SENTENCE STRUCTURE Academic Writing

BASIC SENTENCE ELEMENTS

Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a
sentence. It contains a subject and a verb and is a complete idea.
I like spaghetti.
He reads many books.

Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It

must be attached to an independent clause to become complete. This is
also known as a subordinate clause.
Although I like spaghetti,…
Because he reads many books,…
ORDINATE CLAUSES
A clause is a group of sentences that has a subject and verb combination. The two
types are independent and dependent. This sentence has both an independent and
dependent clause:
He had to give up work because he injured his back
Independent Clause + Dependent (subordinate) Clause
Both clauses have a subject and verb: He had + He injured
But only the first one expresses a complete thought and can stand alone:
• He had to give up work (complete thought)
• Because he injured his back (incomplete thought)
The second clause does not make sense if it is used without the first one, and so it
cannot stand alone as a sentence. It is therefore a dependent clause, also known as
a subordinate clause. 
 TYPES OF DEPENDENT
CLAUSES
The types of dependent clauses are:
Noun clauses
Adverbial clauses
Adjective (Relative) clauses
 NOUN CLAUSES
This type of dependent clause is used in two main ways. The first way
is using question word conjunctions (e.g. where, what, when) or if and
whether to create implicit questions. 
The noun clause usually follows the main independent clause:
I'm not sure where he went.
They don't know when they will arrive.
Can you recall if you picked up my wallet?
I'm wondering whether I should go or not.
 NOUN CLAUSES
The other way that noun clauses are used is in that clauses, usually to
express some kind of mental state, necessity, possibility, or truth.
'That' is often left out:
I'm disappointed (that) you aren't coming
The Prime Minister is convinced (that) she'll win the election
I think (that) it was the right thing to do
It's essential (that) you study hard
It's likely (that) it will rain tomorrow
She is certain (that) her money was stolen
 ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
These types of dependent clauses act as adverbs and tell us something about the
information that is in the main (independent) clause.
These are some of the common purposes of adverbial causes and common
subordinating conjunctions:
Condition: if, unless
Reason: because, since, as
Time: before, after, while, as soon as, when, since, until
Purpose: in order to, so that
Concession: although, though, even though, while, whereas
 ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
With adverbial clauses, the dependent clause can go before or after the
independent clause. Here are some examples of adverbial clauses:

I will go if you go as well

As it's his birthday, let's book a nice restaurant
You will lose weight as soon as you change your diet
In order to improve hospitals, there must be more investment
He's upset he failed the test even though it's his own fault
 ADJECTIVE / RELATIVE
CLAUSES
The third type of dependent clause is the adjective or relative clause.
It is acting as an adjective because it modifies a noun or pronoun.  
The clause will start with a relative pronoun e.g. which, who, that,
whom, where, or whose.
it usually comes directly after the noun it's modifying so unlike
adverbial clauses, the position where it appears in the independent
clause will vary.
 ADJECTIVE / RELATIVE
CLAUSES
In these examples of adjective clauses, the noun being modified is
underlined:
The church, which is from the 14th Century, is very beautiful
He's the one who stole the car
The student that spoke in class was placed in detention
Bristol is the city where I grew up
Ian, whose house is at the end of the street, hates living here.
Subject: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that does an action. Determine the subject in a
sentence by asking the question “Who or what?”
• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.
Verb: Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or concept does. Determine the verb in a
sentence by asking the question “What was the action or what happened?”
• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.
• The movie is good. (The be verb is also sometimes referred to as a copula or a linking verb. It links the
subject, in this case the movie, to the complement or the predicate of the sentence, in this case, good.)
Object: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that receives the action. Determine the object
in a sentence by asking the question “The subject did what?” or “To whom?/For whom?”
• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.
Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that begins with a preposition (i.e., in, at for, behind, until, after,
of, during) and modifies a word in the sentence. A prepositional phrase answers one of many
questions. Here are a few examples: “Where? When? In what way?”
• I like spaghetti for dinner.
• He reads many books in the library.
 ENGLISH SENTENCE
STRUCTURE
The following statements are true about sentences in English:
A new sentence begins with a capital letter.
 He obtained his degree.

A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point).

 He obtained his degree.

A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.

 Smith he obtained his degree.

A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.

