Sentence Writing Strategy Notes
Junior/Senior
English
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence that has
one Independent clause.
Gloria rode her bike.
Independent Clause
• A group of words that:
– 1. makes a complete statement.
– 2. has a subject and a predicate.
James drove his car to work.
Subject of a Sentence
• Nouns
– Person: Jon went for a walk
– Place: Towns are quiet after a snowfall.
– Thing: Eggs rolled off the counter.
– Quality: Silence is golden
– Idea: Peace is at hand.
The Predicate(verb) of Sentence
• The predicate (verb) shows the
1. State of being
2. Action
Physical: Sally sneezed.
Mental Action: John thinks.
State of being: Jesse is my friend.
Dependent Clause
…a group of words with a subject and predicate
that cannot stand alone.
1. I like Sally because she is funny.
2. Kathy will be late for dinner since the
meeting is still in progress.
3. The game will end when one team scores.
Compound Sentence
...has two or more independent clauses joined
by a coordinating conjunction.
Examples:
1. The students finished class, and they went to
lunch.
2. Kevin did not want to hurt Kathy’s feelings, so
he said nothing about her mistake.
Complex Sentence
…one independent clause and one or more
dependent clauses.
After the football game, Margie went home for
the night.
When the sun goes down, the weather gets
colder.
Comma Rules
1. Items in a list.
 I went to the store to buy oranges, apples, and
cherries.
2. Multiple Adjectives.
 I prefer to write with a sharp, yellow pencil
3. Introductory words/phrases
 Suddenly, I heard the sirens go off.
4. Interrupters: needs 2 commas, when taken out of
sentence, it still is a complete sentence.
 However, I believe, in fact, yes, no
Comma Rules (cont.)
Mrs. Pagel, however, forgot to bring in the candy
for class.
5. Compound sentences using coordinating
conjunctions: use one comma to join two
independent clauses.
 FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but or, yet, so
 I went to the hockey game, and the team won
in overtime.