Communication Arts 2 | Module 3 – 4

Name: _______________________________ Cr/Yr/Sec: ______________________________

Lesson 1: Subject and Predicate

Every complete sentence contains two parts: a subject and apredicate. The subject is what (or
whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tells something about the subject. In the
following sentences, the predicate is enclosed in braces ({}), while the subject is highlighted.

Judy {runs}.Judy 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.

The audience littered the theatre floor with torn wrappings and spilled popcorn. The verb in the
above sentence is "littered." Who or what littered? The audience did. "The audience" is the
subject of the sentence. The predicate (which always includes the verb) goes on to relate
something about the subject: what about the audience? It "littered the theatre floor with torn
wrappings and spilled popcorn."

Unusual Sentences Imperative sentences (sentences that give a command or an order) differ from
conventional sentences in that their subject, which is always "you," is understood rather than
expressed.

Stand on your head. ("You" is understood before "stand.") Be careful with sentences that begin
with "there" plus a form of the verb "to be." In such sentences, "there" is not the subject; it
merely signals that the true subject will soon follow.

There were three stray kittens cowering under our porch steps this morning. If you ask who?
or what? before the verb ("were cowering"), the answer is "three stray kittens," the correct
subject.

Simple Subject and Simple Predicate Every subject is built around one noun or pronoun (or
more) that, when stripped of all the words that modify it, is known as the simple subject.
Consider the following example:

A piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger. The subject is built around the noun
"piece," with the other words of the subject -- "a" and "of pepperoni pizza" -- modifying the
noun. "Piece" is the simple subject.
Likewise, a predicate has at its centre a simple predicate, which is always the verb or verbs that
link up with the subject. In the example we just considered, the simple predicate is "would
satisfy" -- in other words, the verb of the sentence.

A sentence may have a compound subject -- a simple subject consisting of more than one noun
or pronoun -- as in these examples:

Team pennants, rock posters and family photographs covered the boy's bedroom
walls.Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired the powerful
sculptures exhibited there. The second sentence above features a compound predicate, a
predicate that includes more than one verb pertaining to the same subject (in this case, "walked"
and "admired").
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Subject And Predicate Exercises

Instruction: Point out the subject and the predicate in each of the following sentences:

1. The dog loves the child.

2. Does the child love the dog?

3. The hunter caught the hare.

4. Where does the hare live in winter?

5. What a timid little fellow the hare is!

6. The vessel was a magnificent five-master.

7. Who commanded the vessel?

8. The girl plays the piano well.

9. How the people crowd the station!

10. Why are so many people gathered here?

Lesson 2 Sentence Fragment

A sentence fragment is a statement that cannot stand alone as a sentence, even though it might
look like it should be able to. A sentence fragment may be lacking a subject, a verb, or both. It
might even contain words that look like subjects and verbs.

Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have
become disconnected from the main clause. One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove
the period between the fragment and the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed
for the newly combined sentence.

Some fragments are not clearly pieces of sentences that have been left unattached to the main
clause; they are written as main clauses but lack a subject or main verb.

Example:

No main verb

 Fragment: A story with deep thoughts and emotions.

Possible Revisions:
o Direct object: She told a story with deep thoughts and emotions.
o Appositive: Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," a story with deep thoughts and
emotions, has impressed critics for decades.
 Fragment: Toys of all kinds thrown everywhere.
Possible Revisions:
o Complete verb: Toys of all kinds were thrown everywhere.
o Direct object: They found toys of all kinds thrown everywhere.
 Fragment: A record of accomplishment beginning when you were first hired.
Possible Revisions:
o Direct object: I've noticed a record of accomplishment beginning when you were
first hired
o Main verb: A record of accomplishment began when you were first hired.

No Subject

 Fragment: With the ultimate effect of all advertising is to sell the product.
Possible Revisions:
o Remove preposition: The ultimate effect of all advertising is to sell the product.
 Fragment: By paying too much attention to polls can make a political leader unwilling to
propose innovative policies.
Possible Revisions:
o Remove preposition: Paying too much attention to polls can make a political
leader unwilling to propose innovative policies.
  Fragment: For doing freelance work for a competitor got Phil fired.
Possible Revisions:
o Remove preposition: Doing freelance work for a competitor got Phil fired.
o Rearrange: Phil got fired for doing freelance work for a competitor.

These last three examples of fragments with no subjects are also known as mixed constructions,
that is, sentences constructed out of mixed parts. They start one way (often with a long
prepositional phrase) but end with a regular predicate. Usually the object of the preposition
(often a gerund, as in the last two examples) is intended as the subject of the sentence, so
removing the preposition at the beginning is usually the easiest way to edit such errors.
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Every sentence has to have a subject and a verb in order to be complete (remember what we said
about subjects and verbs?). If it doesn't, it's a fragment. That's easy enough if you have
something like

1. Ran into town. (no subject)

2. The growling dog. (no verb)

Unfortunately, there's a little more to it than that. You can have a group of words with both a
subject and a verb that is still a fragment. Not fair? What is? So, before we go any further, we
need to cover some basics.

A phrase is nothing more than a group of words. (See prepositions.)

A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. There are two types that you need to be
able to distinguish:

1. main (independent) clause: one that can stand alone and express a complete thought
2. subordinate (dependent) clause: one that depends on another element for its complete
meaning

A main clause is a complete sentence; a subordinate clause, because it depends on something

else, isn't--even though it has a subject and a verb. A few examples should make this clear
(subjects and verbs are bolded):

1. I sit in front of the fireplace.

2. We go for a walk.
3. I like people.
These are all main clauses. The information might be sketchy, but the ideas are complete.
Compare these with the following which are all subordinate clauses. There is a subject and a
verb, but the ideas are incomplete.

