Sentence Types
A Sample of Ideas
from Jeff Anderson’s
Mechanically Inclined
(Stenhouse, 2005)
A recommended buy!
What is a sentence?
• “A sentence should be
alive…Sentences need energy to
jump off the page and into the
reader’s head. As a writer you
must embed energy in the
sentence—coil the spring, set the
trap.”
Peter Elbow, Writing With Power
What is a sentence?
• “The Sentence: A Way of
Thinking,” Jeff Anderson,
Mechanically Inclined
• A sentence must contain at least
one subject and one verb, and it
must express a complete thought.
• A fragment is missing a subject or
verb and/or it doesn’t contain a
complete thought.
Try this Simplest Sentence Pattern
for Fun and Effect!
The Two-Word Sentence
Smackdown
Subject + Powerful Verb
• They race. (Jerry Spinelli, Loser)
• Maria flinched. (Nancy Farmer,
House of the Scorpion)
• Blood flew. (Stephen King, Cujo)
• He sprung. (Stephen King, Cujo)
Your turn for a
“Two-Word Sentence”
Smack Down
• Subject: Dog Breed (You pick the
subject and add the verb!)
• Subject: Story Character
• Subject: Body Part (i.e., tongues)
Review of a
Two-Word Sentence
• What does a Two-Word Sentence
include?
• (1) Who or what did what? AND
(2) What was done?
• OR A SUBJECT (person, place, or
thing noun) AND…
• A VERB
Another Powerful
Sentence Pattern:
The Compound Sentence
Sentence
,
for
and
nor
but
or
yet
so
Sentence
.
A compound sentence uses a conjunction to bind
two complete sentences.
Remember the
Sentence-Connecting
Coordinating Conjunctions
with the Word…
FANBOYS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
Compound Sentence
Examples
• Every day was a happy day, and every
night was peaceful. (E.B. White,
Charlotte’s Web)
• Celia says you’re in shock, but I think
you’re just lazy. (Nancy Farmer, The
House of the Scorpion)
• It was almost time for science, her best
subject, so it would be easy for Judy to
pay attention. (Also contains an
interrupter, Megan MacDonald, Judy
Moody Gets Famous)
Compound Sentences
• Let’s play a game to learn more
about compound sentences.
Let’s hear some of your
Compound Sentences
• Write a sentence to connect a
hamster’s cage with a messy
bedroom.
• Connect an angry wasp with lazy
old bloodhound.
• Connect a blustery fall day with a
basketball game.
Review of the Compound
Sentence
• What does a compound
sentence do?
• A compound sentence joins
two complete sentences using
a coordinating conjunction
(one of the FANBOYS).
Now let’s get more complicated:
Three Basic Scaffolds
for Complex Sentence Patterns
, Sentence .
Sent , interrupter, ence .
Sentence , closer .
Opener
Opener, Sentence
• Start with a preposition (above,
after, across, against, along, among,
around, at, behind, below, beside,
between, beyond, by, down, from, in,
inside, into, near, off, on, out,
outside, over, past, through, to,
toward, under, underneath, up,
within, after, as, before, during,
since, until, about, despite, except,
for, like, of, per, than, with, without)
Opener, Sentence
with Prepositions as Starters
• To tease your hair, grab a small section
and hold it up by the end. (Kinky
Friedman, Kinky Friedman’s Guide to Texas
Etiquette)
• About the time I got to San Antone, I
never wanted to see another dead
armadillo.
• Despite his bulk, Lester sounded like a
girl every time he opened his mouth.
• Underneath the seven layers of urinesoaked newspaper, rat poo, and seed
jackets, Gilbertina was quite cozy and
contented.
Another Type of
Opener, Sentence:
Start with AAAWWUBBIS
• AAAWWUBBIS is a mnemonic
device standing for the common
subordinating conjunctions after,
although, as, when, while, until,
before, because, if, or since
• If you start a sentence with
AAAWWUBBIS, you’ll need a
comma—usually!
Opener, Sentence:
Examples with AAAWWUBBIS
• Before the plate hit the table, Louie
leaned forward like a snake striking
and hit the stack of pancakes with his
fork. (Gary Paulsen, Harris and Me)
• When I pop in a Bird CD, it’s like I feel
myself filling up with Zeke. (Tracy
Mack, Birdland)
• If there was an Olympic contest for
talking, Shelly Staffs would sweep the
event. (Wendelin Van Draanen, Flipped)
Review of Opener, Sentence
•
•
•
•
How does an Opener start?
An Opener starts with a
preposition
or
An AAAWWUBBIS
Now you use the
Opener, Sentence pattern to
complete the following sentences…
• ________________, Amazina
sniffed the tantalizing odor of panfried crow’s feet.
