Today’s agenda:
1. Begin sentence combining exercises
2. Shapes of sentences: coordination and subordination.
We’ll go over Test#5 on Monday.
There are three sentence types in English:
*Simple
SV
SSV
SVV
Imperative!
Interrogative?
*Compound
SV + SV.
, SOBA , so , or , but , and
; semicolon
; TRANS,
*Complex
adverb clause
noun clause
adjective clause
*Compound complex – mix of compound and complex together
It was cold, so we stayed home because we don’t like the cold.
- It was cold, so we stayed home. compound
- We stayed home because we don’t like the cold. complex
I wanted to buy an expensive ring, but I settled on one that was on sale.
A good writer strives to have a mix of sentence styles.
We have all of these sentence styles that we can use, so we should use them.
We have the knowledge. We have to find ways to put that knowledge into practice.
Sentence combining- very effective practice for improving sentence writing, the best way!
Studying grammar is not an effective way to learn a language.
Reading out loud and recording yourself.
Sometimes I record myself playing music. Listen to it.
- Painful!!! It can be a disappointing experience.
We might not like to hear ourselves. Many of us are very self-critical.
However, the truth will set you free.
It is what it is. You can build on it.
Be gentle with yourself. Be on your own side. Be your own supporter.
When you are being self-critical, ask yourself this: Would you talk to your friend like this? Would you criticize your friend this harshly?
Own your own self-compassion. What would your self-compassionate voice say to your self-critical voice?
The self-criticism doesn’t help us. It doesn’t help us and makes us want to quit.
Imagine you were a four-year-old child. How would you talk to that child who was having trouble learning to do something?
Sentence combining – taking two or more short sentences, finding the key vocabulary in each sentence, combining the vocab together into a single sentence- dense but concise sentence
dense – lots of information
concise – as short as possible
Ex.1
It is raining today.
It is cold today.
We will go to the beach.
We will watch the sunset.
The sunset is beautiful.
It is raining today. KERNEL – centre of our final sentence, everything will be based around this sentence
FIND NEW INFORMATION IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES
It is cold today.
e.g. It is raining today, and it is cold today. POOR STYLE, REP, sprawling
We will go to the beach.
We will watch the sunset.
The sunset is beautiful.
Our goal is to combine all of this information into one sentence.
It is raining today
cold
We will go to the beach
watch the sunset
beautiful
DECIDE WHAT TYPE OF SENTENCE YOU WANT TO WRITE- simple, compound, complex
gut decision, instinct
My thought process, unspoken, automatic with practice
COMPOUND
Version 1 It is raining and cold today, but we will go to the beach to
watch the beautiful sunset.
Version 2 It is rainy and cold today, but we will still go to the beach to watch the beautiful sunset.
This is my unconscious thought process when writing sentences.
Writing is a deliberate process. You have to think about your options and make decisions. You are in control of your sentences.
You see somebody walking their dog. Sometimes, the dog is walking them.
We have to be in control of our dog and our sentences.
Exercises to try:
1. Boris tried counting sheep. He was too tired.
Boris tried counting sheep. KERNEL
He was too tired. All new information.
What kind of sentence do we want?
COMPOUND
Boris tried counting sheep, but he was too tired.
Boris tried counting sheep; however, he was too tired.
COMPLEX
Even though Boris tried counting sheep, he was too tired.
Although Boris tried, he was too tired to count sheep.
Although he tried, Boris was too tired even to count sheep.
Boris tried counting sheep even though he was too tired.
Boris who tried counting sheep was too tired.
SIMPLE
Boris tried counting sheep but was too tired. SVV
Boris was too tired and tried counting sheep.
Those varieties give us a lot of choice.
2. HARDER VOCABULARY Fluorite is a mineral sometimes found in granite. Fluorine is a poisonous gaseous chemical like chlorine.
3. I could eat a thick steak. I could enjoy a large chocolate sundae.
4. Sean is very tall. He is very big-boned.
5. Dianne had a pounding headache. She couldn't go to school.
6. John is extremely well-to-do. He never flaunts his wealth.
7. The rat was enormous. It was more than 30 cm long.
8. The baseball player could barely see the ball in the setting sun. She was able to catch it.
9. Mary is always sewing clothes for her friends and relatives. She has no time to sew for herself.
10. Laura will go with you. Irene will accompany you.
Try a few of these for homework. Try a few different versions.
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