Grammar Lesson #1: Sentences

Since this IS the Grammar Nazi's blog, I figured it was time for a grammar lesson. Today's focus: sentences.

Now before you roll your eyes and say, "Well, of course I know what a sentence is!", let me just say this: if everyone knew what a sentence really was, they would know when to use periods. By this statement, you can infer that many writers out there aren't using periods when they're supposed to. The two grammatical errors that are sure to kill any essay grade are run-on sentences and sentence fragments. But to recognize, repair, and avoid run-ons and fragments--as well as knowing where to put commas--you must first understand what a sentence is.

A complete sentence is defined by the following:

1. It contains a subject noun and a verb (either or both can be compound).
2. It is a clause that can logically stand alone (no need for other phrases or clauses).
3. It has some type of end punctuation.

That's it. No other requirements, no silly guessing games. Now, let's define our terms:

1. Subject Noun: considered the subject, actor, or "doer" in the sentence. (A noun in general is a person, place, object or idea--a definition you may remember from your middle school days.)

Example: The sun shines.

Verb: the action or state of being in the sentence. There are eight (8) main state-of-being verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being and been. Nearly all other verbs are action verbs.

Example: The sun shines.


2. Clause: a phrase (group of words) that contains a subject noun and a verb. There are two types of clauses: independent and subordinate. Independent clauses are always complete sentences because they can stand alone.

Example: The sun shines

Subordinate clauses cannot stand alone despite having a subject noun and a verb. They contain what's called "subordinating conjunctions" (although, after, before, because, if, until, while, though, etc.) and "relative pronouns" (that, who, whom, whose, which, where, when, and why).

Example: Although the sun shines, I feel miserable. (Notice that a independent clause had to be added to complete the sentence.)


3. End punctuation: question mark, period, or exclamation point. These are the ONLY types of end punctuation. Commas, colons and semicolons CANNOT end a sentence.


Now we can move on to sentence types. There are four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex and compound-complex.

a. Simple: one (1) independent clause. Again, either the subject noun or the verb (or both) can be compound.

Examples
* The sun shines.
* The sun and moon wax and wane in their time.

b. Compound: two (2) independent clauses, joined by either a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but) or a semicolon (;).

Examples
* The sun shines, but the moon glows.
* The sun shines; the moon glows.

c. Complex: one (1) independent clause plus one or more (1+) subordinate clauses. Some subordinate clauses are set off with a comma, while others are not. (Subordinate clauses shown in bold below.)

Examples
The shirt that I like is on sale.
Although that shirt is on sale, I have no money to buy it.

d. Compound-Complex: two (2) independent clauses plus one or more (1+) subordinate clauses. Guaranteed to require at least one comma or semicolon. (Subordinate clauses shown in bold below.)

Examples
The shirt that I like is on sale, but I have no money to buy it.
Although they both love pizza, Allan prefers pepperoni, and Jake wants mushroom.


That's it for sentences. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments section. The next grammar lesson will cover fragments and run-ons.