Sentence Variety Adds to Sentence Fluency

1
Sentence Variety Adds to Sentence Fluency

• How many ways can you start a sentence to create
  variety and flow?

2
All Sentences Begin with a SUBJECT-VERB
PatternS-V

• Mary attended the movie premier with her best
  friends.
• Mary is the SUBJECT.
• Attended is the VERB.
• Note their location.
• This is a very common pattern.

3
Prepositional Phrase

• With her friends Mary went to the movie premiere.
• From the window she watched each and every car
  that passed her house.
• Beyond all hope Sam screamed one final time for
  help with every ounce of breath he possessed.
• Some prepositions are about, above, in, into,
  outside, before, beyond, during, on, over,
  toward After long prepositional phrases use a
  comma to separates the phrase from the sentence
• 6th graders are to know 35, 7th graders-40,
  8th graders-82, high school -120 ,
  college-dont ask!

4
Begin with an APPOSITIVE

• Mary, my best friend in the world, accompanied me
  to the movie premiere.
• An appositive is a phrase following the noun that
  it renames.
• my best friend in the world renames Mary.
• The appositive is separated from the rest of the
  sentence by commas.

5
-ING Verb Phrase

• Attending the movie premiere, Mary watched it
  with her best friends. (present participle)
• Phrase begins with a ing action verb like
  running, singing, wondering, thinking, hoping
• Separated from S-V with a comma
• A sentence follows. Remember a sentence contains
  the subject and verb.

6
-ED Verb Phrase

• Excited to be at the movie premiere, Mary watched
  it all with her best friends. (pastt participle)
• Phrase begins with a ed action verb like
  descended, exhausted, frustrated, affected
• Separated from S-V with a comma
• A sentence follows. Remember a sentence contains
  the subject and verb.

7
Glue Word Phrase-Beginning

• When the movie premiere arrived in town, Mary and
  her friends attended the event. (subordinating
  conjunction)-a comma separates from the S-V
  pattern.
• Glue Word phrase, _________ .

after before since although as if so that even
though as long as until in order that in order
to because when whenever while despite in spite
of
8
Glue Word Phrase-End

• Mary and her friends attended the event when the
  movie premiere arrived in town. (subordinating
  conjunction)-no comma
• _________ Glue Word phrase

after before since although as if so that even
though as long as until in order that in order
to because when when wherever while despite in
spite of
9
Adverb

• Suddenly, a loud crashing sound broke the mood in
  the peaceful forest.
• Excitedly, Mary and her friends bought tickets
  for the movie premiere.
• Most adverbs have the suffix (ending) ly
• slowly, happily, willing, suddenly, franticly
• Usually, they are followed by a comma but not
  always

10

• Friends attended the movie premier.
• Friend is the SUBJECT and a COMMON NOUN.
• Attended is the VERB.
• Note that no other words begin the sentence. No
  a, an, the, or adjective.

11
Infinitive Phrase

• To see movie stars, Mary and her friends attended
  the movie premier.
• The phrase begins with a to and a verb is added
• to eat, to investigate, to visit,
• To can be a preposition but if it is followed
  by a verb it is an infinitive phrase.

12
Common Noun

• Friends attended the movie premier.
• Friend is the SUBJECT and a COMMON NOUN.
• Attended is the VERB.
• Note that no other words begin the sentence. No
  a, an, the, or adjective.

13
Indentify Sentences Beginnings

• 1. Happily, Mary went to the movie. ____
• Adverb

14
Identify

• 2. Running to get in line, Mary joined her
  friends. ____
• -ing phrase

15
Identify

• 3. At the end of the line the girls waited to get
  tickets. ____
• Prep. Phrase

16
Identify

• 4. While the girls waited in line, they talked
  about their hopes of being entertained. ____
• ___Glue Word

17
Identify

• 5. The movie, a real spy thriller, seemed to be a
  crowd pleaser. ____
• Appositive

18
Identify

• 6. The girls thought the movie topped the charts
  even though the hero died in the end. ____
• ___,Glue Word

19
Identify

• 7. Frustrated by the long lines, Mary and her
  friends abandoned the hope of possessing
  authentic autographs. ____
• -ed verb phrase

20
Identify

• 8. Fans of the movie lined the entrance as the
  movie stars promenaded to their seats. ____
• Common noun

21
Answers

• Adverb
• -ing verb phrase
• Prepositional Phrase
• Glue Word, ______
• Appositive
• -ed verb phrase
• ____ Glue Word Phrase
• Common Noun