Fundamentals in the Sentence Writing Strategy
University of Kansas
•5 things every
complete
English
sentence needs.
Mark out the imposters.
•Infinitive
•Prepositional phrase
Ask if there is a verb.
•Action
•Linking
Root out the subject.
Who or What __________?
(Person, place, thing, idea)
Key in on the beginning, ending,
and meaning.
See if there is an Adverb
How
When
What
Where
Frequency
Nouns/Subjects
• Person
• Place
• Thing
• Idea
• (boy, girl, he, I, mom, man,
teacher, student, fireman)
• (store, house, farm, forest,
street, gym)
• (ball, hat, tree, window, car,
chair, computer)
• (peace, friendship, marriage,
politics, happiness, sorrow)
Common Nouns
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
woman
boy
building
actress
movie
shoe
city
state
book
Proper Nouns
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
California
Hanna Montana
John
Lexington
Ms. Arnold
Three Little Pigs
Jacob Hall
Happy Feet
Reebok
Body: sleep, jump, play,
run, cry, look, hit, kiss,
drink, blink, eat, sign, talk
Mind: think, want, like, hate,
love, dream, imagine, desire,
need, wish, wonder, fear, believe
Examples:
Body:
Mind:
The dog jumped.
I want to play.
She kissed the boy.
He fears roller coasters.
I play checkers.
I dream of flowers.
My brother will eat a taco.
My mom wishes for a new car.
He hit a pole.
They wonder about the future.
Don’t drink the water.
I imagine a bright tomorrow.
An adjective is a word that describes or tells more about a noun.
Examples
That is a big dog.
That dog is big.
Mr. McClain is a crazy teacher.
It is freezing cold outside.
The yellow bus has a tire that is flat.
My best friend has a happy dog.
The loud train is late.
I saw many people at the new store.
The ball is red.
That is a red ball.
The blue car is fast.
My silly friend is happy.
She is a nice person.
He is sad about his old bike.
The box is heavy.
The fat cat is hungry.
I am very late to the teacher meeting.
The balloon is thin and long.
The verb that links the subject / noun to
another word that describes the subject.
Bob is ugly.
I am hungry.
SUB
ADJ/Noun/PP
Am
Was
Are
Were
Is
Seem
Seemed
Students are hungry.
You seem sad.
Bob has been happy.
Bob was ugly.
She seemed hungry.
Students were hungry.
Be
You became sad.
Been
Bob will be ugly.
Become
Became
Present
Tense
Bob will become ugly.
I will be hungry.
Students will seem crazy.
Past
Tense
Future
Tense
Other linking verbs.
appear, feel, grow, smell,
become, look, seem, sound,
remain, stay, taste
Bob seems nice.
The banana is yellow.
The bananas are yellow.
The cups are on the table.
The truck has been broken.
I was happy.
We were happy.
The monkeys became happy.
The weather seemed nice.
Bob will be ten on his birthday.
Bob will become ten on his birthday.
The toy will be fun.
The toys will be fun.
The students will seem crazy.
A group of words that show place or time.
Example: in, of, for, with, on,
over, beside
The boy walked under the table.
The boy walked on the table.
The boy walked beside the table.
The boy walked over the table.
The boy walked since yesterday.
The boy walked during a race.
An infinitive is usually two words: the
word “to” in front of an action verb
Examples: to ride, to sleep, to eat,
to kiss, to think
I want to play outside.
I went to the store.
Mary hopes to win the soccer game.
John is going to school.
We went to the mall to buy new shoes.
Nancy will go to Florida tomorrow.
To get an ‘A’ in English class is great!
The class is going to lunch.
The best way to get an ‘A’ is to do your
homework.
We are going to the mall!
Time of the verb.
Tense is shown by endings, by
helping verbs, or by both.
Three common tenses:
past, present, and future.
Words that help the
main verb to show
the action of the
sentence.
are also Linking Verbs.
are States of Being.
Fred can jump two chairs.
Fred will jump two chairs.
Fred did jump two chairs.
I do like ice cream.
We will go to the basketball game.
Were is Mary going after school?
Girls are talking to friends.
Boys were playing rough!
What should I ask for my birthday?
I am thinking about summer vacation.
Mary might like to go swimming.
An adverb tells you…
how, when, where, how much, and frequency
an action is performed.
Adds to the verb!
Bill runs fast.
Can you jump quietly?
Fred likes ice cream a lot.
Can you smile seriously?
Nancy carefully jumped in the pool.
Can you laugh a little?
I will happily dance with you now.
Can you hit me easily?
The boy loudly ate the pie.
Can you dance sleepily?
The girl ate the pie quietly.
Can you run lazily?
I eat pie everyday!
Can you sit quickly?
She always laughs sleepily.
Please read …
• Subject Pronouns – used as the subject
of a sentence.
• I can never remember jokes
• They really make people laugh.
Singular: I, you, he, she, it
Plural : we, you, they
• Object Pronouns- used after an action
verb or in a prepositional phrase.
• Mr. Lange teases me. (after verb)
• My friends made a funny card for him. (PP)
• Singular: me, you, him, her, it
• Plural: us, you, them
• Possessive Pronouns – shows ownership
• John finished writing his story. (before noun)
• The idea for it was mine. (alone)
• Before a noun: my, you, his, her, its, our, their
• Stand alone: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
The Stupid ‘S’ Rule.
The subject and the verb of a sentence
must agree!
Singular noun agrees with a singular verb.
ONE
S
EX: The boy
V
Yes S
eats.
Plural noun agrees with a plural verb.
Many
S
EX: The boys
V
eat.
No S
I
We
You
They
==
________________________
subject
plural subject
verb
He
She
It
S
==
subject
single subject
________________________
verb
Examples…
I eat lunch before dinner.
He eats lunch before dinner.
The boy ______________ his spelling words.
The dogs __________________ at the moon.
We sit in class.
She sits in class.
You like red, but you do not like blue.
She likes red, but she does not like blue.
They ______________________ far and fast.
It __________________________ far and fast.
He ______________________ in a bed.
We _______________________ in a chair.