2. What is a Sentence?
A sentence is basically a group of words
which are tied together and convey an
idea, event or description. The words in an
English sentence have a certain order and
rules regarding ways to either expand or
shorten it. The boundaries of a sentence
are easily recognized, as it begins with a
capital letter and ends with a terminal
punctuation mark (period, question mark or
exclamation point). It is important for
English writers to know the language of
sentence grammar terms in order to be able
to analyze and develop their writing.
3. THERE ARE FOUR STRUCTURES
OF SENTENCES:
SIMPLE
COMPOUND
COMPLEX
COMPLEX-COMPOUND
4. A SIMPLE SENTENCE
IS COMPOSED OF A SINGLE
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE AND NO DEPENDENT
CLAUSES.
Example:
We had a great visit to Paris and
Berlin last September.
5. A COMPOUND SENTENCE
IS COMPOSED OF TWO OR MORE INDEPENDENT
CLAUSES WHICH MAY BE CONNECTED BY A COORDINATING
CONJUNCTION ( AND, BUT, FOR, NOR, OR, SO, YET)
Example:
We visited Paris last September, but my sister
visited Berlin last summer.
6. A COMPLEX SENTENCE
IS COMPOSED OF ONE INDEPENDENT
CLAUSE (THE MAIN CLAUSE) AND ONE OR
MORE DEPENDENT CLAUSES.
Example:
While we were walking through the
Louvre, we suddenly met our neighbor John
and his family.
7. A COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE COMBINES
A COMPOUND SENTENCE WITH A COMPLEX
SENTENCE. IT CONTAINS TWO OR MORE
INDEPENDENT CLAUSES AND ONE OR MORE
DEPENDENT CLAUSES.
Example:
While we were walking through the
Louvre, which is one of the most famous museums
in the world, we suddenly met our neighbor John
with his family, and all of us went out for lunch at
a splendid bistro.