Lesson 1: Sentence Elements

Lesson 1: Sentence Elements 1.1 Learning Objectives 1.2 The sentence defined 1.3 Sentence Format 1.4 Topics and Comments 1.5 Subjects and Predicates

1.1 Learning Objectives • At the end of this lesson, you will be able to • recognize a complete thought as expressed in a sentence, • format a sentence correctly, • identify the parts of a complete thought: topic and comment, • identify grammatical elements of a sentence: subject and predicate, • identify the parts of a predicate: predicate verb and objects/complements, • be able to identify the simple subject.

1.2 What is a sentence? • The sentence is the basic unit of communication. • A sentence expresses a complete thought in the form of • a statement • Shrek has good animation. • Shrek is a great film! • a question • What is your favorite film? • What is a great film?

1.3 How is a sentence formatted? • Every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with an end-mark of punctuation (a period, question mark, or exclamation mark). • The hurricane ripped off the roof of my house. • How many languages doesProfessor Sansone speaks several languages? • Students have too much homework!

Practice #1: format the following sentences. Check your work by going to the next slide. • every day we eat lunch in the cafeteria • is the homework due on Tuesday • can you believe that we won • when it is raining, there are lots of traffic accidents • people drive too fast on I-4 • we won

Answers to Practice #1: • Every day we eat lunch in the cafeteria. • Is the homework due on Tuesday? • Can you believe that we won ? • When it is raining, there are lots of traffic accidents. • People drive too fast on I-4 . • We won!

Review of Lessons 1.1 through 1.3: • A sentence is a complete thought. • Every sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with an end-mark of punctuation. • End-marks of punctuation include periods, question marks, and exclamation marks.

Analyzing Sentences • When we analyze something, we break it down into its constituents (parts). • In lesson 1.4, we will learn the constituents of a sentence.

1.4 The parts of a complete thought • Every complete thought (sentence) can be divided into two parts: the topic and the comment.

The topic is what the sentence is saying something about. • Here are some examples: • Students • My Honda Civic • Watching horror movies late at night • College courses • Wendy’s hamburgers Each of the examples is a topic. However, none is a sentence because nothing is said about the topic.

The a comment is what the writer says about the topic, what action the topic does or condition the topic is in, • for example, • Studentshave worked hard to get good grades. • The Honda Civicuses less gas than the Ford Explorer. • Watching horror movies late at nightgives me nightmares. • College coursesrequire six hours of homework each week. • Wendy’s hamburgers are greasy.

Practice #2: Identify the topic and comment in each sentence. • The grey cat ran away. • The grey cat has four tiny kittens. • The grey cat belongs to my neighbor. • The grey cat has caught several mice. • The grey cat purred softly. • The grey cat was sleeping on the porch. Note: When you have finished, go to the next slide to find answers to these items.

Answers to Practice #2: • The grey cat (ran away). • The grey cat (has four tiny kittens). • The grey cat (belongs to my neighbor). • The grey cat (has caught several mice). • The grey cat (purred softly). • The grey cat (was sleeping on the porch). • Notice that each item says something different about the same topic.

Practice #2: Identify the topics and the comments. • The huge green balloon floated away. • V.C.C. students sometimes have trouble finding a parking space. • I enjoy visiting my parents during the holidays. • Danise took five classes last semester. • Several of the cars in the parking lot had parking tickets on the windows.

Answers to Practice #2 • The huge green balloon (floated away). • V.C.C. students (sometimes have trouble finding a parking space.) • I (enjoy visiting my parents during the holidays). • Danise (took five classes last semester). • Several of the cars in the parking lot (had parking tickets on the windows).

Review of Lesson 1.4 • The elements of a complete thought (sentence) are a topic and a comment about that topic. • The comment tells something about the topic by • expressing the action of the topic or (Jack ate the burrito.) • describing the condition of the topic (The burrito was too spicy.)

Lesson 1.5: Subjects and Predicates • Another way to talk about the parts of a sentence is by using grammatical terms. • In this lesson, we will use different terms for topic and comment: • Topic = Subject • Comment = Predicate Subject + Predicate = Sentence

Practice #1:Identify the subject and the predicate in each sentence. • Andrea and Rozella are taking College Algebra this semester. • The loud sirens woke me at 4:00 a.m. • Doing homework makes me sleepy. • My boss is grouchy in the morning. • Creamy mocha cappuccino tastes good. Note: Go to the next slide to check your work.

Answers to Practice #1: • Andrea and Rozella (are taking College Algebra this semester). • The loud sirens (woke me at 4:00 a.m). • Doing homework (makes me sleepy). • My boss (is grouchy in the morning). • Creamy mocha cappuccino (tastes good).

Elements of the Predicate: Just as we can analyze a sentence by breaking it into the subject and the predicate, we can analyze the predicate by breaking it into its constituents.

What are the parts of the predicate? The predicate may be divided into two parts: • the predicate verb tense and, sometimes, • objects, modifiers and/or complements of the predicate verb.

