Sentence Types

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Sentence Types

• A Sample of Ideas
• from Jeff Andersons Mechanically Inclined
• (Stenhouse, 2005)
• A recommended buy!

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What is a sentence?

• A sentence should be aliveSentences need energy
  to jump off the page and into the readers head.
  As a writer you must embed energy in the
  sentencecoil the spring, set the trap.
• Peter Elbow, Writing With Power

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What is a sentence?

• The Sentence A Way of Thinking, Jeff
  Anderson, Mechanically Inclined
• A sentence must contain at least one subject and
  one verb, and it must express a complete thought.
• A fragment is missing a subject or verb and/or it
  doesnt contain a complete thought.

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Try this Simplest Sentence Pattern for Fun and
Effect! The Two-Word Sentence SmackdownSubject
Powerful Verb

• They race. (Jerry Spinelli, Loser)
• Maria flinched. (Nancy Farmer, House of the
  Scorpion)
• Blood flew. (Stephen King, Cujo)
• He sprung. (Stephen King, Cujo)

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Your turn for a Two-Word Sentence Smack Down

• Subject Dog Breed (You pick the subject and
  add the verb!)
• Subject Story Character
• Subject Body Part (i.e., tongues)

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Review of a Two-Word Sentence

• What does a Two-Word Sentence include?
• (1) Who or what did what? AND (2) What was done?
• OR A SUBJECT (person, place, or thing noun) AND
• A VERB

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Another Powerful Sentence Pattern The
Compound Sentence
for and nor but or yet so
.
,
Sentence
Sentence
A compound sentence uses a conjunction to
bind two complete sentences.
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Remember the Sentence-Connecting Coordinating
Conjunctions with the Word

• FANBOYS
• For
• And
• Nor
• But
• Or
• Yet
• So

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Compound Sentence Examples

• Every day was a happy day, and every night was
  peaceful. (E.B. White, Charlottes Web)
• Celia says youre in shock, but I think youre
  just lazy. (Nancy Farmer, The House of the
  Scorpion)
• It was almost time for science, her best subject,
  so it would be easy for Judy to pay attention.
  (Also contains an interrupter, Megan MacDonald,
  Judy Moody Gets Famous)

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Compound Sentences

• Lets play a game to learn more about compound
  sentences.

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Lets hear some of your Compound Sentences

• Write a sentence to connect a hamsters cage with
  a messy bedroom.
• Connect an angry wasp with lazy old bloodhound.
• Connect a blustery fall day with a basketball
  game.

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Review of the Compound Sentence

• What does a compound sentence do?
• A compound sentence joins two complete sentences
  using a coordinating conjunction (one of the
  FANBOYS).

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Now lets get more complicated Three Basic
Scaffolds for Complex Sentence Patterns
Opener,
.
Sentence
interrupter,
.
,
Sent
ence
.
,
Sentence
closer
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Opener, Sentence

• Start with a preposition (above, after, across,
  against, along, among, around, at, behind, below,
  beside, between, beyond, by, down, from, in,
  inside, into, near, off, on, out, outside, over,
  past, through, to, toward, under, underneath, up,
  within, after, as, before, during, since, until,
  about, despite, except, for, like, of, per, than,
  with, without)

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Opener, Sentence with Prepositions as Starters

• To tease your hair, grab a small section and hold
  it up by the end. (Kinky Friedman, Kinky
  Friedmans Guide to Texas Etiquette)
• About the time I got to San Antone, I never
  wanted to see another dead armadillo.
• Despite his bulk, Lester sounded like a girl
  every time he opened his mouth.
• Underneath the seven layers of urine-soaked
  newspaper, rat poo, and seed jackets, Gilbertina
  was quite cozy and contented.

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Another Type of Opener, Sentence Start with
AAAWWUBBIS

• AAAWWUBBIS is a mnemonic device standing for the
  common subordinating conjunctions after,
  although, as, when, while, until, before,
  because, if, or since
• If you start a sentence with AAAWWUBBIS, youll
  need a commausually!

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Opener, Sentence Examples with AAAWWUBBIS

• Before the plate hit the table, Louie leaned
  forward like a snake striking and hit the stack
  of pancakes with his fork. (Gary Paulsen, Harris
  and Me)
• When I pop in a Bird CD, its like I feel myself
  filling up with Zeke. (Tracy Mack, Birdland)
• If there was an Olympic contest for talking,
  Shelly Staffs would sweep the event. (Wendelin
  Van Draanen, Flipped)

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Review of Opener, Sentence

• How does an Opener start?
• An Opener starts with a preposition
• or
• An AAAWWUBBIS

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Now you use the Opener, Sentence pattern to
complete the following sentences

• ________________, Amazina sniffed the
  tantalizing odor of pan-fried crows feet.
• ______________, strap yourself securely onto your
  broom, clasp the handle in both of your claws,
  and utter the mystical phrase, Barlulia
  liftupus.

