Last week we started to discuss sentences. This week, we continue.
Sentences are made up of two parts. Subjects and Predicates.
Subjects - The person, place, or thing that is the topic of the setence-- along with the words that describe it.
Predicate is what the person, place, or thing is doing or what condition it is in -- along with the words that modify it.
Implied Subject - Imperative sentences often have an implied subject. "Go fly a kite!" The implied subject is You, as in "You go fly a kite!"
The young man danced wildly. ("The young man" is the subject. "danced wildly" is the predicate.
References:
Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media
Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press
This week we dig deeper into the structure of writing: sentences.
Sentence - made up of one or more words that express a complete thought in a statement, question, request, command, or exclamation
Fragments - look like a complete sentence, but often does not complete a thought. Often, these fragments are subordinate (or dependent ) clauses.
Fragment Example: Because he was tired. This is a subordinate clause that is an incomplete thought.
Sentence: Because he was tired, the man took a nap. Subordinate clauses like "because he was tired" need independent clauses like "the man took a nap."
Sentences come in 4 flavors:
Simple - Expresses one complete thought with one independent clause and no dependent clauses
The man took a nap.
Compound - Has two independent clauses - joined by a conjunction or semicolon - and has no dependent clause
The man took a nap, and the cat jumped on his head.
Complex - Has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
Because he was tired, the man took a nap.
Compound-Complex - Has at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
Because he was tired, the man took a nap, and the cat jumped on his head.
And that wraps another guide.
References:
Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media
Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press
Welcome to week 11 of our Grammar Guide. This week is all about interjections. Interjections typically show up in dialog.
Interjections are used to express emotion such as surprise, displeasure and other strong emotions. Interjections are typically abrupt as an aside or interruption and most often appear in dialog.
Hey!
Wow!
Yuck!
A strong interjection will typically have an exclamation point ! as punctuation. However, you will see them with a period if the reaction is more subdued. Whoa.
Some suggestions on Interjections:
Use them sparingly. Like the exclamation point, you should limit your use of interjections as they can quickly tire out the reader and lose their impact when overused.
Sometimes, you can use !@#$@ to stand in for more... salty... interjections.
Any word type can work as an Interjection
Verb: Run!
Noun: Dog!
Adjective: Great!
Some words are only interjections. Some examples:
Oops!
Ouch!
Oh!
Shh!
Ahh!
Listen! Don't over do the interjections.
References:
Kern, Jara. (2020). The Infographic Guide to Grammar. Adams Media
Venolia, Jan. (2001). Write Right! (4th ed.). Ten Speed Press
