Ross
AP English 11
Name:
Grammar #1: Adding clarity, elegance, and beauty to your work
Day #1
Topic: Complete Sentences
The complete sentence is the basic currency of writing. The complete simple sentence gives little detail,
but it can be used effectively to convey a short, powerful message. You must understand what makes a
sentence complete in order to begin your journey to your true voice.
Part I - Answer the following questions about complete sentences.
1.
What are the two parts of a complete sentence?
__________________
_________________
2.
Finish this definition: The subject of a sentence tells
3.
Finish this definition: The predicate of a sentence tells
4.
The subject of a sentence always comes from two parts of speech. The parts of speech that can
be a subject are _________ and __________.
5.
a.
A ___________ is a
b.
A ___________ is a
The predicate of a sentence always contains a word from one part of speech. The part of speech
that a predicate must contain is a _________.
a.
Action ________
i. .
ii. .
iii. .
iv. .
v. .
b. State of being _________
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Part II – In each of the following sentences, underline the subject and circle the verb that starts the
predicate.
1.
Ryan drove fifteen hours to see Selena Gomez sacrificed to the volcano gods.
2.
The dog ate poop off of the ground, which was awesome gross.
3.
Scott was totally shocked when he woke up the day after his wedding and realized that his wife
was actually a sandwich.
4.
Five tiny Australians were arrested for scalping tickets to the Kangaroo Death Match last week.
5.
Korrina loved to dip her French fries into her chocolate shake.
Part III – Complete, simple sentences convey little detail, but they can be used effectively to make
declarative, definitive statements. There can be beauty in brevity.
For this section, you will write basic sentences about yourself. This sentence must use an action verb to
convey a core truth about you.
Example: I _______.
 My core truth statement: I collect comic books and own over 25,000 issues.
1.
I
Now, you will write a simple sentence that uses a state-of-being verb to declare some truth about
yourself.
Example: I _______ ________.
 My core truth statement: I am afraid that I will poop myself in public when I get old.
2.
I
Part IV – Good writers manipulate sentence structure to add clarity, power, and elegance to their writing.
They purposely pick a type of sentence to fit a moment in a story. For this section (and all year in your bell
work), you will use simple, complete sentences to begin the story of two people who are falling in love.
Over the course of the year, using different sentence types, you will write their story. You will determine if
this love story ends happily or in tears.
Write three simple, complete sentences that tell how Brian and Cara meet. Since we know that they will
fall in love, try to convey the truth of the moment. (NOTE: You are free to change the names. You can
have Brian and Carl fall in love. You can also have Bree and Cara fall in love. Whatever floats your boat.)
Example: Brian caught Cara as she tripped into his arms. An embarrassed smile fluttered from her face to
his eyes. He felt the pull of gravity for the first time in his life.
1.
Grammar #1: Adding clarity, elegance, and beauty to your work
Day #2
Topic: Complete Sentences – Simple subjects, compound subjects, and noun phrases
A complete sentence must contain a subject and a predicate. Some subjects are simple subjects, meaning
they have one person, place, or thing that the sentence is about. Some subjects are compound subjects,
which means that they have more than one person, place, or thing that the sentence is about. Some
subjects are noun phrases, which means the subject contains the noun and all of the words that describe
it.
It is easy to identify the subject of a sentence. Just ask yourself who or what is doing the action of the
sentence.
Example simple subject: The old woman bit Mr. Ross and sent him to the hospital.
 In this sentence, “the old woman” is the subject, since it bit Mr. Ross.
Example compound subject: The dancer and the singer fought to the death.
 In this sentence, “the dancer and the singer” make up the compound subject,
since they are both fighting to the death.
Example noun phrase subject: The purple dinosaur that hosts the TV show shocked the world
when he announced that he was going to kill a kid in his audience unless he was given a million
dollars in quarters.
 In this sentence, “the purple dinosaur that hosts the TV show” is the entire
subject. It is a noun phrase because it contains the noun (dinosaur) and all the
words that describe that noun.
 NOTE: You know that “the purple dinosaur that hosts the TV show” is the entire
subject because otherwise, any purple dinosaur could announce that he was
going to kill a kid. It isn’t just any purple dinosaur, however, it is the one that
hosts the TV show.
Part I – Underline the entire subject in each of the following sentences.
1. The junior dancer who accidentally poisoned the entire Core Intensive class had to clean the
courtyard for an entire month.
2.
Mr. Trentacoste swore that he would never go back to prison.
3.
Mr. Steinert and Mr. Hawkins were both once contestants on Wipeout.
4.
The love of Amber’s life walked into the room and said, “Hello.”
5.
My cousin’s leg was gnawed off by Amanda Bynes.
6.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson tragically died in a freak cotton candy accident.
