{"id":3108,"date":"2019-04-16T23:00:11","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T05:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=3108"},"modified":"2022-06-20T17:04:10","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T22:04:10","slug":"becoming-savvy-with-sentence-structures-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/becoming-savvy-with-sentence-structures-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming Savvy with Sentence Structures: Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

The art of writing resembles any trade that begins with the basics and evolves into skillful applications of them. A key component of precise and eloquent composition is understanding sentence structures.<\/p>\n

English comprises four foundational sentence constructions: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. In part one of our discussion, we’ll review simple and compound sentences.<\/p>\n

Simple Sentence<\/h2>\n

A simple sentence has one subject and one verb. It does not have a dependent (subordinate) clause, one that cannot stand alone as a sentence (e.g.,\u00a0when the boys return<\/em>). Simple sentences also may include parts of speech such as direct and indirect objects, adjectives, adverbs, and infinitive and prepositional phrases.<\/p>\n

Dogs<\/em>\u00a0(subject)\u00a0bark<\/em>\u00a0(verb).<\/p>\n

Regina<\/em>\u00a0(subject)\u00a0gave<\/em>\u00a0(verb)\u00a0her sister<\/em>\u00a0(indirect object)\u00a0a card\u00a0<\/em>(direct object).<\/p>\n

Antonio\u00a0<\/em>(subject)\u00a0painted<\/em>\u00a0(verb)\u00a0his old bike<\/em>\u00a0(direct object)\u00a0red\u00a0<\/em>(adjective)\u00a0yesterday<\/em>\u00a0(adverb).<\/p>\n

Inga’s brown dog<\/em>\u00a0(subject)\u00a0likes<\/em>\u00a0(verb)\u00a0to sleep<\/em>\u00a0(infinitive phrase)\u00a0on his side<\/em>\u00a0(prepositional phrase).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The subject (indicated by a single underline in the three sentences that follow), the verb (bold), or both may be compound in a simple sentence:<\/p>\n

The\u00a0moon<\/u>\u00a0and the\u00a0stars<\/u>\u00a0came<\/strong> into view.<\/p>\n

The pitcher<\/span> threw<\/strong> six innings and hit<\/strong> a double.<\/p>\n

The king<\/u> and the queen<\/u> each raised<\/strong> a hand and waved<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We can change syntactical positions in a simple sentence:<\/p>\n

Above the law they are not.<\/em>
\nThere was no response to the question.<\/em>\u00a0(In this sentence, the word\u00a0there<\/em>\u00a0is an\u00a0expletive<\/a>, a filler word for emphasizing the phrase\u00a0no response to the question<\/em>; without the expletive, the simple sentence would be\u00a0No response to the question was given.<\/em>)
\nHer parting glare he ignored.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Simple sentences can be further categorized as statements, commands, requests, questions, and exclamations:<\/p>\n

Statement:\u00a0You write well.
\n<\/em>
\nCommand:\u00a0Write well.
\n<\/em>
\nRequest:\u00a0Would you please write well?
\n<\/em>
\nQuestion:\u00a0Do you write well?
\n<\/em>
\nExclamation:\u00a0You write well!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Compound Sentence<\/h2>\n

A compound sentence has at least two main (i.e., independent) clauses joined by a conjunction and a comma or by a semicolon:<\/p>\n

Antonio painted his old bike red yesterday, and he will paint his scooter the same color tomorrow.<\/em>
\nShe writes well, but she is still improving at math.<\/em>
\nThe dreams of my youth have passed; the hopes of my future await.<\/em><\/p>\n

For strong technique, we want to avoid compound sentences with loose and protracted constructions. This can sometimes happen when we string multiple clauses together.<\/p>\n

Loose\/Protracted:<\/strong>\u00a0Angelique went to the store, and then she stopped at the post office, and next she picked up the kids.<\/em>
\nBetter<\/strong>\u00a0(simple sentence with a compound predicate, i.e., verb or verb phrase):\u00a0Angelique went to the store, stopped at the post office, and picked up the kids.<\/em><\/p>\n

Loose\/Protracted:<\/strong>\u00a0The book was on the table, and Jason saw it, and he picked it up and started reading it.<\/em>
\nBetter<\/strong>\u00a0(two independent clauses joined by a semicolon):\u00a0Jason saw the book on the table; he picked it up and started reading it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Loose\/Protracted:<\/strong>\u00a0They owned the team, and they were ambitious people, and they invested profits back into the franchise.
\n<\/em>Better<\/strong>\u00a0(consolidated simple sentence):\u00a0The ambitious team owners invested profits back into the franchise.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Part Two of “Becoming Savvy with Sentence Structures,” we will explore how to recognize and use complex and compound-complex sentences. Also watch for Part Three, in which we’ll look at how to apply the four sentence types to achieve style and effect in our writing.<\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you’ve learned in this article, identify whether each example is a simple sentence or a compound sentence.<\/p>\n

1. I want to learn how to play the piano this year.
\na. Simple
\nb. Compound<\/p>\n

2. Next to greatness they will be, and behind mediocrity they will be not.
\na. Simple
\nb. Compound<\/p>\n

3. The jury has convened; the hour of decision is near.
\na. Simple
\nb. Compound<\/p>\n

4. Make sure you get to school on time!
\na. Simple
\nb. Compound<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. I want to learn to play the piano this year.
\na. Simple (The sentence has a subject, a verb, and a direct object, the infinitive phrase\u00a0to learn to play the piano this year.<\/em>)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Next to greatness they will be, and behind mediocrity they will be not.
\nb. Compound (The sentence has two independent clauses joined by a comma and the coordinating conjunction\u00a0and.<\/em>)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

3. The jury has convened; the hour of decision is near.
\nb. Compound (The sentence has two independent clauses joined by a semicolon.)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Make sure you get to school on time!
\na. Simple (The sentence has a subject, the understood\u00a0you<\/em>; a verb; and a direct object, the verb phrase\u00a0get to school on time<\/em>. This simple sentence is a command.)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The art of writing resembles any trade that begins with the basics and evolves into skillful applications of them. A key component of precise and eloquent composition is understanding sentence structures. English comprises four foundational sentence constructions: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. In part one of our discussion, we’ll review simple and compound sentences. Simple […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,10,12,14,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commas","category-definitions","category-effective-writing","category-semicolons","category-verbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3108"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6076,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3108\/revisions\/6076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}