______________________________________

11. It’s hard to believe that this paper is made from wood. __________________________________

12. There are more apples in the refrigerator. _________________________

13. We’re on the wrong planet! ____________________________________

14. Will Patricia pause to place poached pickles on Paula’s pretty plate?

 _________________________________________________

15. I would send her a gift if I were you. ____________________________

16. Send her a nice gift. _________________________________________

 parts of Speech: Read each part of speech and answer each exercise that follows.

I. NOUN

Definition: A noun names something and usually can form a plural (by adding –s or –es) except for

non-count nouns such as information or transportation

Persons George, man, people

Animals cat, fish, dog

Places Jacksonville, city, park

Things paper, spoon, eraser

Ideas happiness, horror, thought

Exercise:

Directions: Underline the nouns in each of the following sentences:

1. Jason enjoyed the movie about France.  _________________

2. The musicians play marching songs.  ___________________

3. Music lovers thrill to the sound of trumpets.  ___________________

4. Boys and girls are often eager to listen.  _______________________

5. The conductor moves his baton vigorously.  ____________________

6. There is no death penalty for criminals in Puerto Rico.  ____________

7. The "Explorer," crammed with scientific instruments, was launched on  January 31, 1958.  _______________________

8. New Mexico was admitted as a state in the twentieth century.  __________________

9. Chester Arthur was nominated for vice-president by the Republican Party in 1880.  ___________________

10. Winston Churchill was the man whose courage led the nation from defeat to victory.  _______________________

II. PRONOUN

Definition: A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.

Examples: I, it, you, he, she, we, him, them, whom, someone, everyone, none, anybody, that

Exercise:

Directions: Underline the pronouns in each of the following sentences:

1. You and John are the boys who will have to pay for the damage.  _______-________

2. Mr. Gunsher gave us the record which was just played.  ______________

3. She cried loudly, and each of us heard her.  __________________

4. They felt flattered by our attention to them.  __________________

5. Everyone followed the directions the faculty members had given each of them.  _________________________

6. She sent them to him as a birthday gift.  _______________________

7. They collided near the school.  _____________________

8. Solving the traffic problems taxes the imagination of those who have the responsibility of it.  ______________________

9. He says anyone who enjoys driving under today’s traffic conditions must be crazy.  _____________________________

10. Some take up a hobby because it is fun.  ______________________

III. ADJECTIVE

Definition: An adjective modifies the meaning of a noun or pronoun. An adjective, which may describe or limit a noun or pronoun, answers the following questions:

1. Which one? his daughter that man my dog  ______________

2. What kind? dark suit beautiful lady sunny day  ____________

3. How many? ten children both people several students  _______________

Exercise:

Directions: Underline the adjectives in each of the following sentences.

1. The interior plateau of the Union of South Africa is called its veldt.

2. There are countless millions of gaseous bodies called stars.

3. Baseball, enjoyed by many cheering fans today, was played here and in merry England before 1839.

4. Sir Walter Raleigh was a famous statesman and a bold explorer.

5. His many projects to settle America were unsuccessful.

6. He even made a long voyage to the Hot Lands below the Equator in search of gold.

7. After the death of his beloved queen, he was arrested for being a disloyal citizen.

8. His adventurous career came to an abrupt end when he was executed for piracy in 1618.

9. As college admission standards continue to rise, tension and anxiety build to a ridiculous point in college-preparatory seniors.

10. Twenty-five students attended reading class during the first term.

IV. VERBS

Definition:

Often the verb is the action word in the sentence. It defines the action.

The verb be and its forms (was, were, are, is, am) do not really show action but a state of being or relationship between the subject and what follows the verb be (Lab tutors are helpful).

The verb may consist of one word, or the main verb may contain one or more helping words. Some helping words are has, am, were, might, should, must, are, be . . .

Examples:

The man screamed loudly. (What did the man do? He screamed.)

All the men have been screaming. (What were the men doing? They have been screaming.)

All the men were old. (The adjective old is linked to the subject of men.)

Exercises:

Directions: Underline the verb (or verb phrase) in the following sentences.

1. A micron is a unit of length.

2. There are over a thousand millimeters in a yard.

3. Freva was the Saxon Goddess of Beauty.

4. Gold melts at 1,063 degrees Centigrade.

5. Egypt measures about one and one-half the size of Texas.

6. The George Washington Bridge is located between New York and New Jersey.

7. It can be seen spanning the might Hudson River.

8. Automobiles have been crossing it since 1931.

9. It is ranked as the second largest bridge in the world.

10. It is constantly being painted.

11. West Point, which is located in the Hudson Valley, houses the United States Military Academy.

12. It is over 150 years old since it was established in 1802.

13. It was established by an Act of Congress and opened with twelve cadets.

14. Many visitors go to West Point and watch the dress parade on Saturdays.

15. The officers trained there are taught to live democratically in order that they may better protect our democratic way of life.

