(DC) Lesson Topic 1: Strong Sentences

Lesson Topic 1: Strong Sentences

Parts of speech have specific tasks to perform when they are put together in a sentence.

A noun or pronoun functions as the sentence subject when it is paired with a verb functioning as the sentence predicate.

Every sentence has a subject and predicate.

The subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tells something about the subject.

For example:

Sally runs.

Sally and her dog run on the beach every morning.

To determine the subject of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing "who?" or "what?" before it. The answer is the subject.

A diagram of the sentence "The audience littered the theater floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn." Who littered? The audience did. "The audience" is the subject. "Littered" is the verb of the sentence. The predicate (which always includes the verb) goes on to relate something about the subject. Everything following is the predicate: "littered the theater floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn."

 

Watch the following "Schoolhouse Rock" video, "The Tale of Mr. Morton," about subjects and predicates.

A simple subject is the main word that tells what or whom the sentence is about. A complete subject consists of all of the words that tell whom or what a sentence is about.

Simple subject: There is a giant spider crawling up the window. Complete subject: There is a giant spider crawling up the window.

 

A simple predicate is the main verb that tells something about the subject. A complete predicate consists of the verb and all of the words that modify the verb and complete its meaning.

Simple predicate: There is a giant spider crawling up the window. Complete predicate: There is a giant spider crawling up the window.

 

Is every group of words with a subject and predicate a real sentence? How do we know that a group of words is really a sentence? A sentence also expresses a complete thought.

Example: The girls wear pink hats.

This is a sentence. We know who the sentence is about and what they are doing.

Example: The girls who wear pink hats.

This is not a complete thought, so it is not a sentence. The phrase who wear pink hats only helps to identify who the words are about. When we read or hear, The girls who wear pink hats, it leaves us wondering, What are those girls doing? or, What about those girls? Incomplete thoughts are called fragments.

Example: Are prettier than worms.

This is not a complete thought, so it is not a sentence. It is a fragment and leaves the reader asking: who or what are prettier than worms?

This is a sentence:

They are prettier than worms.

Here is another sentence:

The girls who wear pink hats are prettier than worms.

Complete the following self-assessment to determine whether the group of words is a sentence or a fragment.

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