 He obtained his degree.

A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.

 He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).

A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an independent clause.
 He obtained his degree.
TYPES OF SENTENCES
Simple

Compound

Complex

Compound-Complex
 STRUCTURE AND PARTS
Simple: Made up of an independent clause
 He performed research.

Compound: Made up of two or more independent clauses.

 Her performed the research, and he won an award for his strong work.

Complex: Made up of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

 Although he has never been a good student in high school, he graduated from university summa
cum laude.
Compound-complex: Made up of two or more independent clause and one or more
dependent clauses.
 The rain was falling, and the weather was cold, though it was supposed to be spring.
 WHAT EXACTLY IS A
SENTENCE?
Sentences is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. In
order to express a complete thought, every sentence must have two
parts:
1. Subject (someone or something)
2. Predicate (what the someone or something is being or doing)

Important Note: just because a group of words has a subject and a

predicate, that doesn't necessarily mean it’s a complete sentence. In
order to be a sentence, it must also express a complete thought.
 SIMPLE SENTENCE
STRUCTURE
Basic sentence structure:

Subject + Predicate.
Period /
Full stop
at the
end

Who or What is
What the subject does or
responsible for the action
is.
of the sentence.

+ Complete Idea
 SIMPLE SENTENCE
STRUCTURE
Subject + Predicate.
Examples:

I write in my journal every day.

Maria is a doctor at Mercy Hospital.

All of the 5th grade students will take a test next week.
COMPOUND SENTENCES

Combining independent clauses

Independent clauses = Complete sentence
I am often busy and tired.

I struggle to meet my deadlines.

 COMPOUND SENTENCES
Combining two independent clauses:

1. Use a semicolon

I am often very busy and tired. I struggle to meet my deadlines.

I am often very busy and tired; I struggle to meet my deadlines.

Incorrect: I am often very busy and tired; and I struggle to meet
my deadlines.
 COMPOUND SENTENCES
Combining two independent clauses:

2. Use a comma + a coordinating conjunction

I am often very busy and tired. I struggle to meet my deadlines.

I am often very busy and tired, and I struggle to meet my deadlines.

Incorrect: I am often very busy and tired, I struggle to meet my
deadlines.
COMPOUND SENTENCES
.
;
, for
, and
Independent , nor Independent
clause , but clause
, or
, yet
, so
 COMPLEX SENTENCES
Combining independent & dependent clause

Independent clauses = Complete sentences

Dependent clauses = Sentence fragments

Because I am often very busy and tired, I struggle to meet my deadlines.

* A complete sentence needs (a) a subject, (b) a verb, and (c) a

complete idea
 SUBORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS
Many (but not all) dependent clauses use them. They join a subordinate clause to a main
clause and establish a relationship between the two.

after before though

although how unless
as soon as if until
as long as in order to when
as though once whether
because since while

* Subordinate Means that the clause does not express a complete idea,
even if it contains a subject and predicate.
COMPLEX SENTENCE
Main (independent) clause
(simple sentence)

+
Dependent clause / phrase
(incomplete sentence)
 COMPLEX SENTENCES: BASIC
MODELS
Introductory

Dependent clause / phrase Main clause

,
Ending
Main clause Dependent clause / phrase
⌀
 Dependent: Independent:
If the flight is on time Tim will get home tonight

If the flight is on time , Time will get home tonight.

Tim will get home tonight ⌀ if the flight is on time.

 COMPOUND-COMPLEX
SENTENCE
Combining Compound + Complex
2 independent clauses + dependent clause

Belinda must be at work early today because there is

an important meeting, but she is feeling sick.
 WHY COMBINE SIMPLE
SENTENCES
Too many short sentences in a row can seem choppy.

Simple sentences can be redundant.

Combining sentences allows your writing to become more sophisticated.

I am often busy and tired. I struggle to meet my deadlines. I also

struggle to fulfill my other obligations. I need to work on my time
management skills.
 WHY COMBINE SIMPLE
SENTENCES
Too many short sentences in a row can seem choppy.

Simple sentences can be redundant.

Combining sentences allows your writing to become more sophisticated.

I am often busy and tired, and I struggle to meet my deadlines.

