The document discusses various grammatical concepts including phrases, clauses, and sentence structure. It defines phrases as groups of words without a subject and verb, and identifies 8 types of phrases including noun, verb, adjective, and prepositional phrases. Clauses are defined as having a subject and verb and can be either independent or dependent. Sentences are composed of clauses and there are 6 basic sentence patterns involving nouns, verbs, adjectives, and objects. The document also contrasts simple versus complex sentences.

1. PHRASE, CLAUSE, AND
SENTENCE

2. PHRASE
• A phrase is a collection of words that may
have nouns, but it does not have a subject
doing a verb. Phrases are considered as the
second level of classification as they tend to
be larger than individual words, but are
smaller than sentences. We refer to the
central element in a phrase as the head of the
phrase. If the head is a noun then the phrase
is called a noun phrase.

3. No
Kinds of Phrase
1
Noun
Example
My coach is happy. (noun phrase as subject)
2
Verb
3
Adjectival
Henry made my coach very proud. (verb phrase as
predicate)
Dad bought [(a blue and green) sweater]
4
Adverbial
He scored the goal very quickly.
5
Prepositional
The man in the house rented it. (prepositional phrase
modifies a noun adjectivally)
He went in the arena. (prepositional phrase modifies a verb
adverbially)
6
Gerundive
Dad talked about winning the game.
7
Participial
Racing around the corner, he slipped and fell.
8
Absolute
[(My chores) (completed for the week)], I went on a walk.
9
Infinitive
My duty as a coach is to teach skills. (infinitive phrase
functions as a noun)
My sister wanted a cat to love. (infinitive phrase functions as
an adjective)

4. Noun Phrase in Order

6. CLAUSE
• A clause is a collection of words that has a
subject that is actively doing a verb.
• When you want to use commas and
semicolons in sentences and when you are
concerned about whether a sentence is or is
not a fragment, a good way to start is to be
able to recognize dependent and independent
clauses.

7. Independent Clause
• An independent clause is a group of words
that contains a subject and verb and
expresses a complete thought. An
independent clause is a sentence.
Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his
chemistry quiz.

8. Dependent Clause
• A dependent clause is a group of words that
contains a subject and verb but does not
express a complete thought. A dependent
clause cannot be a sentence. Often a
dependent clause is marked by a dependent
marker word.
When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his
chemistry quiz . . . (What happened when he
studied? The thought is incomplete.)

9. Dependent Marker Word
• A dependent marker word is a word added to the
beginning of an independent clause that makes it
into a dependent clause.
When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his
chemistry quiz, it was very noisy.
• Some common dependent markers are: after,
although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even
though, if, in order to, since, though, unless,
until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and
while.

10. Connecting dependent and
independent clauses
• 1. Coordinating Conjunction
• The seven coordinating conjunctions used as
connecting words at the beginning of an
independent clause are and, but, for, or, nor, so,
and yet. When the second independent clause in
a sentence begins with a coordinating
conjunction, a comma is needed before the
coordinating conjunction:
Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry
quiz, but it was hard to concentrate because of
the noise.

11. • 2. Independent Marker Word
• An independent marker word is a connecting
word used at the beginning of an independent
clause. These words can always begin a sentence
that can stand alone. When the second
independent clause in a sentence has an
independent marker word, a semicolon is needed
before the independent marker word.
Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry
quiz; however, it was hard to concentrate
because of the noise.
• Some common independent markers are: also,
consequently, furthermore, however, moreover,
nevertheless, and therefore.

12. Some Common Errors to Avoid
• Comma Splices
• A comma splice is the use of a comma
between two independent clauses. You can
usually fix the error by changing the comma to
a period and therefore making the two clauses
into two separate sentences, by changing the
comma to a semicolon, or by making one
clause dependent by inserting a dependent
marker word in front of it.

13. •
•
•
•
•
Incorrect: I like this class, it is very interesting.
Correct: I like this class. It is very interesting.
(or) I like this class; it is very interesting.
(or) I like this class, and it is very interesting.
(or) I like this class because it is very
interesting.
• (or) Because it is very interesting, I like this
class.

14. • Fused Sentences
• Fused sentences happen when there are two
independent clauses not separated by any
form of punctuation. This error is also known
as a run-on sentence. The error can
sometimes be corrected by adding a period,
semicolon, or colon to separate the two
sentences.

