NAME: ______________________________________________ HOUR: ________
Ms. Parker’s Grammar Camp: Sentence Structure
PART ONE: VERBS
Exercise 1.1: Indicate whether the verb is an action verb or helping/linking verb:
1. develop
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
4. is
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
7. explore
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
2. understand
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
5. was
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
8. appear
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
3. must have been
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
6. see
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
9. should be
a. action verb
b. helping or linking verb
Exercise 1.2: Underline the verb phrase in each sentence below:
Example: She was walking quickly to the mall.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
He should wait before going diving.
Those girls are not trying very hard.
Ted might eat the cake.
You must go right now.
You can't eat that!
6. My mother is fixing us some dinner.
7. Words were spoken.
8. These cards may be worth hundreds!
9. The teacher is writing a report.
10. You have woken up everyone in the house.
Exercise 1.3: Underline the nouns and circle the verbs in the paragraph below:
The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day;
the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the
village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten
o’clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to
be started on June 20th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people,
the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o’clock in the morning and
still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.
NAME: ______________________________________________ HOUR: ________
Ms. Parker’s Grammar Camp: Sentence Structure
PART TWO: BASIC SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Important Notes from PPT:
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Exercise 2:1: Underline the subject in each sentence:
1. The children assembled first, of course.
2. School was recently over for the summer.
3. The feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them.
4. They tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play,
and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands.
5. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon
followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones.
6. Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix eventually made a great pile of stones in one
corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys.
7. The girls stood aside, talking among themselves, looking over their shoulders at the boys,
and the very small children rolled in the dust or clung to the hands of their older siblings.
NAME: ______________________________________________ HOUR: ________
Ms. Parker’s Grammar Camp: Sentence Structure
Exercise 2:2: Underline the predicate in each sentence:
1. I want a new car.
2. James is nice.
3. The sun is moving.
4. Max wrote the letter.
5. The letter was written by Max.
6. The farmers are plowing the field.
7. Billy Reynolds is an amazing baseball player.
8. The storm clouds are getting darker.
9. Dogs, cats, and turtles make the best pets.
10. The stern judge ruled that the defendant was not guilty.
Exercise 2:3: Underline the object(s) in each sentence:
1. The young man threw the rock.
2. Juan kicked the ball.
3. Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence.
4. Richard Wright wrote Native Son.
5. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
6. I gave my girlfriend a rose.
7. Lisa told her niece a story.
8. Bruce sang a ballad to his countrymen.
9. Christian bought Elizabeth a watch.
10. Joshua built Emma a fence.
NAME: ______________________________________________ HOUR: ________
Ms. Parker’s Grammar Camp: Sentence Structure
PART THREE: TOTALLY NOT SCARY PREPOSITIONS
Important Notes from PPT:
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Exercise 3:1: Cross out each preposition that cannot be used in the following sentence:
The frog jumped ____________ the log.
aboard
about
above
across
after
against
along
amid
among
anti
around
as
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
but
by
concerning
considering
despite
down
during
except
excepting
excluding
following
for
from
in
inside
into
like
minus
near
of
off
on
onto
opposite
outside
over
past
per
plus
regarding
round
save
since
than
through
to
toward
towards
under
underneath
unlike
until
up
upon
versus
via
with
within
without
NAME: ______________________________________________ HOUR: ________
Ms. Parker’s Grammar Camp: Sentence Structure
Exercise 3.2: please indicate whether the underlined word is the PREPOSITION (P) or
the OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION (O).
Examples:
on the waterfront
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
at the beach
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
1. We eat salad together
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
4. the mice in the attic
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
7. beneath the waves
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
2. since Jane left for work
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
5. if only we had known
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
8. to the moon and back.
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
3. in our most recent story
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
6. regarding your interview
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
9. at the time of his arrival
a. Preposition
b. Object of the preposition
* Exercise 3.3: please circle the prepositional phrase(s) in each sentence.
1. The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now
resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in
town, was born.
2. Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to
upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.
3. There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that
had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to
make a village here.
4. Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every
year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything's being done.
5. The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but
splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded
or stained.
NAME: ______________________________________________ HOUR: ________
Ms. Parker’s Grammar Camp: Sentence Structure
PART FOUR: SLIGHTLY SCARIER SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Important Notes from PPT:
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Exercise 4.1: each incomplete sentence below can be made into a complete sentence (an
independent clause) by removing one or more words. Cross out the word(s) necessary to make
each item an independent clause. Watch out! Some sentences may already be complete, and
some may not have an independent clause.
Example: but she never made it past the first hurdle
1. my pride was hurt because
2. if several of the flowers show signs of damage
3. we stopped for gas at
4. the car rusted from the
5. only those who seek adventure will find it within
6. asking if we will go back to work
7. although he is talented in the carpentry business
8. when passionate people love their jobs
9. he came back into the room after his dog
10. it’s fine to eat all of the candy except
NAME: ______________________________________________ HOUR: ________
Ms. Parker’s Grammar Camp: Sentence Structure
Exercise 4.2: determine if each clause is independent (I) or dependent (D).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
___ Marsha talked to Paul
___ since last July when the storm hit
___ she was reading the letter
___ he drove the car inside
___ it didn’t happen to me
___ while the Romans marched
___ on the field sat the drum line
8. ___ when she was three
9. ___ as we climbed the stairs
10. ___ while the cake was done
11. ___ the pony ran away
12. ___ we accepted the award
13. ___ if the train rolls in tomorrow
14. ___ since most people hate spiders
Exercise 4.3: determine if each item is an independent clause (I), dependent clause (D), or a
phrase (P).
1. ____ after the dance
16. ____ out of the road
2. ____ after the dance was over
17. ____ hoping for rain
3. ____ if I had known
18. ____ who is my best friend
4. ____ when the story began
19. ____ opening the door
5. ____ slipping on ____ the ice
20. ____ the door was open
6. ____ I didn’t expect it
21. ____ since the door was open
7. ____ as the women walked along
22. ____ she strutted with pride
8. ____ in the next store
23. ____ the Anglo-Saxons ruled
9. ____ during the Middle Ages
24. ____ I think so
10. ____ because you didn’t arrive
25. ____ because he was happy
11. ____ while the storm raged
26. ____ Marsha talked to Paul
12. ____ before she knew it
27. ____ under the tree
13. ____ we were in the house
28. ____ since last July
14. ____ along with her parents
29. ____ reading the letter
15. ____ although we didn’t go
30. ____ he drove the car