Sentences and Clauses Flashcards
What are the four sentence functions
Interrogative
Exclamatory
Imperative
Declarative
What are Interrogative sentences
Sentences which ask questions
WM - usually used for direct address to the reader/audience
SM - can be a way of making a command more polite (“could you open the window?”)
What are Exclamatory sentences
Sentences which display emphatic stress.
Can be used with an addition of an exclamation mark!
“I’ve got to read HAMLET by next week!”
What are Imperative sentences
Sentences which give some sort of instruction, such as: orders, warnings, advice, invitation, commands etc…
They usually begin with a verb and omit the subject
“Read Hamel by Next week.”
“Have a drink and go to bed.”
What are Declarative sentences
Sentences used to make statements.
Have a usual syntax order of: subject-verb-object
Information, narrative and descriptive texts rely heavily on these.
“I have read all of Hamlet”
Simple sentences
Contains only one (main) clause.
e.g. “animals are all equal”
Compound sentences
Contain two or more main clauses (simple sentences).
These are usually joined together by a conjunction, such as:
“and”, “but”, or “or”
e.g. “He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl”
Qualities of compound sentences
Each clause could function on it’s own as an independent simple sentence
Co-ordinating conjunctions
“and”, “but” or “or” - the words used to link together the different clauses within a compound sentence.
Complex sentences
Contain one main clause and one or more subordinating clauses (dependant clause).
e.g. “What happens when you come to the beginning?”
Qualities of complex sentences
The subordinating clause has less importance to the sentence than the main clause.
The subordinating clause could not exist or make sense on its own.
How to identify a complex sentence and its subordinate clause
Look for the subordinating conjunctions
What are subordinating conjunctions
Words such as:
because, when, after, although, as, except
Expressions such as:
in order to, so that, as though, rather than
What can subordinate clauses sometimes occur as?
A minor sentence (which are quite common in SM)
What is a minor sentence
A sentence which does not conform to regular pattern of subject + verb.
They are not made up of clauses or they use them in abnormal ways
Examples of minor sentences
-Exclamations and Interjections "oh my! what a day!" -Headings and signs "The Science Museum" "Where to eat in York" -Abbreviated forms "Wish you were here" -Greetings, replies and social formulas "Good morning" "Fine, thanks" -Proverbial sayings "like father, like son"
Common types of subordinating clauses
- introduced by “that”
- introduced by a “wh-“ word
- Adverbial clauses
- Relative clauses
Subordinating clause introduced by “that”
the clause acts as the object of the sentence
“I thought that the journey was slow”
Subordinating clause introduced by a “wh-“ word
Words such as ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘who’, ‘whether’
“he told me what he wanted”
Adverbial clauses
Modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs
Act as adverbials and usually explain why, where or when something happened. They are introduced by conjunctions such as:
before, until, while, because, since
“she left before I arrived”
Relative clauses
They modify the noun in the sentence, this also usually follows the nouns that they modify.
Usually include relative pronouns, such as: who, whose, which, that
“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”
Sometimes they don’t have an introductory pronoun
“this is the house that jack built”
Types of relative clauses
restrictive
non-restrictive
Restrictive relative clauses
Restrictive - narrow down the range of possibilities
“The man who lives next door gets up early” (‘the man’ is being distinguished between other possible men)
Types of adverbial clause
- adverbial clause of time: when, whenever, since, as, until
“as dad came in I jumped from behind the door”
-adverbial clause of manner: as if, as
“He stared at me, as if there was something on my face”
-adverbial clause of place: where, wherever
“she’ll find it wherever it may be”
-adverbial clause of condition: if, unless
“I’ll call if I get the job”
-adverbial clause of concession: although, though, however
“although the evidence is against you, i’ll accept the story”
Combinations of different Clauses (7)
S+V S+V+O S+V+O+O S+V+C S+V+O+C S+V+A S+V+O+A (s=subject, v=verb, o=object, c=complement, a=adverbial)
What elements make up a clause
usually contains a verb phrase as well as other types of phrases.
Has 5 different elements:
subject, verb, object, complement, adverbial
What is the subject of a clause
The main subject or thing that the clause is about.
The subject performs the action which is described in the clause.
Usually comes before the verb
What is the verb of a clause
The second element of the clause, usually follows the subject.
This is the action which is taking place in the clause
What is the object of a clause
Usually follows the verb and is the thing in the clause which the action has been done to.
What is the complement of a clause
Provides more information about either the subject or the object within the clause.
What is the adverbial of a clause
Provides extra information (usually added in optionally for extra)
Most often found at the end of the clause but can be placed at any point in the clause.
Takes form in the following kinds:
1. time (when or how often something happened)
2. place (where something happened)
3. manner (how something happened)
What is a finite clause
A clause that contains a finite verb, which indicates tense, person and number
“she went”
What is a non-finite clause
A clause that contains a non-finite verb - such as a participle
“walking down the road”
A single clause can form a….
simple sentence
What does the subject of the sentence tell us
What the sentence is about.
it can take form of: a noun, pronoun, noun phrase or clause
What does the verb of the sentence tell us
What the action of the sentence is.
Can take form of: a verb, verb phrase. and can either be a finite or infinite verb.
What does the object of the sentence tell us
Usually comes after the verb and is usually the receiver of the action.
can be: a noun, pronoun, noun phrase or clause
Which elements of a clause are essential
subject, verb, object - (with a transitive verb)
Which elements of a clause are optional
adverbials
the subject can be omitted in passive voice
Non-restrictive relative clauses
add information
“The postman, who lives next door, gets up early” (‘who lives next door’ provides more information about the postman)