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Sent-, interrupter, -ence

• His eyes, brown and sparkly, lit up his face.
• Intricate mosaic tiles, handpicked by Baba in
  Isfahan, covered the four floors of the four
  bathrooms. (Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner)
• I was stretched out on my back, my paws dangling
  at my sides, thinking nothing more of the meal
  Id just eaten and the chocolate I hoped still
  lie ahead. (James Howe, The Celery Stalks at
  Midnight)

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Sent-, interrupter, -ence

• What is the purpose of the interrupter?
• The interrupter adds describing information
  about the subject of the Sent- part of the
  sentence.

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More Examples of Sent-, interrupter, -ence

• Our yellow ranch house, 26 Bobolink Drive, had a
  garage and a bathroom shower with sliding glass
  doors. (Wally Lamb, Shes Come Undone)
• I even coaxed Rowdy, my bluetick hound, into
  helping me with this monkey trouble. (Wilson
  Rawls, Summer of the Monkeys)
• Monsieur Bibot, the dentist, was a very fussy
  man. (Chris Van Allsburg, The Sweetest Fig)

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Sentence, CloserA closer adds information to the
sentence.
,

participle (-ing or ed verbs) and
Sentence
Sensory Detail(s)
Note that not ALL closers follow this pattern,
but all closers add information.
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Examples of Sentence, Closer

• Cujo trailed at Bretts heels, looking hot and
  dispirited. (Stephen King, Cujo)
• The dog stood up like a lion, stiff-standing
  hackles, teeth uncovered as he lashed up his fury
  for the charge. (Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes
  Were Watching God)
• The waif waved a filthy kerchief, sending the
  stomach-churning air of the sewer into my
  nostrils.
• Simon seized Astrids arm, causing a bolt of fear
  to lunge up her spine.

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More Examples of Sentence, Closer

• He dont even whimper, like hes lost his bark.
  (Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Shiloh)
• The screen was coming away from the screen door
  in one corner, curling away from the metal frame
  like a leaf. (Suzanne Berne, A Crime in the
  Neighborhood)

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Examining the Sentence, Closer

• What does the Closer often start with?
• A participle (-ing or -ed verb)
• What does the Closer add to a sentence?
• The Closer adds information, often sensory
  details, to the Sentence.

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Time to experiment with Sentence, Closer

• The weary eagle spotted the cedar and made a
  beeline toward it, ___________________.
• Heracula lifted her pointy head,
  ___________________.
• Tears surfaced in his eyes, and the aged fairy
  king gulped, _____________.

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Another Powerful Sentence Pattern The Serial
Comma Sentence
.
,
,
e
c
Sente
and
n
AKA The Magic Three A Serial Comma Sentence
adds three pieces of information to a sentence.
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Examples of the Serial Comma Sentence
PatternSente n , c , and e .AKA The Magic
Three

• Pick up your tennis shoes, your potato chip bag,
  and your sweaty self off my white rug. (Betsy
  Anderson)
• With a malicious gleam in his eye, he kicks back
  the chair, pulls out his shirt tails, and adopts
  the high-volume grunting and braying tones of a
  Mississippi Delta evangelist. (Rob Thomas, Slave
  Day)

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More Examples of the Serial Comma Sentence
PatternSente n , c , and e .AKA The Magic
Three

• The soup was a delicious mingling of chicken,
  watercress, and garlic. (Rob Thomas, Slave Day)
• Can you imagine your father selling you for a
  tablecloth, a hen, and a handful of cigarettes?
  (Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux)

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Test your expertise with the The Serial Comma
Sentence

• The scraggly lion ____________, ____________, and
  ___________.
• Shot from his shaky bow, Albaniuss arrow
  ____________, ____________, and ___________.
• The ogres preferred snacks included __________,
  __________, and _____________

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Review of a Serial Comma Sentence

• Whats another name for a Serial Comma Sentence?
• The Magic Three
• What does a Serial Comma Sentence do?
• A Serial Comma Sentence adds three pieces of
  information to a sentence.

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Plans for Tracking Use of the Sentence Patterns
Sentence Type Number of Examples in My Paper
Two-Word Sentence (Color code Red)
Compound Sentence (Color code Brown)
Opener, Sentence (Color code Blue)
Sentence, Closer (Color code Orange)
Sent-, Interrupter, -Ence (Color code Green)
Serial Comma Sente n, c, e (Magic 3) (Color code Purple)

• Use this chart to track your usage of the
  sentence patterns