Name _______________________________________ Period ___________
Permanent Notes
Sentence Structure
Sentences are made up of words—words that are arranged in a particular order to
give meaning to the reader.
The English language is a particularly difficult language to learn, especially for those
who are learning English as their second language. Compared to many other
languages, the structure of sentences in English can look strange.
Think about how you would arrange the following words into a complete sentence:
cream
is
ice
chocolate
my
favorite
Many students will have written: My favorite ice cream is chocolate.
But what about: Chocolate is my favorite ice cream.
Both sentences make sense…so which is right?? The answer is…BOTH are correct!
But what about a more difficult set of words? On the line below, try to arrange the
following words to make a complete sentence.
to
because
I missed
home
had the
bus
walk
__________________________________________________________________.
Because I missed the bus, I had to walk home.
What kind of punctuation does your sentence have? How do you know where to put
the punctuation? Discuss as a class how you know (or don’t know) when to put in
punctuation. Are there any tricks that students can share to help each other out?
Both of the sentences above follow a few set guidelines that will help you in your
writing. When writing a sentence, listen in your head to how the words are
arranged. Then ask yourself:
1) Is the sentence complete?
2) Does the sentence make sense?
3) Are the pauses in the correct place?
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Essay ApprenticeTM
Name _______________________________________ Period ___________
Classwork
Fragments
A fragment is only part of a sentence; it does not express a complete thought.
Usually, a fragment leaves the reader “hanging,” wondering exactly what the writer
was trying to say.
Directions: For each of the following fragments, write down the question that the
fragment leaves you with. A few examples have been done for you. Note: There
may be more than one possible question that comes up for some fragments.
Examples:
After he left for school.
What happened (after he left for school)?
Spilled milk on the table.
Who (spilled milk on the table)?
1. When she left her room.
2. Although he knew he needed help.
3. Since I turned fifteen.
4. The black and white cat.
5. Racing to the house.
6. Unless you bring your lunch.
7. Until you call home.
8. During the afternoon.
9. Because he was older than me.
10. Which he brought from home.
11. Screaming at the top of her lungs.
12. Because of the weather.
13. Since my mom was so angry.
14. Her final answer.
15. Since it was a Thursday.
© 2008 Secondary Solutions
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Essay ApprenticeTM
Name _______________________________________ Period ___________
Complete Sentences
Since a fragment is only part of a sentence and does not express a complete thought,
it is important that we know how to fix fragments to make them complete
sentences. To make a fragment a complete sentence, you will need to answer the
question the fragment left you with. Using the worksheet and your answers on page
31, you will add to each fragment to make complete sentences.
Directions: For each of the following fragments, use the worksheet and your answers
on page 31 to make the fragment a complete sentence. A few examples have been
done for you. Note: There are many ways you can make a sentence complete.
Sometimes you will add to the end of the fragment; sometimes you will add to the
beginning. As long as you answer the question the fragment left you with, you will
have a complete sentence!
Examples:
After he left for school
he realized that he forgot his backpack.
The baby cried when he
spilled milk on the table.
1. When she left her room
2. Although he knew he needed help
3. Since I turned fifteen
the black and white cat.
4.
5. Racing to the house
6.
unless you bring your lunch.
7.
until you call home.
8.
during the afternoon.
9. Because he was older than me
which he brought from home.
10.
11. Screaming at the top of her lungs
because of the weather.
12.
13. Since my mom was so angry
14. Her final answer
15. Since it was a Thursday
© 2008 Secondary Solutions
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Essay ApprenticeTM
Name _______________________________________ Period ___________
Punctuating Sentences I
Now that you have worked with both fragments and complete sentences, it is important
that your sentences are punctuated so that they make sense.
Commas ( , ) are sentence separators, and for this exercise, commas will be used to
separate many of your fragments from the rest of the sentence.
To know when to insert commas, you will need to read the two parts of the sentence as
they have been divided on page 32. If one part of the sentence is NOT a fragment, then
it needs a comma. If both parts of the sentence are fragments, the sentence does NOT
need a comma.
Here is an easy way to remember this rule:
1 fragment = comma
More than 1 fragment comma
Directions: Use the lines below to copy your sentences from page 32. Above each
sentence part, write whether the phrase is a fragment or complete. Use the comma rule
above to decide whether your sentences must use a comma. If a comma should be used
to separate your sentence, write a comma in the box provided. Remember, if there is 1
fragment, use a comma; if there is more than 1 fragment, do not use a comma, and
leave the box blank. Some examples have been done for you.
Examples:
[ fragment ]
After he left for school ,
[ complete ]
he realized that he forgot his backpack.
(Notice that there is ONE fragment and one complete phrase in the example above.
Therefore, a comma has been added.)
[ fragment ]
The baby cried when he
[ fragment ]
spilled milk on the table.
(Notice that there are two fragments in the example above. Therefore, no comma was
added.)
1. When she left her room
2. Although he knew he needed help
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Name _______________________________________ Period ___________
3. Since I turned fifteen
4.
the black and white cat.
5. Racing to the house
6.
unless you bring your lunch.
7.
until you call home.
8.
during the afternoon.
9. Because he was older than me
which he brought from home.
10.
11. Screaming at the top of her lungs
12.
because of the weather.
13. Since my mom was so angry
her final answer.
14.
15. Since it was a Thursday
© 2008 Secondary Solutions
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Essay ApprenticeTM