V. ADVERBS

Definition: An adverb is a word that is used to modify or limit the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Examples: 1. Go slowly. Look carefully. Walk there. (The underlined words modify the verbs.)

2. The answer is not too accurate. (The underlined word modifies the adjective.)

3. Watch very closely. (The underlined word modifies the adverb.)

Exercise:

Directions: Underline the adverbs in the following sentences.

1. The name "sirocco" is often given to a warm wind.

2. I t is usually given to a warm wind blowing over large areas of hot, dry land.

3. Such winds now occur over the area of our Great Plains.

4. Originally "sirocco" was a name used by people of North Africa.

5. It was not used for ordinary wind.

6. It described the very hot, dusty wind that comes from the South.

7. It comes quickly from the scorching Sahara Desert.

8. This extremely hot wind is a menace to life.

9. Its coming always fills the natives with fear.

10. The biting bits of sand dig deeply into the eyes and skin of those caught in its fury.

VI. PREPOSITION

Definition: A preposition is a word that shows the relation between two or more things. Some prepositions are to, at, by, on, in, into .... Prepositions are positional words. Think about these phrases:

The knife is on the table.

under the table.

beside the table.

The knife went into the table.

A preposition also has an object, a noun or a pronoun.

Exercise:

1. There are sixty-four mountain peaks in the United States over 14, 000 feet high.

2. The state of Colorado claims forty-eight of these tall mountains.

3. The highest of them all, Mount Whitney, is in California.

4. Mount Whitney rises to the height of 14,495 feet.

5. Colorado claims the possession of the second highest mountain.

6. Mount Elbert is located in Colorado.

7. It reaches the height of 14,431.

8. Have you ever had the desire to climb to the top of one of these peaks.

9. Mount Evans in Colorado has an automobile road which you can take to the top.

10. Riding in a car is the easiest way of reaching the summit of one of these awesome immensities.

VII. CONJUNCTION

Definition: A conjunction is a word that joins words, groups of words, or complete sentences of equal value.

A. Coordinating conjunctions join words or groups of words of equal value.

EXAMPLES:

1. Lucy and Ed left the door open.

2. He is going to school, but I am going to work.

3. He is going to school; however, I am going to work.

B. Subordinating conjunctions are words that make one group of words (dependent clause) dependent upon another group of words (independent clause). The group of words beginning with a subordinating conjunction would be a sentence fragment by itself.

EXAMPLES:

1. When I came in, he left. Fragment: When I came in.

2. He left because he was late. Fragment: Because he was late.

Exercise:

Directions: Underline the conjunctions in the following sentences.

1. Janet and Joan are twins, but they are different in many ways.

2. While basalt is one of the heaviest rocks, pumice floats in water.

3. If you have used a piece of pumice stone to rid your fingers of grime, you know of its other qualities.

4. Pumice forms when boiling rock pours out of a fuming volcano.

5. It is a mixture of basalt and air bubbles.

6. He had lots to do; therefore, he went home.

7. Although it is spring, the air temperature remains chilly.

8. The time is passing quickly, yet I have not completed the assignment.

9. The names and the numbers are relevant, for they must be used to find the data.

10. It is time for us to locate those passages, so the instructor will know we’re serious.

VIII. INTERJECTIONS

Definition: An interjection is a word that expresses strong emotion. Interjections can be followed by a comma or an exclamation point.

EXAMPLES: Wow! I never knew that.

Oh, did I do that?

See a tutor in the Communications Lab for more help on interjections if needed.

Directions: Identify the underlined words as noun (n), pronoun (pn), verb (v), adjective (adj), adverb (adv), preposition (p), or conjunction (c).

1. Paul Anderson was proclaimed the world-champion weight lifter.

2. He established this record by lifting 1175 pounds.

3. The records indicate that the first fight with boxing gloves was fought in 1818 in France.

5. He had so much to do that he went home early.

6. Not wanting to be rude, he made his apologies to his host.

7. "Ordinarily, I would not leave so soon, but I have so much to do," he told his host.

8. The understanding was between the guest and his host.

9. In 1876, R. Barnes of Chicago led the National League with an average of .403.

10. In the 1957 World Series, Lew Burdette won three games, two of which were shutouts.