Sentence Structure
 FANBOYS
 Subordination
Sentence Structure: Coordination
Sentence
Structure
 Coordination:
 When combining two independent clauses with a FANBOY

It is a beautiful day, so we went to the park after school.

We have gorgeous Springs, Summers, and Falls, but they other 8
months are grey and rainy.
 When there are NOT two independent clauses.
 Her smile and happy personality is fun to be around but only in small
doses.
 She was starving and had three helpings of green beans.
 Comma or no comma?
 Fall days are some of my favorites yet I enjoy the cool sunny
days of winter as well.
 She is a sweet dog but doesn’t react well to aggressive
correction.
Sentence Structure: Subordination
Subordination: when the ideas are of unequal importance,
and you want to show their relationship (like cause and
effect).
Use a
subordinating
conjunction when
combining an
independent
clause and a
dependent
clause.
Guide to Grammar & Writing
Sentence Structure:
Subordination
There are two patterns to sentence
structures using subordination.
First Pattern: Uses a
comma.
Sub. conj. + clause , indep. clause.
EX: Even if you win a million dollars, not all of your
problems will be solved.
Second Pattern: Does not use a comma.
Indep. Clause + sub. Conj. + Clause.
EX: It’s not okay to steal anything even if you are stealing it
for someone else.
Sentence Structure: Subordination
Sentence Structure: Subordination
 Subordination (Comma):
 When starting with your subordinating conjunction, use a comma.


Since she needed a summer job, she applied everywhere she could think of.
If you get corrected by someone, it’s important to acknowledge that mistake
and learn from it.
 Subordination (No comma)
 When the subordinating conjunction come between the clauses,
there is no comma.


He was in a good mood because his grade improved.
The dog woke up the children since she jumped on their beds.
 Comma or no comma?
 It’s okay to admit mistakes when you have misspoken.
 Since we’re all imperfect admitting you don’t know something
doesn’t mean you are stupid.
Coordination: Using a semicolon
2. Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses
EX: We always have one nice week in April; the rains
then last until July
EX: Warm, sunny days in the spring are wonderful; it’s
cruel when the rains return until after the 4th of July.
EX: We always spend as much time outside as we
can; everything becomes so wet and marshy until
the 90 degree weather starts.
Terminology
Review: Coordination
 Conjunctive Adverb: are
used to create a
sophisticated
relationship between
ideas.
 Use a semicolon before
the conjunctive adverb
and a comma after.
His whiny bark sounded at
the door; however, no
one was home to let the
cold, wet pup inside.
Conjunctive
adverbs
Mornings are my lease
favorite part of the day;
nonetheless, we ended
up with a dog that likes
to get up at 5 am every
day.
The driver was dangerous;
for example, she
swerved from lane to
lane in order to dodge
other people, appeared
to be texting while
driving, and was
travelling at very high
speeds.
Semicolon = ;
Colon = :
 Semicolon:
 A semicolon connects two independent clauses
 The dog was very submissive; she hid under tables at loud
noises, shaking horribly.
 Colon:
 After an independent clause to introduce a list, a quote, or a
clause to emphasize the independent clause.
 Today was the best day ever: she won the lottery, got a
promotion, and her boyfriend proposed to her.
 The professor was known to be strict: “Anyone who is not
willing to study for at least 3 hours a night, needs to just drop
the class now.”
 The puppy was picking up some very bad habits: stealing food
from the table and digging holes in the yard.
Grammar Review: Commas
Grammar Review: Commas
 After introductory clauses, phrases or words that come before
the main clause.
 A dependent clause which begins with words such as after,
although, as, because, if, since, when, while. (Subordination)


As I walked to the store, my shoes became soaked from the standing
water on the sidewalk.
While you distract them, I’ll hide the presents upstairs.
 Any introductory phrase that is either more than four words or
is nonessential to the sentence should be followed by a
comma.