Special Note: • While every sentence has a predicate verb, not every predicate contains modifiers and/or complements, • For example, “is sleeping” (present continuous verb) is the complete predicate in the sentence “Paul is sleeping.” • However, the predicate in “Paul is sleeping on the floor” includes the predicate verb “is sleeping” and the modifier “on the floor.”

What is the predicate verb? • The predicate verb is the verb tense (present tenses, past tenses, perfect tenses, continuous tenses). It does not include any objects, modifiers, or complements. It is also referred to as the simple verb, for example • Paulsnores during class. • Cindywas taking notes during the lecture. • Heatherwill write her essay over the weekend. • The policeman could have givenme a parking ticket. • Go on to the next slide for some practice identifying the predicate verb (simple verb).

Practice #3: Identify the predicate verb in each sentence. • The red, white, and blue flag flapped in the wind. • Victor has been having a hard time with his math homework. • My mom enjoys reading romance novels. • My brother should have finished cutting the grass by now. • After working for several hours, I usually walked to Star Buck’s for a cup of coffee and a cookie.

Answers to Practice #3: • The red, white, and blue flag flapped in the wind. • Victor has been having a hard time with his math homework. • My mom enjoys reading romance novels. • My brother should have finished cutting the grass by now. • After working for several hours, I usually walked to Star Buck’s for a cup of coffee and a cookie.

What are modifiers, objects, and complements of verbs? • complements of the verb include adverbs and objects of the verb, for example • Paul oftensnores loudly. • David is readingthe newspaper. • She has always wanted to be a teacher. • Sheila willpassthe examtoday. • Today, Sheila passedthe exam.

The parts of the subject • Just as the sentence and the predicate can be analyzed into parts, so the subject can be divided into parts.

What are the parts of the subject? • The subject is made up of the simple subject (the person, place, or thing) and any modifiers (adjectives that come before or after the simple subject). Note that prepositional phrases can be adjectives. • homework for math class • thecarsin the parking lot • a gleaming gold Rolexwatch • The soft, squishy orange-flavoredjello in the bowl

Exercise 4:identify the simple subject in each sentence by putting brackets around the modifiers of the subject and then highlighting the simple subject. Do nothing to the predicate. • A large red box lay on the table. • The tired, stressed out student sitting at the table next to me needs to relax. • The homework assignments that were due on Tuesday took a lot of time to complete. • Sam, a Valencia student, is studying to become an engineer.

Exercise 4 Answers: [A large red] box lay on the table. [The tired, stressed out] student [sitting at the table next to me] needs to relax. [The homework] assignments [that were due on Tuesday] took a lot of time to complete. Sam, [a Valencia student,] is studying to become an engineer. 6/7/2014 30

Complete Subjects + Complete Predicates: • Homeworkis time consuming. • The cars in the parking lot are expensive. • A gleaming gold Rolex watchwould make a great birthday gift. • The soft, squishy orange-flavored jello in the bowl was the unappealing dessert for lunch.

Practice: Underline the predicate verb. Then separate the complete subject from the predicate by placing a slash between the complete subject and the complete predicate. The first one is done for you. • The green bicycle in the garage/has a flat tire. • Several of the students in this class didn’t do their homework. • The soft, wet snow is falling all around us. • A strange orange light coming from the window frightened some people. • Two large blue boxes were on the table. • A black backpack on wheels is required for all nursing students.

Practice: Underline the predicate verb, and draw a line to separate the complete subject from the predicate. The first one is done for you. • The green bicycle in the garage/has a flat tire. • Several of the students in this class /didn’t do their homework. • The soft, wet snow/ is falling all around us. • A strange orange light coming from the window/ frightened some people. • Two large blue boxes/ were on the table. • A black backpack on wheels/ is required for all nursing students.

Summary: parts of a sentence: • subject and predicate (also known as a topic and comment about the topic). • Parts of a predicate: • predicate verb (always present ), • objects and/or complements (sometimes present) • Parts of a subject: • Simple subject • Subject modifiers

Summary: Format of a sentence • Begins with a capital letter • Ends with an end mark of punctuation

Forms of a complete thought • statement • question

Review Quiz • Take out a sheet of paper and write your name, today’s date, and CRN # in the upper right-hand corner of your paper. On the topic line write: EAP 1640, 10-point review,

Review Quiz: Working with a partner, answer the following questions. • Write a sentence. Then draw a line between the parts of the complete thought and then label the grammatical parts. • Explain how to format a sentence. Give an example.

What are the two forms of a complete thought? Give an example of each. • Double underline the predicate verb(s) in the following sentence: I finished my essay and solved the calculus problems. • Single underline the simple subject in the following sentence: Valencia students on West Campus have trouble finding parking spaces.

Identify complete thoughts by writing CT next to them. Identify incomplete thoughts by writing NCT next to them. • a dark green pickup truck with chrome wheels • the small child wearing the red jacket • he has barely eaten anything in several days • strong winds create perfect waves for the surfers • experienced not only the loud noise but also the intense heat

Lesson 1: Sentence Elements