15. • Incorrect: My professor is intelligent I've learned
a lot from her.
• Correct: My professor is intelligent. I've learned a
lot from her.
• (or) My professor is intelligent; I've learned a lot
from her.
• (or) My professor is intelligent, and I've learned a
lot from her.
• (or) My professor is intelligent; moreover, I've
learned a lot from her.

16. • Sentence Fragments
• Sentence fragments happen by treating a
dependent clause or other incomplete
thought as a complete sentence. You can
usually fix this error by combining it with
another sentence to make a complete thought
or by removing the dependent marker.

17. • Incorrect: Because I forgot the exam was
today.
• Correct: Because I forgot the exam was today,
I didn't study.
• (or) I forgot the exam was today.

18. SENTENCE
• Anatomy of Sentence (Part of Speech)
Traditional grammar classifies words based on
eight parts of speech: the verb, the noun, the
pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the
preposition, the conjunction, and the
interjection. Each part of speech explains not
what the word is, but how the word is used. In
fact, the same word can be a noun in one
sentence and a verb or adjective in the next.

19. • 1. Books are made of ink, paper, and glue.
In this sentence, "books" is a noun, the subject of the
sentence.
• 2. Deborah waits patiently while Bridget books the
tickets.
Here "books" is a verb, and its subject is "Bridget."
• 3. We walk down the street.
In this sentence, "walk" is a verb, and its subject is
the pronoun "we."
• 4. The mail carrier stood on the walk.
In this example, "walk" is a noun, which is part of a
prepositional phrase describing where the mail
carrier stood.

20. What is a Verb?
• A verb or compound verb asserts something
about the subject of the sentence and express
actions, events, or states of being. The verb or
compound verb is the critical element of the
predicate of a sentence.

21. • 1. Dracula bites his victims on the neck.
The verb "bites" describes the action Dracula takes.
• 2. In early October, Giselle will plant twenty tulip
bulbs.
Here the compound verb "will plant" describes an
action that will take place in the future.
• 3. My first teacher was Miss Crawford, but I
remember the janitor Mr. Weatherbee more vividly.
In this sentence, the verb "was" (the simple past
tense of "is") identifies a particular person and the
verb "remembered" describes a mental action.

22. • 4. Karl Creelman bicycled around the world in
1899, but his diaries and his bicycle were
destroyed.
In this sentence, the compound verb "were
destroyed" describes an action which took
place in the past.

23. What is a Noun?
• A noun is a word used to name a person,
animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Nouns
are usually the first words which small
children learn.
• A noun can function in a sentence as a subject
, a direct object, an indirect object, a
subject complement, an object complement,
an appositive, an adjective or an adverb.
•

24. • 1. Late last year our neighbours bought a
goat.
• 2. Portia White was an opera singer.
• 3. The bus inspector looked at all the
passengers' passes.
• 4. According to Plutarch, the library at
Alexandria was destroyed in 48 B.C.
• 5. Philosophy is of little comfort to the
starving.

25. Your task…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Proper Nouns
Common Nouns
Concrete Nouns
Abstract Nouns
Countable Nouns
Non-Countable Nouns
Collective Nouns

26. What is a Pronoun?
• A pronoun can replace a noun or another
pronoun. You use pronouns like "he," "which,"
"none," and "you" to make your sentences
less cumbersome and less repetitive.
Grammarians classify pronouns into several
types, including the personal pronoun, the
demonstrative pronoun, the interrogative
pronoun, the indefinite pronoun, the relative
pronoun, the reflexive pronoun, and the
intensive pronoun.

27. What Is An Adjective?
• An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by
describing, identifying, or quantifying words.
An adjective usually precedes the noun or the
pronoun which it modifies.
• The truck-shaped balloon floated over the
treetops.
• Mrs. Morrison papered her kitchen walls with
hideous wall paper.
• The small boat foundered on the wine dark
sea.

28. What is an Adverb?
• An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective,
another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An
adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause,
or degree and answers questions such as
"how," "when," "where," "how much". While
some adverbs can be identified by their
characteristic "ly" suffix, most of them must
be identified by untangling the grammatical
relationships within the sentence or clause as
a whole. Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be
found in various places within the sentence.

29. What is a Preposition?
• A preposition links nouns, pronouns and
phrases to other words in a sentence. The
word or phrase that the preposition
introduces is called the object of the
preposition. A preposition usually indicates
the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of
its object to the rest of the sentence as in the
following examples:

30. •
•
•
•
•
The book is on the table.
The book is beneath the table.
The book is leaning against the table.
The book is beside the table.
She held the book over the table.