As a tradition started by my mother, the girls choose a gift to buy
from the giving tree.
Surrounded by twinkling lights, the front window frames a gorgeous
view of the decorated main street of the small town
Grammar Review: Commas
Grammar Review: Commas
 In the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and
words that are nonessential to the meaning of the sentence.
Use one comma to indicate the beginning of the clause and
one to indicate the end.
 My puppy, who was a rescue, is struggling with being the lowest
member of the pack.
 That pink rose, from my favorite bush, is the last rose we will get
this season.
 The neighborhood, tucked in between two old farms, is quiet and
often overlooked.
 NO comma with essential information
 The boys who refused to complete their work were sent
home early.
 The tree that is in my neighbor’s yard is covering
everyone’s yards in leaves.
Grammar Review: Commas
Grammar Review: Commas
 To separate two or more coordinate adjectives that describe the
same noun. NEVER add a comma between the final adjective
and the noun or with non-coordinate adjectives.
 To test if you need a comma between two adjectives, see if
you can replace the comma with the word “and”. If the
sentence still makes sense, you need a comma. Otherwise,
leave it out.


It is a dark, rainy day.
Beware of my neighbor; he is a cantankerous, senile man.
 When NOT to have a comma
 There was no missing her, for her jacket was bright yellow.
 She did not like the juice since it tasted like sour orange juice.
 My nephew is the quiet young man on the left.
Grammar Review: Commas
 To shift between the main discourse and a quotation.


Use a comma to introduce a quotation after a standard
dialogue tag, a brief introductory phrase, or a dependent
clause.
 The detective said, "I am sure who performed the murder.”
 He said, "I may forget your name, but I never forget a face.”
 Mullen, criticizing the apparent inaction, writes, "Donahue's
policy was to do nothing" (24).
NO comma
 Williams described the experiment as "a definitive step
forward"; other scientists disagreed.

History is stained with blood spilled in the name of
"civilization."
Common Errors
 Homophones: Words that sound the same, but are
spelled differently.
 Examples: There, their, they’re
 Apostrophes
 Shows possession, not plural

I have many friend’s. OR She is my friend’s sister.
 Comma Splices

My writing is improving, I still make mistakes.
 Agreement
 A person may always find more mistakes no matter how
many times they edit.
Homophones
 Their
 Possession of a group of people

That family loves their dog.
 There (remember There goes with here
T-here)
 Existence or location
 There are many reasons to be happy.
 The hammer is over there.
 They’re
 Contraction for “they are”

They’re going to the beach for the
weekend.
Homophones
 Its
 The possession of “it”. The dog’s leash = its
leash.
 It’s
 The contraction for “It is”. It’s really hot out
today.
 Loose
 The opposite of tight. She wears loose
clothing.
 Lose
 To misplace. Please don’t lose your phone.
Homophones
 Your
 Possession of you. I’m coming to your house.
 You’re
 Contraction of “you are”. You’re a happy person.
 Than
 Comparison. I’m shorter than you.
 Then
 Passage of time. Finish your homework, then take
a nap.
Homophones
 Whether
 Conditional statement

The football player’s salary depends on
whether he scores many touch downs or not.
 Weather
 Rain, snow, sunny

