Sentence Structure Notes PDF

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PROW 210 - Anderson Sentence Structure, Clauses and Phrases Summary Kinds of Sentences For our business writing purposes, there are four basic sentence structures of which you need to be aware: A. Simple – comprises an independent clause (subject+verb = independent meaning) plus any phrases that add information (you will find a list of the different kinds of phrases below). Example: The personnel manager handed the file to a junior Human Resources representative. In this sentence, the subject is The personnel manager. It is a noun phrase in which the main noun manager is modified by the definite article The and an adjective personnel. The verb is handed. In terms of the verb types, this one is transitive because it requires an object. The direct object is the file, which is a common singular concrete countable noun modified by the definite article. The indirect object is a junior Human Resources representative, which is a noun phrase in which the main noun is representative and the other words modify that noun. B. Complex – comprises an independent clause plus one or more dependent clauses (clauses which have a subject and a verb but which do not have a complete meaning on their own) plus any added phrases. Example: The personnel manager handed the file to a junior Human Resources representative when the contract was signed. The dependent clause is when the contract was signed . It has a subject (the contract) and a verb (was signed) but because the word when is part of the clause, there is no complete meaning. The word when turns the clause into a dependent adverbial clause (because it functions as an adverb). Later in these notes we will add some phrases to the example. C. Compound – comprises two or more independent clauses plus any added phrases. Usually the independent clauses will be joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction or by a semicolon. Example: The personnel manager handed the file to a junior Human Resources representative; the contract was signed.

Notice that in this example, the second clause has changed character. The contract was signed can stand on its own. The difference between this and the previous example is that you lose the adverbial relationship – you no longer have the second clause modifying the first. D. Compound-complex - comprises two or more independent clauses plus one or more dependent clauses plus any added phrases. Example: The personnel manager handed the file to a junior Human Resources representative when the contract was signed, but the representative had too many files already. In this example, a second independent clause ( the representative had too many files already ) is joined to the rest of the sentence with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. The sentence now has two independent clauses and one dependent clause. Kinds of dependent clause There are three kinds of dependent clause. The kind is based on the function of the clause in the sentence. A. The noun clause functions like a noun. Noun clauses will usually start with that, what, who, whether, why, which or how. Example: The personnel manager, who worried about falling behind, handed the file to a junior Human Resources representative when the contract was signed. In this example, who worried about falling behind is actually an appositive in function – it re-describes the personnel manager (the subject represented by the relative pronoun who) and it contains all the elements of a dependent clause: a subject and a verb, but it cannot stand on its own. Noun clauses can be appositives or subjects or objects – they can show up anywhere a noun could be used. If they are non-essential appositives, they will be set off by commas. B. The adverbial clause functions like an adverb. Adverbial clauses will start with a subordinating conjunction. When they introduce the sentence, they are always followed by a comma (as this sentence shows!). Example: Whenever pressures get tight, the personnel manager, who worried about falling behind, hands the file to a junior Human Resources representative when the contract was signed. In this example, whenever is the conjunctive adverb introducing the subordinated information. It has a subject (pressures) and a verb (get) but whenever pressures get tight obviously does not convey meaning on its own. The adverbial clauses can modify a verb, an adjective, an adverb, or the whole idea expressed in the main independent clause. The subordinating conjunctions that preface adverbial clauses express different things.

TIME: when, before, since, as, while, until, after, whenever PLACE: whither, whence, wherever, where CAUSE: because, since, as, for PURPOSE: in order that, so that, that RESULT: (this one is peculiar because the adverb is split) so…that, such…that (an example: The exam was such a breeze that I scored in the nineties.) CONDITION: if, unless CONCESSION: though, although MANNER: as if, as though, as COMPARISON: as, than C. The adjective or adjectival clause modifies a noun or pronoun. It is commonly introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whose, whom, which, that) or one of the relative adverbs (where, when, why). Like the appositives, they can be essential or non-essential. Sometimes the terms used are restrictive and non-restrictive. Examples:

Studying hard was the reason why I did so well on the exam. (essential/restrictive)

The employee, whose reports always met our needs, was rumoured to be dyslexic. (nonessential/non-restrictive) Kinds of Phrase Phrases add information to a sentence. Their structural flexibility is part f their appeal: phrases can be inserted almost anywhere in a sentence, which means they can alter the focus or rhythm of the information. There are six (6) basic phrase types. A phrase does not contain a subject and a verb, but some of the phrase types will have a verb form (verbal) performing a different function in the sentence. The types are outlined here in alphabetical order; the order is not related to how commonly the phrases appear in business writing. 1. Absolute – This kind of phrase comprises a noun followed by a participle, and it is independent of the meaning of the sentence. It is never a subject, and it does not modify anything. Example: The Annual Report written, my Executive Assistant turned to the next task: five-year projections.

2. Appositive – This kind of phrase renames, identifies, or explains a word that precedes it. It can be a noun phrase, a gerund phrase, an infinitive phrase or a prepositional phrase; what makes it appositive is its function related to the word that goes before it. Example: This course, a thrilling way to spend three hours a week, is not a walk in the park. 3. Gerund – This kind of phrase always acts as a noun. It consists of a gerund (refer back to your notes on verbals for an explanation of the gerund) and its modifiers. Example: Taking dictation by shorthand, which used to be a required skill, has been rendered obsolete by recorders. 4. Infinitive – This kind of phrase uses the base form of the verb preceded by to (to swim, to breathe, to file) and any complement or modifiers it might have. The phrase can act as an adjective, an adverb, or as a noun. Example: File your income tax before the deadline to avoid the fines. In the example, the imperative mood of the verb has an elliptical subject. That means the subject is not directly stated but is understood. The subject is most likely the third person personal pronoun in this example: You file your income taxes before the deadline to avoid the fines. The verb is file, the object is your income tax. The next element is the phrase before the deadline, which is a classic prepositional phrase (see below). The final element is to avoid the fines – an infinitive phrase acting as an adverb modifying the verb file. 5. Participial – This kind of phrase uses the verbal known as a participle. That is the form we usually see in conjunction with the auxiliary verbs when we use the perfect verb forms. The participle and its modifiers or complements act as an adjective, and when it is an introductory phrase it is set off by a comma. Example: Piqued by the latest management theory, Theodora Cardinal fired half her staff. 6. Prepositional – This kind of phrase acts as an adjective or adverb and starts with a preposition that is followed by a noun or pronoun (the object of the preposition) and any modifiers attached to the noun. A short introductory prepositional phrase is not set off by a comma, but a longer one will be. Example: You will find the internet bill on the desk.

Parsing The process of taking a sentence apart for analysis is called parsing. Examining your sentences at the micro level can help you understand how to make your writing more effective. When you think about the chart (in Guffey et al.) relating sentence length to comprehension,

you realize how a habit of starting sentences with long introductory dependent clauses could be sapping your prose of energy and effectiveness. Another benefit of parsing is that it can reveal errors in modifier order, subject-verb agreement, and logic. If undetected, these errors can lead to communication mishaps and legal complications....