By: Angélica Guerra, MS
Greater Miami Adventist Academy
A sentence is a group of words that expresses a
complete thought . It starts with a capital letter.
TYPES:
Declarative: Makes a statement, ends with a
period.
Interrogative: Asks a questions, ends with a
question mark.
Exclamatory: Shows strong feeling, ends with an
exclamation mark.
Imperative: Gives a command OR makes a request,
ends with a period or an exclam. mark.
 Every
sentence has 2 parts – the SUBJECT
and the PREDICATE.
SUBJECT: Who or what the sentence is about.
PREDICATE: What the subject is, has, does, or
feels.
COMPLETE S & P
ALL the words in the S are the Complete Subject.
ALL the words in the P are the Complete Predicate.
Contains a VERB or VERB PHRASE + all the
words that complete the meaning of the
sentence.
SIMPLE S & P
 The
MAIN word (or words) in the S is the
Simple Subject.
Usually a NOUN or PRONOUN
 The
MAIN word (or words) in the P is the
Simple Predicate.
Always a VERB or VERB PHRASE
COMPLETE SUBJECT & PREDICATE
The chef in the Italian restaurant by
my house always sings “The
Wedding of Figaro.”
SIMPLE SUBJECT & PREDICATE
Chef sings.
•
Natural Order Sentences: When the subject
comes before the predicate. Most sentences
are like this.
A butterfly was flying over the bushes.
•
Inverted Order Sentences: When the subject
FOLLOWS all or part of the predicate.
Over the bushes a butterfly was flying.
Flying over the bushes was a butterfly.
Over the bushes was a butterfly flying.
ETC.
Find the verb; ask who or what
does the action, and rearrange
the sentence so it will be in
natural order.
 Under


the table are my shoes.
Here is the most-looked-for criminal in
America.
(Sentences that start with HERE or
THERE are always inverted!)
When do the players come out?
 It
expresses ONE complete idea. (It has
subject and predicate.)
The fastest man in the world won the gold medal.
It may have:
•
•
•
a compound subject – (Lucy, Peter, and their dog
play frisbee.)
a compound predicate – (My mom cleans the house
and washes clothes.)
both – (The captain, the first mate, and the rest of
the crew wear life vests and practice a drill.)
If
different subjects
are doing the same
action, you can write a
comp. subject
sentence.
Ana is playing soccer. The
boys are playing soccer
too.
Ana and the boys are
playing soccer.
If the same subject is
doing several actions,
you can write a comp.
predicate sentence.
At home, John eats.
At home, he also sleeps.
And at home, he studies.
At home, John eats,
sleeps, and studies.
Coordinating Conj.
Correlative Conj.
 AND
 Conjunctions
– joining similar
ideas
 BUT – contrast or
difference between
ideas
 OR – choice between
ideas
used in
PAIRS
 They make a stronger
connection
 EX:
both … and
either … or
neither … nor
whether … or
Conjunctions are used to connect words or
groups of words that have the SAME function in a
sentence. (Used in Compd. Subject, Compd. Predicate,
Compd. Modifier, Compd. Sentence)
expresses TWO OR MORE complete
ideas that are equal in importance.
 The
Vietnam War was a military conflict that
lasted from 1955 to 1975, and almost fifty
thousand Americans died.
 The
Vietnam War was a military conflict that
lasted from 1955 to 1975; almost fifty thousand
Americans died.
 Add
a comma and
a coordinating
conjunction (and/or/but)
,and
,or
,but

Add a
semicolon
;
NOW YOU TRY IT!!! Follow the directions.
You CAN divide it into TWO separate
sentences.
Steven cut his finger with the
knife, but he is OK.

1. Steven cut his finger with the
knife.

2. He is OK. (Notice that each sentence

has a subject and a
predicate.)
 is
a sentence that contains TWO parts –
* an independent clause: a part of the
sentence that CAN stand on its own.
* a subordinating (or dependent)
clause:
a part of the sentence that is LESS
important because it CAN NOT stand
on its own.
 Subordinating
 Independent
 When
I
Clause:
much
I eat too
(What happens?)
Clause:
feel sluggish.
(This is a complete
thought.)
If it is at the BEGINNING:
Follow it by a comma(,).
Before breakfast, I pray.
If it is in the MIDDLE of
the sentence:
DO NOT add a comma.
I pray before
breakfast.
Continuation: COMPLEX SENTENCES
after
although
as
as if
as long as
because
before
if
since
so that
unless
until
when
whenever
where
whereas
wherever
while
ETC.
 My
Dalmatian chewed its bone.
 Dr. Ryans visits her patient.
 Ana will go to the mall.
 The old man dances well.
FRAGMENT
 Doesn’t
express a complete thought
 Missing subject OR predicate
 Leaves questions unanswered
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 FIX
IT by providing what’s missing.
FRAGMENT: When I get home.
SENTENCE: I will eat when I get home.
Two or more sentences that run together with
commas OR without any punctuation.
-----------------------FIX IT by making 2 separate sentences,
a compound sentence, or a complex
sentence.
Run-On: Manny cooks dinner, Lucy walks the dog.
• Manny cooks dinner. Lucy walks the dog.
• Manny cooks dinner, and Lucy walks the dog.
• Manny cooks dinner while Lucy walks the dog.