7.
The three thousand dogs that escaped from the Humane Society each ran to Emma’s house because
it was shaped like a tennis ball.
Part II – Complete, simple sentences convey little detail, but they can be used effectively to make
declarative, definitive statements. There can be beauty in brevity.
For this section, you will write basic sentences about yourself. This sentence must use a noun phrase and
an action verb to convey a core truth about you.
Example: I _______.
 My core truth statement: The greatest tragedy in my life pushed me to become the man
I am today.
3.
Now, you will write a simple sentence that uses a noun phrase and a state-of-being verb to declare some
truth about yourself.
Example: I _______ ________.
 My core truth statement: The only tattoo I have ever considered getting is a ring
containing the Hebrew names of my family.
4.
Part III – Good writers manipulate sentence structure to add clarity, power, and elegance to their writing.
They purposely pick a type of sentence to fit a moment in a story. For this section (and all year in your bell
work), you will use simple, complete sentences to continue the story of two people who are falling in love.
Over the course of the year, using different sentence types, you will write their story. You will determine if
this love story ends happily or in tears.
Write three simple, complete sentences to continue the story of Brian and Cara’s first meeting. Since we
know that they will fall in love, try to convey the truth of the moment. One of your sentences must have
a simple subject, one must have a compound subject, and one must use a noun phrase as a subject.
Example: Cara and Brian collided. Cara didn’t notice the man who caught her. Her fear that she would be
late to meet Joe kept her from stopping to even thank him. The throbbing presence of his heart in his
throat stopped Brian from calling out to her as she walked hurriedly away.
1.
Grammar #1: Adding clarity, elegance, and beauty to your work
Day #3
Topic: Complete Sentences – Identifying the verb in the predicate
A complete sentence must contain a subject and a predicate. The subject tells who or what the sentence
is about. The predicate tells what the subject is doing or what state of being he/she/it is currently in. A
predicate must contain a verb, which is a part of speech that indicates action or state of being.
Some common action verbs are run, walk, drink, eat, laugh, love, fear, and burp.
Example: Ben burped the alphabet on his first date with Rheanna.
Ben is the subject of the sentence, and he burped, which is the action he took in the
sentence.
Some common state-of-being verbs are is, are, was, be, am, and were.
Example: Annika is so hungry that she could eat another cat.
Annika is the subject of the sentence, and her current state of being is hungry.
NOTE: An easy way to find the verb that starts the predicate is to look for the first verb after the subject.
Part I – Underline the subject and circle the verb that starts the predicate in each of the following
sentences.
1.
Gwenyth’s friend Sienna was arrested after she punched a clown in the face.
2.
Emily’s older sisters are enforcers on a roller derby team called The Killer Cowgirls.
3.
Christina and her older brother once painted themselves green and hid in a bush while stalking a
Smurf.
4.
Nina was shocked when Matt Smith was replaced by a gorilla in a thong on the new season of
Doctor Who.
5.
The most beautiful cat in the history of the world is named Mr. Puddingface.
6.
I’m leaving.
Grammar #1: Adding clarity, elegance, and beauty to your work
Day #4
Topic: The purposeful fragment
A complete sentence has a subject and a verb. A fragment sentence, also known as an incomplete
sentence, is missing one or both of those elements, so it isn’t complete. The accidental use of fragment
sentences betrays a lack of understanding of the basic rules of grammar and a general lack of
sophistication as a writer.
However, strong writers will sparingly use the purposeful fragment. He/she purposely breaks the rules of
grammar to drive home an idea or to add power to a moment.
Part I – Write a complete, simple sentence (or several complete, simple sentences), followed by a
purposeful fragment, to either convey a truth or detail a moment from your life.


Example: I landed on one wheel and spilled into the dirt. I stood up quickly to show my
friend that I was okay. He pointed to my knee. Blood was running down my leg. Running
like an escaped prisoner to freedom. Running like the sudden shock of tears down my
face.
What impact does the use of purposeful fragments have on this passage?
1.
Part III – Good writers manipulate sentence structure to add clarity, power, and elegance to their writing.
They purposely pick a type of sentence to fit a moment in a story. For this section (and all year in your bell
work), you will use simple, complete sentences to continue the story of two people who are falling in love.
Over the course of the year, using different sentence types, you will write their story. You will determine if
this love story ends happily or in tears.
Write a series of simple, complete sentences, followed by a purposeful fragment, to continue the story of
Brian and Cara’s first meeting. Since we know that they will fall in love, try to convey the truth of the
moment.
Example: Cara ran to class. She was afraid of what Joe would say if she was late again. She was afraid a lot
lately. Afraid of his disappointing him. Afraid of losing him. Afraid of feeling afraid.
1.