• ______________, strap yourself
securely onto your broom, clasp
the handle in both of your claws,
and utter the mystical phrase,
“Barlulia liftupus.”
Sent-, interrupter, -ence
• His eyes, brown and sparkly, lit up his
face.
• Intricate mosaic tiles, handpicked by
Baba in Isfahan, covered the four floors
of the four bathrooms. (Khaled Hosseini,
The Kite Runner)
• I was stretched out on my back, my paws
dangling at my sides, thinking nothing
more of the meal I’d just eaten and the
chocolate I hoped still lie ahead. (James
Howe, The Celery Stalks at Midnight)
Sent-, interrupter, -ence
• What is the purpose of the
“interrupter”?
• The “interrupter” adds
describing information about
the subject of the Sent- part of
the sentence.
More Examples of
Sent-, interrupter, -ence
• Our yellow ranch house, 26 Bobolink
Drive, had a garage and a bathroom
shower with sliding glass doors. (Wally
Lamb, She’s Come Undone)
• I even coaxed Rowdy, my bluetick
hound, into helping me with this monkey
trouble. (Wilson Rawls, Summer of the
Monkeys)
• Monsieur Bibot, the dentist, was a very
fussy man. (Chris Van Allsburg, The
Sweetest Fig)
Sentence, Closer
A closer adds information to
the sentence.
Sentence
,+
participle
(-ing or –ed
“verbs”)
and
Sensory
Detail(s)
Note that not ALL closers follow this pattern,
but all closers add information.
Examples of
Sentence, Closer
• Cujo trailed at Brett’s heels, looking hot
and dispirited. (Stephen King, Cujo)
• The dog stood up like a lion, stiffstanding hackles, teeth uncovered as
he lashed up his fury for the charge.
(Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were
Watching God)
• The waif waved a filthy kerchief, sending
the stomach-churning air of the sewer
into my nostrils.
• Simon seized Astrid’s arm, causing a bolt
of fear to lunge up her spine.
More Examples of
Sentence, Closer
• He don’t even whimper, like he’s
lost his bark. (Phyllis Reynolds
Naylor, Shiloh)
• The screen was coming away from
the screen door in one corner,
curling away from the metal frame
like a leaf. (Suzanne Berne, A Crime
in the Neighborhood)
Examining the
Sentence, Closer
• What does the Closer often start
with?
• A participle (“-ing” or “-ed” verb)
• What does the Closer add to a
sentence?
• The Closer adds information,
often sensory details, to the
Sentence.
Time to experiment with
Sentence, Closer
• The weary eagle spotted the cedar
and made a beeline toward it,
___________________.
• Heracula lifted her pointy head,
___________________.
• Tears surfaced in his eyes, and
the aged fairy king gulped,
_____________.
Another Powerful
Sentence Pattern:
The Serial Comma Sentence
Sente
n
, ,
c
and
e
.
AKA “The Magic Three”
A Serial Comma Sentence adds three
pieces of information to a sentence.
Examples of the
Serial Comma Sentence Pattern
Sente n , c , and e .
AKA “The Magic Three”
• Pick up your tennis shoes, your potato
chip bag, and your sweaty self off my
white rug. (Betsy Anderson)
• With a malicious gleam in his eye, he
kicks back the chair, pulls out his shirt
tails, and adopts the high-volume
grunting and braying tones of a
Mississippi Delta evangelist. (Rob
Thomas, Slave Day)
More Examples of the
Serial Comma Sentence Pattern
Sente n , c , and e .
AKA “The Magic Three”
• The soup was a delicious mingling
of chicken, watercress, and garlic.
(Rob Thomas, Slave Day)
• Can you imagine your father
selling you for a tablecloth, a hen,
and a handful of cigarettes? (Kate
DiCamillo, The Tale of
Despereaux)
Test your expertise with the
The Serial Comma Sentence
• The scraggly lion ____________,
____________, and ___________.
• Shot from his shaky bow,
Albanius’s arrow ____________,
____________, and ___________.
• The ogre’s preferred snacks
included __________, __________,
and _____________
Review of a
Serial Comma Sentence
• What’s another name for a Serial
Comma Sentence?
• The Magic Three
• What does a Serial Comma
Sentence do?
• A Serial Comma Sentence adds
three pieces of information to a
sentence.
Plans for Tracking Use of the
Sentence Patterns
Sentence Type
Use this
chart to
track
your
usage of
the
sentence
patterns
Two-Word Sentence
(Color code: Red)
Compound Sentence
(Color code: Brown)
Opener, Sentence
(Color code: Blue)
Sentence, Closer
(Color code: Orange)
Sent-, Interrupter, -Ence
(Color code: Green)
Serial Comma Sente n, c, e (Magic 3)
(Color code: Purple)
Number of
Examples in
My Paper