Transcript Compound-complex sentences

Get a Grip
on
Get a Grip on
Grammar
Presented by:
Writing Services
A Service of the Extended
Learning Center
What is Grammar?
• Traditionally, grammar is defined as a
system of rules relating to the correct
forms and relations of words.
Grammar: Just the
Rules, Ma’am!
• Parts of Speech
• Types of Sentences
• Understanding basic grammar is critical
because it lays the foundation for effective
writing.
Once you master these two
elements, you’re ready to use grammar as
an effective vehicle of meaning.
Vehicle of Meaning
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Expresses Author’s Intent
Expresses the Tone
Provides Specific Information
Creates Clarity
Stimulates Interest
Provides Variety
Parts of Speech
• Noun
• Adverb
• Pronoun
• Preposition
• Verb
• Conjunction
• Adjective
• Interjection
Noun and Pronoun
• Noun
Name of a person, place, thing, or idea
John is waving.
• Pronoun
Used in place of a noun
He is waving.
Verb
• Expresses action or a state of being
The carpenter is sawing the board.
Adjective and Adverb
• Adjective
• Describes or modifies a noun
or pronoun
• Adverb
• Modifies a verb, an adjective,
or another adverb
Adjective
• The funny clown is floating dangerously
high above the ground.
Adverb
• The funny clown is floating dangerously
high above the ground.
Preposition
• Shows the relationship between the
object of the preposition and another
word in the sentence
• He is running to the beach.
Conjunction
• Connects individual words or groups of
words
• He is running to the beach
and is becoming tired.
Interjection
• Included in a sentence in order to
communicate strong emotion or
surprise
• Oh no! I am stuck.
Interjection
• Oh no! I am stuck.
• Punctuation is used to separate an
interjection from the rest of the
sentence.
Types of Sentences
In English, there are four types of
sentences:
• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-complex.
Simple Sentence
• Simple sentences
Contain a subject and a verb
Express a complete thought
Last summer was unusually hot.
Compound Sentence
• Compound sentences
Contain two or more main clauses
Last July was hot,
main clause
but August was even hotter.
main clause
Complex Sentence
• Complex sentences
Contain one main (independent)
clause and a subordinate
(dependent) clause
The rain finally stopped,
main clause
although many had left the area.
subordinate clause
Compound-Complex
• Compound-complex sentences
Contain two or more independent
clauses and one or more dependent clauses
The temperature is hot;
independent clause
the humidity is high
independent clause
unless the wind changes direction.
dependent clause
Sentence Purposes
Each type of sentence can serve one of four
possible purposes. Those purposes are:
• Declarative--Make a statement
“I came, I saw, I conquered.” --Julius
Caesar
• Interrogative--Ask questions
“How many roads must a man walk down
before you can call him a man?” --Bob
Dylan
More Sentence Purposes
• Imperative--Issue commands or requests
• “Do not go gentle into that good night.”
--Dylan Thomas
• Exclamatory--Make exclamations
• “Then go to the moon--you selfish dreamer!”
--Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie
Grammar Influences the
Reader’s Perceptions
• Word Choice
• Sentence Structure
• Tone
Intriguing Word Choices
• Increases reader interest
• Provides clarity
• Influences tone
Examples of Captivating
Word Choices
“The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.”
-- Ezra Pound
“Shut up,” he lied.
-- Damon Runyan
“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons…”
-- T.S. Eliot
Sentence Structure and
Tone
Notice how three lions of American
literature use structure and tone to
enhance the reader’s experience.
By creating their own personal style,
they bring a flavor and vitality to their
work which stamps it as both
completely original and timeless.
Mark Twain
You don’t know about me, without you
have read a book by the name of “The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that
ain’t no matter…
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Ernest Hemingway
The woman brought two glasses of beer and
two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the
beer glasses on the table and looked at the
man and the girl. The girl was looking off at
the line of hills. They were white in the sun
and the country was brown and dry.
“Hills Like White Elephants”
William Faulkner
He went on down the hill, toward the dark
woods within which the liquid silver voices of
the birds called unceasing-- the rapid and
urgent beating of the urgent and quiring
heart of the late spring night. He did not look
back.
“Barn Burning”
Foundations of Perception
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Your Prior Knowledge
Your Personal Experiences
Your Cultural Beliefs and Experiences
Your Societal Beliefs and Experiences
Elements of Effective
Grammar
• Sentence variation
• Intriguing word choices that add flavor
to your writing
• Use of the active voice
Sentence Variation
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Vary the sentence length
Vary the beginnings of the sentence
Vary the arrangement
Vary the types of sentences
Results of Sentence
Variation
• Increases interest
• Aids paragraph development
Active Voice
• Concise writing
• Direct writing
• Vigorous writing
Active Voice
Notice how two masters
of American literature use
the active voice in their
writing to make their writing
concise, direct, and full of energy.
Herman Melville
“Established in my new quarters, for a day or
two I kept the door locked, and started at
every footfall in the passages.”
“Bartleby, the Scrivener”
Edgar Allen Poe
“While I nodded nearly napping, suddenly
there came a tapping, as of some one gently
rapping, rapping at my chamber door.”
“The Raven”
Want More Information
on Parts of Speech?
Visit www.montgomery-college.com/elc
for more information on:
• Pronouns
• Verbs
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Conjunctions
• Prepositions
Want Additional Grammar Help?
• Visit the Writing Services in the Extended
Learning Center of Montgomery College at
3200 College Park Dr. in Conroe, Texas
• Use CyberScrybe the tutorial on-line service
at [email protected]
• Call 936-273-7396