The weather was beautiful at the beach.
Whether we go to the beach or not will be
determined by the weather.
Homophones
 Affect
 A verb, meaning to influence
 Effect
 A noun, meaning the result
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com
Apostrophes
 The apostrophe has three uses:
 to form possessives of nouns
 to show the omission of letters
 to indicate certain plurals of
lowercase letters
 Examples:
 the boy's hat = the hat of the boy
three days' journey = journey of
three days
Apostrophes
 add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it
ends in -s): the
owner's car, James's hat (James' hat is also
acceptable.
"The Eggles' presentation was good." The Eggles are
a husband and wife consultant team.)
 add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s:
the children's game, the geese's honking
 add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s:
two cats' toys, three friends' letters
 add 's to the end of compound words: my brother-
in-law's money
 add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of
an object: Todd and Anne's apartment
Apostrophe
 Contractions: a word in which one or more letters
have been omitted.
don't = do not
I'm = I am
he'll = he will
who's = who is
shouldn't = should not
didn't = did not
could've= could have (NOT "could of"!)
'60 = 1960
Apostrophes
 1. Whos the partys candidate for vice president this year?
 Who’s the party’s candidate for vice president this year?
 2. The fox had its right foreleg caught securely in the traps
jaws.
 The fox had its right foreleg caught securely in the trap’s jaws.
 3. Our neighbors car is an old Chrysler, and its just about to
fall apart.
 Our neighbor’s car is an old Chrysler, and it’s just about to fall
apart.
 4. In three weeks time well have to begin school again.
 In three weeks’ time we’ll have to begin school again.
 5. Didnt you hear that theyre leaving tomorrow?
 Didn’t you hear that they’re leaving tomorrow?
Comma Splices/Run-ons
 Comma Splice: Two independent clauses joined
together incorrectly by using a comma.
 Fused Run-on Sentence: Two independent clauses
joined together incorrectly by using no punctuation.
Examples:
The girls walked to the store, they wanted ice cream.
(CS)
Fixed: The girls walked to the store, for they wanted
ice cream.
The girls walked to the store they wanted ice cream.
(FRO)
Fixed: The girls walked to the store since they
wanted ice cream.
Pronoun Agreement
(pronoun/antecedent agreement)
The pronouns need to match the nouns that appear later in the sentence.
 Either both singular or both plural
 He did his homework.
 The students took their quizzes.
Common mistakes (or shift in agreement) look like this:



The children ate their sandwich.
 This means all the children shared one sandwich.
 Children = plural, their = plural, sandwich = singular
A good student does their homework on time.
 Student = singular, their = plural
The students love their teacher.
 IS this one okay? Only IF that is the meaning.
 Students = plural, their = plural, teacher = singular.
 The must all love the same teacher if this is to be a true statement.
Terminology Review
 Subject/verb agreement:
 Correct form of verb for the subject:
 I have, you have, he/she has, we have, they have
 The boy walks vs. The boys walk
 Common errors:
 The group of boys is playing.
 The group determines the verb, not boys
Singular words that are often mistaken for plural
audience band class committee
crowd
dozen
family flock group
heap
herd
jury
kind
lot
number
[the]

staff
team
Grammar Review: Semicolons
Grammar Review: Semicolons
 Link two independent clauses with no connecting
words. The independent clauses should be related in
some way.



He did not finish his assignments; he dreaded facing his
professor.
His shoes were soaked from the rain; there was a sloshing
sound with each step.
WRONG
 The turkey dinner tasted great; since he couldn’t
remember the last time he had turkey.

He was sure he turned in his final essay; but he later
found it in his notebook.
Grammar Review: Semicolons
 When joining two independent clauses with a
conjunctive adverb (however, moreover, therefore,
consequently, otherwise, nevertheless, thus, etc), the
pattern is always
 Independent clause; conjunctive adverb, independent
clause.


He did not finish his assignments; therefore, he dreaded
facing his professor.
The girls need to clean up the playroom; otherwise, the toy
fairy will come and take the toys to little girls who will take
good care of them.
Grammar Review: Semicolons
 Use a semicolon in a list of even one element in that
list requires a comma to avoid confusion.

February 14, 2000; July 2, 2000; February 14, 2006 and
May 23, 2007 are very important dates in my life.

He has lived in Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle, Washington;
Boston, Massachusetts and now Wasilla, Alaska.
Works Cited
Conclusions. The Writing Center, The University of North Carolina. Web. 16 August
2010.
Fogerty, Mignon. Grammar Girl. Holtzbrinck Publishers Holding, LLC. 2009. web.
22 July 2010.
Gavin, Mary L., MD. How TV Affects your child. KidsHealth. October 2008. Web. 16
August 2010. <http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html>
Hacker, Diane. Rules for Writers. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Print.
Introductions. The Writing Center, The University of North Carolina. Web. 16 August
2010. <http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/introductions.html>
Sevastopoulos, Julie. Grammar Quizzes. Web. 15 August 2010.
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/introductions.html>
Strunk, William Jr. Elements of Style. Ithaca, NY: Bartleby, 1999. Print.
The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 22 July 2010.
Writing Tutorial Service. Indiana University. 30 January 2008. Web. 16 July 2010.
<http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml>