Sentence analysis

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Lesson plan

• Lesson aims
• Explanation (practice inbetween)
• Exercises
• Checking the answers
• Final questions

Lesson aims

At the end of this lesson you can...

• Identify any co- and subordinating conjunctions;
• Split a sentence up into head- and subclauses;
• Explain the difference between simple and complex sentences.

Simple vs Complex

Simple:

- Consists of only one clause.

Complex

- Consists of two or more clauses.

- Typically consists of one main clause and one subclause.

Compound sentence

• Typically consists of two clauses.
• Two independent clauses.
• Linked by a coordinating conjunction

Which sentence is a complex sentence?

1. I ran to school.
2. I walked slowly, because I did not want to get sweaty.
3. Three adorable puppies are running after an old, chewed-up ball bouncing down the hall.
4. The old man is finally gone, but another has taken his place.

Which sentence is a simple sentence?

1. I have a brother and he is 24 years old.
2. I ran to the supermarket.
3. The waitresses are basking in the sun like a herd of skinned seals, their pinky-brown bodies shining with oil.
4. I ate the entire pizza, because I was hungry.

What is a clause?

• Part of a sentence
• Contains subject and predicator
• Can be independent (main) or dependent (sub)

main vs sub

Main (independent)

• Most important;
• Gives meaning on its own;
• Can be a simple sentence;
• Contains a subject and predicator.

Sub (dependent)

• Cannot be a sentence on its own;
• Introduced by a subordinator;
• Is a complement of the main clause.

How can you recognize a main clause?

Which sentence contains a subclause?

1. Whales cannot breathe under water for they have lungs instead of gills.
2. Since it was Sunday, we went to church.
3. I rode my bike yesterday.
4. I had to run, because the train almost left.

Conjunctions

Coordinating:

• Links two independent clauses.

Subordinating:

• Links a dependent clause with an independent clause;
• it shows the relation between the clauses.

Coordinating conjunctions

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

Subordinating conjunctions

• Long list of subordinating conjunctions

What is the function of a coordinating conjunction?

1. Give meaning to a main clause.
2. Link a main clause and a subclause.
3. Link to main clauses.
4. Link two subclauses.

What can we use the conjunctions for when analyzing a sentence?

1. We can use them to identify what type of clause we are dealing with.
2. For splitting two clauses.
3. For finding the finite verbs.
4. We do not use them.

Write down the conjunctions and identify which type of conjunction it is.

- He went to the store just now but you won’t be able to catch him.
- She ran a red light and ignored a police officer.
- I will calm down if you would only lower your voice!
- He is listening, even though he excels in this subject.
- The red team will win, provided that they score enough goals.

“Now when I had mastered the language of this water, and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as familiarly as I knew the letters of the alphabet, I had made a valuable acquisition. But I had lost something, too. I had lost something which could never be restored me while I lived. All the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river!”

Write down all of the co- and subordinating conjunctions.
Also, think about the types of sentences that occur within this piece of text.

Write down a simple and a complex sentence.

Are there any final questions?