TWO: STRUCTURE AND FORM/ Flashcards
All clauses have at least what?
A subject and a predicate.
What happens if a clause is missing a subject or predicate or both?
Then it is considered a phrase and not a clause.
What defines the subject in a sentence?
The subject is the noun or pronoun that the clause is “about.”
The predicate does what within a sentence?
The predicate gives info. about the subject.
What defines the predicate in a sentence?
The predicate always includes a verb; it may also contain objects, adjectives, or other parts of speech.
What are independent clauses?
They’re clauses that can stand as complete sentences by themselves.
What are dependent clauses?
These are clauses that cannot stand alone as complete sentences.
This is an example of what?
The dog barks.
An IC.
What is the subject & the predicate in this sentence:
The dog barks.
“dog” is the subject; the verb “barks” is the predicate.
What is the subject?
The dog is barking.
dog
What is the predicate made up of?
The dog is barking.
The predicate is made up of: The verb “is” and the gerund: “barking.”
The following gerund is serving as what: “The dog is barking”
It is serving as an adjective.
The following is an example of what?
If the dog barks
It is a dependent or subordinate clause (DSC)
What is the subject and predicate in the DSC?
If the dog barks
“dog” is the subject and “barks” is the predicate.
What is the culprit for why this DSC is not a complete sentence? What is the culprit doing?
If the dog barks
The culprit is the subordinating conjunction: “If.” The culprit sets the expectation for more information to follow.
The following is an example of what?
The barking dog
This is a phrase.
What is the gerund acting as in the phrase?
The barking dog
The gerund barking - is also acting as an adjective.
Why is “The barking dog” considered to be a phrase and not a clause?
There is no verb to form a predicate.
Sentences are classified as one of what four main types?
- simple
- compound
- complex
- compound-complex
The most effective composition makes use of what?
Varying sentence structure, as this keeps readers engaged with the text rather than lulling them with repetition.
A simple sentence is composed of what?
An IC which contains a subject and a predicate.
A simple sentence may also contain what?
It may also contain one or more phrases attached to the IC.
Besides a verb, what else in combination with a verb can a predicate contain?
The verb can be combined with another part of speech like the direct object, indirect object, or subject complement.
What are the different parts of speech for the following sentence?
I am a writer.
I = subject
am = verb
a writer = subject complement
What are the different parts of speech for the following sentence?
I write books.
I = subject
write = verb
books = direct object
What are the different parts of speech for the following sentence?
I write books for children
subject = I
verb = books
direct object = books
prepositional phrase (includes the indirect object) = for children
What are the different parts of speech for the following sentence?
Without books, weekends would be unbearable.
adverbial phrase = without books
subject = weekends
verb = would be
subject complement = unbearable
The compound sentence is composed of what?
The compound sentence is composed of two or more ICs.
What kind of clause does a compound sentence not have?
Compound sentences do not have subordinate clauses.
What are the three ways in which ICs are joined together?
They’re joined with a semicolon, or with a comma and coordinating conjunction.
Coordinating conjunctions connect what?
Equal grammatical elements
The following sentence is an example of what:
I love to write poetry; it serves as therapy.
It is a compound sentence with a semicolon.
The following is an example of what:
It is easy to write, but writing well requires dedication.
A compound sentence with a comma and coordinating conjunction.
A complex sentence is composed of what?
One IC with at least one subordinating conjunction.
How are SCs attached to an IC?
By using a subordinating conjunction - the subordinating clause is attached to the IC.
Subordinating conjunctions connect what?
Unequal grammatical elements.
Why are the grammatical elements unequal?
Because the subordinating conjunction forms a dependent relationship between an independent element and a subordinate one.
What is the IC and SC in the following:
If you love to read, join your local library.
SC = If you love to read
IC = join your local library.
What is the IC and SC in the following:
We studied the basics of composition which made us more effective writers.
IC = We studied the basics of composition
SC = which made us more effective writers.
Complex sentences and be arranged in what two ways?
As the name implies what does this compound-complex sentence do?
This type of sentence combines a compound sentence and a complex sentence.
What must a compound-complex sentence contain?
The compound-complex sentence must contain least two ICs and one or more SCs.
In terms of clauses, what are all the different clauses within this following sentence?
A = dependent clause
B = independent clause
C = independent clause
In terms of clauses, what are all the different clauses within this following sentence?
A = independent clause
B = dependent clause
C = independent clause
When it comes to the types of sentences what are the four most common errors that are made with sentence structure?
- sentence fragments SF
- run-on sentences Ro
- dangling modifiers DM
- misplaced modifiers MM
What are the two kinds of sentence fragments?
- dependent clause fragments
- phrase fragments
What are the ways in which sentence fragments result in some means of incompleteness?
A sentence fragment often results from a lack of subject and/or predicate.
What are the two primary key indicators of a sentence fragment?
The dependent clause being punctuated like a sentence is one key indicator. The other is when a phrase tries to stand alone.
What are the two kinds of phrases that often try to stand alone in a sentence fragment?
Both a prepositional phrase and a verbal phrase.