Identify & Punctuate

Let’s Review:
Is it a Clause, Sentence, or Phrase?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
He gets a better salary.
Since he is now a manager.
The festival will be held tomorrow unless it rains.
As long as you have that chain saw.
Let’s cut some wood.

Let’s Review: Sentences, Clauses, Phrases
 A clause contains at least one subject and one verb; clauses may or may not form a complete thought… more on that later!
 A sentence contains at least one independent clause , expresses a complete thought, begins with a capital letter, and ends with an end punctuation mark.
 A phrase contains two or more words, but do not include a subject/verb pair needed to make a clause.

 REMEMBER: A phrase contains two or more words, but does not include a subject/verb pair needed to make a clause.
 There are several types of phrases, depending on their function in a sentence:
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
Noun Phrase
Verb Phrase
 Prepositional Phrase


Infinitive Phrase
Gerund Phrase


Participle Phrase
Absolute Phrase

 Noun phrases function as subjects, objects, or complements:
 The fuzzy calico cat played with the ball.
 Verb phrases is a multi-word verb:
 Peggy should have been painting her project, but she was sleeping.
 Prepositional phrases start with a preposition and ends with an object of the preposition:
 Jack eats his cereal with a fork and his steak with a spoon.
 Infinitive phrases begin with an infinitive (to + simple verb)
 I hoped to send the gift before her birthday.

 Gerund phrases begin with a gerund (-ing word) and ALWAYS function as a noun:
 Susie tried holding her slippery pet ferret, but it was too late.
The ferret got away.
 Participle phrases will begin with a present (-ing) or past (-ed) participle and ALWAYS function as an adjective:
 Bob likes his nachos covered in melted cheese.
 The students lining up for lunch were unusually quiet.
 Absolute phrases combines a noun and a participle:
 Her hair blowing in the wind, Marta rode her bike down the steep hill.

1.
Ismene, the youngest daughter of Oedipus, pleaded with
Antigone, her sister, not to break Creon’s laws.
2.
Antigone buried her brother’s body under the cover of a wind and sand storm.
3.
Fearing he might lose the respect of his people, Creon sentenced Antigone to death.
4.
Haemon challenged his father’s decision to send
Antigone, Haemon’s fiancee, to the cave to die.

 Use a comma to separate introductory elements (word, phrase, subordinate clause) from the main clause:

To avoid being eaten by a Great White shark, you should swim only in the pools.
 Use a comma to separate an interrupter from the sentence it divides:

Okonkwo beat Ojiugo , his youngest wife, during the
Week of Peace.

1.
In the final chapter of Things Fall Apart Okonkwo takes his own life.
2.
Wheezing like an old dog the final runner reached the finish line.
3.
Carla the hardest working student in class scored an
A+ on her physics exam.
4.
As a result Carla’s mother bought her a new car.

Let’s Practice:
Punctuating Phrases & Clauses
1.
At this time the Seahawks are competing for the Super
Bowl.
2.
Since our school has a swimming pool we can swim at certain times.
3.
When he was away someone broke into his house.
4.
Adam my older brother won a medal in archery.
5.
In the meantime could we take a nap?

Identifying & Punctuating Phrases

Identify & Avoid

 REMEMBER: A sentence contains at least one independent clause , expresses a complete thought, begins with a capital letter, and ends with an end punctuation mark.
 If your sentence has too much or too little, you MIGHT have a run-on or a fragment…

Run-On
 Contains 2 or more independent (main) clauses joined together
INCORRECTLY.
 There are two types of runons:


Comma Splice
Fused Sentence
Fragment
 Is missing one of the three essential parts of a complete sentence:



Subject
Verb
Complete Thought
 Just because a “sentence” has a capital letter and end punctuation DOES NOT guarantee that it is a complete sentence.

 A comma splice incorrectly joins two independent (main) clauses with a comma:
At the doctor’s office I met someone, he was an old school friend.
 A fused sentence has two main clauses joined with no punctuation at all:
The horse kicked the rider was thrown to the ground.

1.
Lou had been gone for a week, and now he is home.
2.
Mindy and Lisa went to the movies they saw the new horror film.
3.
The bus stops every fifteen minutes, I don’t have long to wait.
4.
They serve good meals here , including spaghetti and meatballs.

 REMEMBER: A fragment resembles a sentence because it starts with a capital letter and ends with end punctuation. However, a
fragment is missing either a subject, a verb, or a complete thought.
 Don’t let the length of sentence fool you:
The boy sitting on the bleachers, with a soda and a bag of peanuts in his hand.
After Wanda ate a whole box of chocolate covered cherries.
Under the mango tree.
How would you fix these fragments?

1.
Unless he comes soon.
2.
We finished our test.
3.
Let’s try some new games this weekend.
4.
Because the match was so exciting.
5.
Since we planned the party together.

Identifying & Fixing Run-Ons and Fragments

Simple, Compound, Complex, Compound-Complex

 A simple sentence has one independent clause.
This sentence is a simple sentence.
 A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS).
This is a compound sentence , and I am so happy.
 A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. A dependent clause starts with a subordinating conjunction.
This is a complex sentence because it fits the definition of a complex sentence.
What do you think a compound-complex sentence must have?

1.
Jack is an car enthusiast. He is going to an antique car show this Saturday.
2.
Our house was damaged. It was a windstorm. The house had to have a new roof.
3.
Sasha made cookies yesterday. They were delicious. We are them all.
4.
We will start class. The bell has rung.

Punctuating Compound & Complex
Sentences
 When combining sentences to make a compound sentence, use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS):
Molly had a great time at the dance , but Jim did not.
 You can also use a semicolon in place of the comma and
FANBOY, but not both:
Molly had a great time at the dance ; Jim did not.

Punctuating Compound & Complex
Sentences
 In a complex sentence, if the dependent clause comes at the beginning, you must put a comma after it:
Since Garrett is joining the team
, we need to order another uniform.
 If the dependent clause comes after the independent (main) clause, you do not need to separate them with a comma:
We need to order another uniform since Garrett is joining the team.

Combining & Correcting Sentences