Transcript Bell Ringers August 11-21 Focus on Syntax

Bell Ringers August 11-21
Focus on Syntax
Syntax refers to the way in which linguistic
elements are put together to create
meaning.
Syntax is a fancy term for the sentence
structure.
What is the difference in the following
sentences?
Sienna threw the ball.
The ball threw Sienna.
Simple syntax is composed of a single
subject and verb.
Explain what each sentence means and
HOW the sentence conveys that meaning
to an average reader.
Sienna threw the ball.
Meaning: In this first sentence, “Sienna” is
performing the action. The action (verb) is “threw,” and
“the ball” is receiving the action. It is the thing being
thrown.
How Conveyed:
The first part of the sentence usually tells
us who or what is performing the action of the sentence. The
last part of the sentence usually tells us who or what is
receiving the action, and the name of the action usually comes
between the two. Since there is only one subject and one verb,
the syntax is simple.
Explain what each sentence means and HOW
the sentence conveys that meaning to an
average reader.
The ball threw Sienna.
Meaning: This sentence means that “the ball” is
performing the action and that “Sienna” is being
thrown.
How Conveyed: The performer of the action
usually comes first and the receiver of the action
usually comes toward the end. While a strange
image, this is still simple syntax because there is
only one subject and verb.
Now you try.
Woman, without her man, is nothing.
Meaning:
How conveyed:
Now this one:
Woman, without her, man is nothing.
Meaning:
How Conveyed:
August 13, 2014
• A compound sentence has two subjects and
two verbs joined with a coordination
conjunction (FANBOYS).
Examples:
Both are useful, and neither is “more right”
than the other, but they are not useful in the
same way.
Michael and Tamaira went to the movie after
school. What punctuation is necessary when joining two complete sentences
with a coordinating conjunction?
Identify the following as simple or
compound.
1. Jeremy arranged the classroom, the books,
and the desks.
2. He taped the board, and he washed the
desks.
3. Alexis babysits every Friday night after
attending school all day.
4. Megan and Patrick ran around campus and
swam half a mile.
August 15, 2014
• A clause has a subject and a verb.
• A phrase does not have a subject or a verb or
sometimes both.
Examples:
Only Bob gave Mary a ring. (subject and verb, so clause)
After the dance. (no subject or verb, so phrase)
is extended abroad (verb phrase, no subject)
Because I said so. (subject and verb, so clause)
Identify the following as phrases or
clauses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
On the porch.
Bob waved to Mary.
After the dance.
Bob asked Mary to marry him.
After she fainted from surprise.
Mary said, “Yes!”
Underline the phrases and clauses in
the following sentences.
• On the porch, Bob waved to Mary.
• Mary, on the porch, waved to Bob.
• After the dance, Bob asked Mary to marry
him.
• After she fainted from shock, Mary said,
“Yes!”
August 19, 2014
• A subordinate clause contains a subject and a
verb, but it cannot stand alone as a sentence.
It is also called a dependent clause.
• A word such as who, that, because, if, when,
although, or since signals that the clause it
introduces is subordinate.
Commas with Subordinate Clauses
• If the subordinate clause introduces the
sentence, set it off with a comma. If it comes
at the end, do NOT set it off with a comma.
Example:
Because I won the election, I am now the class
president.
I am now the class president because I won the
election.
Use editing marks to correct the following
sentences. Underline subordinate clauses
twice and independent clauses once.
• The poem that I read aloud in class is by
Maya Angelou.
• I dont know the student who borrowed
me a pen.
• Since we are late for class we have to
sign the tardy sheet.
•
Finish the Sentence Composing worksheet from “Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God.”
August 21, 2014
• If a subordinate clause introduces a sentence, set it off with a
comma. If it comes at the end, do NOT set it off with a comma.
• If two independent clauses are joined with a conjunction, use a
comma before the conjunction.
Example:
Roberto Clemente’s lifetime batting average was .317, and he had 3,000 hits.
• Do NOT use only a comma to join together two independent
clauses. Use a comma and conjunction, a semicolon, or a period.
Example:
Clemente was born in Puerto Rico in 1934; in 1972 he was killed in a plane
crash.
Clemente was born in Puerto Rico in 1934, but in 1972 he was killed in a plane
crash.
Use the proofreading marks to correct
the following sentences.
• Clemente helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win
the World Series in 1971, he got a hit in every
single World Series game.
• When Stella Kramrisch was a young girl she
and her parents moved to Vienna, Austria.
• She discovered her interest in art and
literature, when she was a young student.
Identify the underlined parts as
phrases or clauses
“The times, to their eyes, must have been out of
joint, and to the common folk must have
seemed as insoluble and complicated as do ours
today. It is not hard to see how easily many
could have been led to believe that the time of
confusion had been brought upon them by deep
and darkling forces. …but social disorder in any
age breeds such mystical suspicions” (authorial
aside, The Crucible).