A Grammatical Look at Syntax
Clause
• Definition: A grammatical unit that contains a
subject and a verb/predicate
Examples:
“I followed, reluctantly”
“Donna was a senior and the best twirler on the
team”
“when she announced”
“I began to like her”
“Although Mom applied crushed aspirin directly to
the puncture”
“We paused on the crest”
Independent Clause
• Expresses a complete thought and can stand
on its own as a sentence.
Examples:
“I followed, reluctantly.”
“Donna was a senior and the best twirler on the
team.”
“I began to like her.”
“We paused on the crest.”
Dependent/Subordinate Clause
Definition: A clause that cannot stand on its own as
a sentence and must be accompanied by an
independent clause.
Examples:
“When she announced”
“Although Mom applied crushed aspirin directly to
the puncture”
“When I stumbled into the kitchen”
“If you don’t panic”
Coordinating Conjunctions
• When identifying clauses, ignore coordinating
conjunctions: AND, BUT, OR, NOR, YET,
EITHER-OR, NEITHER-NOR
Example:
“Mom dropped me off at the edge of the field
and I limped to the bleachers to watch.”
What are the two independent clauses in this
sentence?
Subordinating Conjunctions
• When identifying subordinate/dependent
clauses do look for and include
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: Before,
after, although, as, if, because, how, since,
than, though, unless, until, when, whenever,
where, wherever, while.
Examples: Tears shot into my eyes when we
maneuvered the boot on.
You don’t know pain until you do the hill.
Relative Pronouns
• When identifying subordinate/dependent
clauses do look for and include RELATIVE
PRONOUNS: THAT, WHICH, WHO, WHAT,
WHOEVER, WHICHEVER.
• Examples: Mr. Lavezzo, who teaches at
Tamalpais High School, has four children.
• The bike that Shane left in the rain began to
rust.
Sentences Classified by Grammatical
Structure
• A simple sentence contains one independent
clause.
• A compound sentence contains more than one
independent clause.
• A complex sentence contains one independent
clause and at least subordinate clause.
• A compound-complex sentence contains more
than one independent clause and at least one
dependent clause.
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence contains one independent
clause.
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It was a perfect lesson.
It was the flavor of Puerto Rico.
My father’s uncle is last in line.
All family meals were eaten in the nook.
We went to the new high school.
Compound Sentences
A compound sentence contains more than one
independent clause.
• “Mom dropped me off at the edge of the field
and I limped to the bleachers to watch.”
• “You can always get warm, but it’s hard to stay
cool.”
• “Perspiration trickled down my temples and
collected under my jaw, but I held still.”
Complex Sentences
A complex sentence contains one independent
clause and at least subordinate clause
• “You don’t know pain until you do the hill.”
• “If she could suffer, so could I.”
• “When I stumbled into the kitchen, Mom lit
into action, popping ice cubes into a pail of
water.”
Compound-Complex Sentences
A compound-complex sentence contains more
than one independent clause and at least one
dependent clause.
• “The neighborhood buzzed, my mother
beamed, the president of the local NAACP
chapter came up after church to shake my
hand; even my father, usually dismissive of
nonintellectual pursuits, pulled out his camera
as I struck a few poses in the driveway.”
Loose Sentence
Begins with main idea/Main independent clause
• We would be tired at night and lie down in the
accumulated heat of the little bedrooms after the
long hot day and the breeze would stir almost
imperceptibly outside and the smell of the
swamp drift in through the rusty screens.
Periodic Sentence
• Main idea is at the end, near the period.
• As he buckled the swollen belt suddenly my
groin felt the chill of death.
Sentences According to Function
• Four sentence types according to function:
1) Declarative
2) Interrogative
3) Imperative
4) Exclamatory
Declarative Sentence
Function: Makes a statement.
Example: There had been no years.
Interrogative Sentence
Function: Asks a question.
Examples: Why did I write it down? In order to
remember, of course, but exactly what was it I
wanted to remember? How much of it actually
happened? Did any of it? Why keep a notebook
at all?
Imperative Sentence
Function: Gives advice. Makes a suggestion.
Issues an order, command, or request.
Example: My fellow citizens of the world: ask
not what America will do for you, but what
together we can do for the freedom of man.
Exclamatory Sentence
Function: Expresses strong feeling.
Example: If only I had a girlfriend!