Academic Writing
Session 4 –Sentence Structure and Punctuation.
Session Overview
In this section, we will discuss the sentence and the correct usage of punctuations. Now that you have learned about the words we use in forming sentences, let us look at the different kinds of sentences that we have in the English Language. You can learn to identify sentences in three different ways: (1) by knowing the definition of a sentence or what makes a sentence, (2) by looking at the kinds of sentences we have, and (3) by studying the structure of a sentence. In this section, you will study and practise each of these ways.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section, you should be able to
•identify a sentence that expresses a complete thought
•write a sentence that expresses a complete thought
•identify the kinds of sentences that there are in English
•identify a sentence according to its structure
•Use punctuation correctly
Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
•What is a sentence?
•Kinds of sentences
•Parts of sentences
Subjects
Predicates
Objects
Complements
•Phrases
•Types of sentences
Simple sentences
Compound sentences
Complex sentences
Compound complex sentences
•Punctuation
Reading List
a)Quirk and Greenbaum, A University Grammar Of English
b)Yule Oxford Practice Grammar Chapter 6 pp. 57-65
Topic One
WHAT IS A SENTENCE?
A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought about something or someone. A sentence that does not express a complete thought is called a fragment. Let us look at the following examples.
1.Played football until dark. (Incomplete thought)
2.The children played football until dark. (sentence)
3.Either my friend or his mother. (Incomplete thought)
4.Either my friend or his mother will be at the airport. (sentence)
5.For more that three days. (Incomplete thought)
6.Akua has remained indoors for more than three days. (sentence)
Note that in the sentences above, sentences (1, 3, and 5) are considered as incomplete thoughts because,
i.in sentence 1, we do not know who ‘played football until dark’
ii.in sentence 3, we are not told what ‘the friend or the mother’ did, does, or will do.
iii.In sentence 5, we do not know what happened or will happen ‘for more than three days. ‘
Topic Two
KINDS OF SENTENCES
There are four kinds of sentences. Each conveys a different kind of thought and is written in a different way. They are; declaratives, imperatives, interrogatives, and exclamations.
•A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a period (full stop). For example:
The sun rises from the East and sets at the West.
Kwame Nkrumah was the first president of Ghana.
•An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request. For example:
Tell me the name of the UN Secretary General.
Write his name on the board.
In imperative sentences, the subject of the sentence is not stated directly but it understood to be the pronoun ‘you’.
•An interrogative sentence asks a question or requests for information.
What is the name of the immediate past president of Ghana?
Will you be going to the university this year?
•An exclamation sentence expresses a strong or sudden emotion. They normally end with the exclamation sign.
Just look at the beautiful scenery!
What a big mistake did we make!
Activity
Some of the following groups of words are sentences, and some are not. In the space provided beside each sentence, write S against a complete sentence or F against what you consider an incomplete sentence.
1.On the sidelines by the players’ bench.
2.Christine will be elected president .
3.The man who looked through the binoculars .
4.The drama club will meet on Tuesday night .
5.Neither the girls nor the boys in Mr. Kumi’s class .
Topic Three
PARTS OF A SENTENCE
Parts of a Sentence (Subject)
Every sentence must have two basic parts. These parts are known as the Subject and a Predicate. Now let me explain each part into details.
•Subjects
The subject of a sentence names a person, place, thing, or idea and tells who or what the sentence is about. It identifies the performer or receiver of the action expressed in the rest of the sentence, that is the predicate. For example:
My brothers / never arrive late for dinner subject predicate
Christine / will be elected president. subject predicate
In the examples above ‘my brothers’ and ‘Christine’ are the subjects of the sentence since the rest of the sentence talks about them.
Subject
There are different types of subjects; a simple subject made up of only a noun or pronoun, and a noun phrase made up of a noun and its modifiers (Modifiers are words that describe, identify, qualify or limit the meaning of a noun or pronoun), or a compound subject made up of two or more simple subjects or noun phrases joined by a coordinating conjunction (recall Unit 1, section 3). Below are examples:
1.Mozart began composing at the age of four.
2.A number of very bad decisions destroyed the company.
3.Paul and Peter are common twin names.
4.The doctor or the new medical assistant will attend to you.
•Note that, in the sentences above, I have underlined the subjects. ‘Mozart’ in sentence (1) is an example of a simple subject, and ‘a number of very bad decisions’ in sentence (2) is a noun phrase. Sentences (3 and 4) have compound subjects. ‘Paul and Peter’ are simple subjects joined by the coordinating conjunction ‘and’ and ‘the doctor or the new medical assistant’ are noun phrases joined by the coordinating conjunction ‘or’.
Parts of a Sentence(Predicate)
•The predicate of a sentence indicates what the subject does, what happens to the subject, or what is said about the subject. It is the part that says something about the subject. In other words, predicates indicate an action or a state of being. In the following examples, the predicates are underlined.
The old cinema hall was pulled down last year.
Ama received a full scholarship from the university.
•Just as with the subject, there are also different kinds of predicates. There are the simple predicate, complete predicate, and the complex predicate. The simple predicate is the main verb or the main verb and its helping verbs. For example:
He wept.
A new fufu pounding machine has been developed.
•Note that in the above sentences the simple predicates are underlined.
Predicate
•The complete predicate consists of the simple predicate plus its modifiers. The modifiers may be objects or complements. (I would explain objects and complements a little later). Here are examples of complete predicates:
The pouring rain flooded the whole community. (object)
The ride to the city is longer during rush hours. (complement)
•The compound predicate contains two or more predicates that have the same subject and that are joined by: and, but, or, nor, or another conjunction. Here are examples with the compound predicates underlined.
The chairman neither [wanted to run for a second term] nor [planned to serve] .
Adjoa [went to the market], [bought chicken], [prepared a nice meal] and [served the guest].
•Note that all the actions described in the sentence by the various verbs are about the same noun. The first sentence consists of a simple subject ‘the chairman’ and a compound predicate made up of two complete predicates joined by the conjunction ‘nor’. The second sentence has ‘Adjoa’ as the subject and compound predicate which is made up of four simple predicates.
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