Mastering Clauses and Sentences for Grammar Mastery

1. CLAUSES Clause: a group of words that contains a subject and its predicate

2. FYI: • A complete clause includes not only the subject and the verb, but all of the modifiers and phrases that go with them. A sentence may consist of only one clause or several, each with its own subject and predicate.

3. TWO KINDS OF CLAUSES: • Independent clause: makes sense independently. • Example: Lance is a goofball. • Dependent clause: does not make sense unless it can “hang on to” an independent clause. Example:Because Lance is a goofball…

4. MORE DEPENDENT CLAUSES: • Adjective dependent clause: (AKA relativeclause) a dependent clause used as an adjective; often interrupts the main clause; begins with relative pronouns. • Relative pronouns:who, whose, whom, which, that • Examples: • The man who followed you turned left. • We watched the man who turned left. • “I am he that walks with the tender and growing night.”

5. Adverb dependent clause:dependent clauses that act as big adverbs. Adverb clauses usually begin with subordinating conjunctions. • Subordinating conjunctions: if, as, since, when, because, before, after, although, as long as, while, even though, in order that • Example: I jumped when the fish expanded. (This clause acts as an adverb because it answers the question, “When did I jump?”)

6. Where dependent clauses go: • Dependent clauses can not be used as sentences by themselves; they depend on an independent clause for meaning. • The dependent clause may be placed before, after, or even in the middle of an independent clause: • If you find the white whale, the voyage will be a success. • The evil will collapse when the white whale is destroyed. • The poet who wrote the cantos was exiled to Italy. • I found what I was looking for.

7. The difference between a clause and a sentence: • Read only: • A clause has both a subject and a predicate, like a sentence, but a sentence always has a complete thought, whereas a clause might be incomplete (if it’s dependent). • A sentence can consist of one or several clauses.

8. FOUR SENTENCE STRUCTURES: • Simple sentence: Structure: I • A simple sentence consists of simply one independent clause. • The house is haunted.

9. COMPOUND SENTENCE: II • Structure: I + I or I+I+I, etc. • A compound sentence is a sentence compounded by 2 or more independent clauses. • Ask me for tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man.

10. Complex Sentence: ID D,I • Structure: I+D or D+I or D+I+D, etc. • A complex sentence consists of an independent clause joined to a dependent clause. • Whenever Richard Cory went downtown, we people on the pavement looked at him.

11. Compound-complex sentence IID DII • Structure: I+I+D or D+I+I • A compound-complex sentence contains both a compound clause structure and a complex clause structure. • Because I exercise, I feel happy, and I stay in shape.

12. Summary of Clause Punctuation: • I,ccI(comma before coordinating conjunction in compound sentence) • I;I(semicolon between independent clauses if no coordinating conjunction) • ID(no comma after independent clause in complex sentence) • D,I (comma after dependent clause in complex sentence)

13. Four Purposes of Sentences/Ideas: • Declarative Sentence: a sentence that declares (states) • I am going to the mall. • Interrogative Sentence: a sentence that interrogates (asks a question) • Are you going to the mall? • Imperative Sentence: a command • Go to the mall. • Exclamatory Sentence: exclaims • I’m going to the mall!

14. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! • You are finished taking grammar notes!!!! • until next year…..=0)