31. What is a Conjunction?
• You can use a conjunction to link words,
phrases, and clauses, as in the following
example:
• I ate the pizza and the pasta.
• Call the movers when you are ready.

32. What is an Interjection?
• An interjection is a word added to a sentence
to convey emotion. It is not grammatically
related to any other part of the sentence. You
usually follow an interjection with an
exclamation mark. Interjections are
uncommon in formal academic prose, except
in direct quotations.

33. •
•
•
•
Ouch, that hurt!
Oh no, I forgot that the exam was today.
Hey! Put that down!
I heard one guy say to another guy, "He has a
new car, eh?"
• I don't know about you but, good lord, I think
taxes are too high!

34. SENTENCE PATTERN
• A sentence is a group of words which starts with a
capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question
mark (?) or exclamation mark (!). A sentence
contains or implies a predicate and a subject.
Sentences contain clauses. Simple sentences have
one clause. Remember that every clause is, in a
sense, a miniature sentence. A simple sentence
contains only a single clause, while a compound
sentence, a complex sentence, or a compoundcomplex sentence contains at least two clauses.

35. The Simple Sentence Pattern
• The most basic type of sentence is the simple
sentence, which contains only one clause. A
simple sentence, also called an independent
clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it
expresses a complete thought. A simple
sentence can be as short as one word:
Run!

36. • Usually, however, the sentence has a subject
as well as a predicate and both the subject
and the predicate may have modifiers. All of
the following are simple sentences, because
each contains only one clause:

37. •
•
•
•
Melt!
Ice melts.
The ice melts quickly.
The ice on the river melts quickly under the
warm March sun.
• Lying exposed without its blanket of snow, the
ice on the river melts quickly under the warm
March sun.

38. Six Sentence Patterns
• Sentence Patterns #1 - Noun / Verb
• The most basic sentence pattern is a noun followed by a verb.
It's important to remember that only verbs that do not
require objects are used in this sentence pattern.
• Examples:
• People work.
Frank eats.
• This basic sentence pattern can be modified by adding a noun
phrase, possessive adjective, as well as other elements. This is
true for all the sentence patterns that follow.

39. • Sentence Patterns #2 - Noun / Verb / Noun
• The next sentence pattern builds on the first
pattern and is used with nouns that can take
objects.
• Examples:
• John plays softball.
The boys are watching TV.

40. • Sentence Patterns #3 - Noun / Verb / Adverb
• The next sentence pattern builds on the first
pattern by using an adverb to describe how an
action is done.
• Examples:
• Thomas drives quickly.
Anna doesn't sleep deeply.

41. • Sentence Patterns #4 - Noun / Linking Verb / Noun
• This sentence pattern uses linking verbs to link one
noun to another. Linking verbs are also known as
equating verbs - verbs which equate one thing with
another such as 'be', 'become', 'seem', etc.
• Examples:
• Jack is a student.
This seed will become an apple.

42. • Sentence Patterns #5 - Noun / Linking Verb /
Adjective
• This sentence pattern is similar to sentence
pattern #4, but uses linking verbs to link one
noun to its description using an adjective.
• Examples:
• My computer is slow!
Her parents seem unhappy.

43. • Sentence Patterns #6 - Noun / Verb / Noun /
Noun
• Sentence pattern #6 is used with verbs that
take both direct and indirect objects.
• Examples:
• I bought Katherine a gift.
Jennifer showed Peter her car.

44. COMPLEX VS SIMPLE SENTENCE
• Complex sentences refer to sentences that have more than
one subject and one verb. Complex sentences are connected
by conjunctions and other types of linking words. Other
complex sentences are written with relative pronouns, as well
as other sentences using more than one clause. This exercise
starts off easy by using two simple sentences and using a
conjunction to connect the two sentences to make one
complex sentence.
• Combing simple sentences to make complex sentences is an
important exercise to help you advance in your writing
abilities. This writing exercise focuses on taking simple
sentences and transforming them into complex sentences
which are then combined into a paragraph.

45. • Example: Tom is a boy. He is eight years old.
He goes to school in Philadelphia.
• Complex Sentence: -> Tom is an eight-year old
boy who goes to school in Philadelphia.
• Here are some simple rules to remember
when combining simple sentences into
complex sentences:
• Don't repeat words
• Change words if necessary
• Add words to connect ideas