Because I also struggle to fulfill my other obligations, I need to work
on my time management skills.
 COMMON ERRORS – UNCLEAR
SUBJECTS
Sentence includes confusing or redundant subjects
Asking for help this can be difficult for many students.

Revision: Asking for help can be difficult for many students.

By conducting research it has enabled me to learn more about effective
leadership strategies.

Revision: Conduction research has enabled me to learn more

about effective leadership strategies.
 MASTERING THE MECHANICS:
PUNCTUATION AS SYMBOLS

Think of punctuation as symbols on a map – they have

specific meanings, and they guide your readers through
the territory of your ideas.
PUNCTUATION AFFECTS
MEANING
Let’s eat Grandma!
Let’s eat, grandma!

Punctuation Saves Lives.

 THE POWER OF PUNCTUATION

An English professor asked the students to punctuate the

following:
“A woman without her man is nothing”
All of the males in the class wrote: “A woman without her
man, is nothing.”
All of the females in the class wrote: “ A woman: without
her, man is nothing.”
 MASTERING THE MECHANICS:
COMMAS
•After introductory clauses
Despite the delay, I expect to complete the study on time.
•On either side of a nonessential clause
Mary, the newest employer, just finished training.
•In a list of three or more elements
He has written three books, a novel, a memoir, and a biography.
•Between two independent clauses joined by a conjunction
I turned the paper in late, but as least I finished it.
 PERIODS
•At the end of a complete sentence.
All faculty are required to attend the meeting.
•After a parenthetical citation
All participants were under the age of 10. (Wilson, 2003).
•I certain abbreviations
i.e., e.g., et al., U. S.
 SEMICOLON
•Between two independent clauses
Half of the staff is out sick; however, the meeting will still go on as
planned.
•Between elements in a list that contains internal commas
I grouped my students into teams as follows: Mary and Patrick;
Kelsey, Erick, and Cara; and Ashley and Zach.
•Between multiple sources in a single citation
(Wilson, 2010; Peters, 2007; Ruiz, 2004)
 COMMON ERROR: RUN-ONS
Include more than one simple sentence joined together improperly.
I attended the conference last July I also was at the symposium in October.  Two
complete sentence with no punctuation.
I attended the confidence last July, I also was at the symposium in October. 
Comma is insufficient to combine independent clauses (comma splice)

Revision Examples:
• I attended the conference last July. I also was at the symposium in October.
• I attended the conference last July; I also was at the symposium in October.
• I attended the conference last July, and I also was at the symposium in October.
 EXAMPLE 2
Employee morale has a big impact on productivity, because job satisfaction
plays an important role in turnover, managers should value the employees’
emotional needs.  Unclear mixture of complex and simple sentence.

Revision Examples:
Employee morale has a big impact on productivity because job satisfaction plays an important
role in turnover. Managers should value the employees’ emotional needs.
Employee morale has a big impact on productivity; because job satisfaction plays an important
role in turnover, managers should value the employees’ emotional needs
Employee morale has a big impact on productivity, and job satisfaction plays an important role in
turnover, so managers should value the employees’ emotional needs
 COMMON ERRORS:
FRAGMENTS
Lack one or more necessary component of a sentence and/or does not express
a complete idea.
Examples:
Fragments in Simple Sentences
Showed no improvement in any vital signs.  Predicate, but no Subject.
Revision: The patient showed no improvement in any vital signs.
Study skills that Alice uses.  Subject, but no predicate.
Revision: Study skills that Alice uses include time management and note
taking.
 most problems with sentence
fragments, however, are in more
complicated sentences ….
 EXAMPLE 1
The manager announced a new job position; to work with the
technical support staff.  Second independent clause lacks a subject.
Revision Examples:
Simple: The manager announced a new job position to work with the
technical support staff.
Compound: The manager announced a new job position; the new
employee will work with the technical support staff.
 EXAMPLE 2
A task force to study potential causes for the rising rates of diabetes,
and members will work with the community to seek a solution. 
Sentence lacks a verb associated with the subject.

Revision Examples:
Compound: A task force has convened to study potential causes for the
rising rates of diabetes, and members will work with the community to
seek a solution.
Simple: Members of a task force to study potential causes for the rising
rates of diabetes will work with the community to seek a solution
Thanks for your
attention
Questions?