1. When it is cold.
2. After the dishes are put up.
3. Who pat my head and give me treats.

These are fragments because they are punctuated incorrectly. It's easy to spot this kind of
mistake: just read your paper aloud, slowly and carefully, exactly as it is punctuated (that is, stop
at each period). If anything is incomplete (a fragment), you should hear it.

Think about it: if I come into the room and haven't spoken to you, you'll be a little puzzled if all I
say is "When it is cold." You're going to be waiting for more information. (Actually, you'd
probably be more than puzzled if I said anything!)

One way to put these examples together clearly and correctly is:

1. When it is cold, I sit in front of the fireplace.

2. We go for walk after the dishes are put up.
3. I like people who pat my head and give me treats.

Notice the punctuation. When a subordinate clause begins a sentence, always put
a comma after it (#1). If the subordinate clause comes after the main clause, you usually need no
punctuation (#2 and #3). With sentence 1 and 2, you could just as easily have written (again, pay
attention to the punctuation):

1. I sit in front of the fireplace when it is cold.

2. After the dishes are put up, we go for a walk.

Some of the words that create a subordinate clause

are: after, although, as, because, before, if, since, that, unless, until, when, whether, which, while,
and who. Watch out for these and check your sentences carefully to make sure they're punctuated
correctly.

That's probably enough on fragments. Just remember: whatever is between that opening
capital letter and the closing period in a sentence has to express a complete thought.
Otherwise, you'll probably give your professor something to mark on your paper!

Exercise:

1. When you get a new puppy.

A Sentence
B Fragment

2.Since I have to be home early.

A Sentence
B Fragment

3.Where are you going?

A Sentence
B Fragment

4. When you can, come over.

A Sentence
B Fragment

5. As long as we have plenty of room.

A Sentence
B Fragment

6. The team practices whenever the weather allows.

A Sentence
B Fragment

7.Because I overslept.

A Sentence
B Fragment

8.Whatever you decide.

A Sentence
B Fragment

9.While you are here.

A Sentence
B Fragment

10. Where the road ends.

A Sentence
B Fragment

Lesson 3: Kinds of Sentences According Sturcture

A. Simple Sentences
--- A simple sentence has one complete thought and only one subject-verb connection.

1. Simple subject, simple predicate.

Example:
Gretchen goes to school.
Richard plays basketball.

2. Simple subject, compound predicate.

Example:
Linda went to the market and bought fruits.
Nelson turns on the radio and listens to the music.

3. Compound subject, simple predicate.

Example:
Father and mother stare at the baby.
The priest and the nuns pray together.

4. Compound subject, compound predicate.

Example:
Jake and T.J. run to the door and welcome their new friends.
Maria and Julie prepare the ingredients and bake a carrot cake.

B. Complex Sentence
--- A complex sentence consists of an independent clause and a dependent clause, joining them
together.

Example:
Because it was cold in the morning, I decided to wear a jacket.

Jason did not lock his front door because he lost his keys.
C. Compound Sentence
--- A compound sentence is made by using a coordinating conjunction (for, and , nor, but, or, yet,
so) to join two independent clauses using a comma.

Example:
The pilot misplaced his map, but he still found the airport.

The sprinter ran really slow, yet he won the race.

The rain poured heavily and it flooded the streets.

D. Compound-Complex Sentence
--- A compound-complex sentence is made from at least two independent clauses and one or
more dependent clauses.

This sentence structure gets to be a little more complicated. Students usually have a hard time
with this because they have not formed a good base knowledge of the other structures. This is a
very common sentence structure in English.

Example:
Even though I love to eat ice cream, I haven’t had any money lately, so I can’t go to the store to
buy some.

Independent Clause: “I haven’t had any money lately”

Independent Clause: “I can’t go to the store to buy some.”

Dependent Clause: “Even though I love to eat ice cream…”

The doctor attends to the sick infant while a nurse helps him and an attendant waits for his
instruction.

The policeman runs after the criminal while the crowd gives way to him and the old woman
prays to get her money back.

E. Clauses

1. Adependent clause has a subject and predicate but do not express a complete thought.

Example:
during the Japanese occupation
while she was crying
2. An independent clause consists of a subject and a predicate and has a complete thought. A
sentence is an independent clause.

Example:
My favorite dish is Chicken and Rice.
Jessica was born on May 14th, 2008.
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Exercise:
Kinds of Sentences According to Form Quiz

Instructions: Identify the sentence according to form.

1. Although she is pretty, she is cruel.

complex
compound
simple
2. I knocked, but you didn't open the door.
simple
compound
compound-complex
3. He was able to carry the heavy bag.
simple
complex
compound
4. I like the dress that you are selling, but I'm broke.
compound
complex
compound-complex

Lesson 4: Run-On Sentence

Look at the following sentence.

I saw a teacher who cares.

The author may have wanted to write

I saw a teacher. Who cares?

Using periods (and other forms of punctuation) and knowing when to end a sentence are very
important. If you don't end a sentence appropriately, the intended meaning can be changed, or it
can be misunderstood. Sometimes the meaning is simply incomprehensible.
When a person learns to write English sentences and compositions, one common problem is
writing sentences that are too long. When a sentence ends too quickly, it is called a sentence
fragment. When a sentence has too many ideas and runs on too long, it is called a run-on
sentence. If you have this problem, don't worry. It is quite easy to fix.

The first thing you need to do is identify when a sentence is a run-on. A run-on (or run-on
sentence) is a sentence that really has TWO sentences (or complete ideas) INCORRECTLY
combined into one. It is okay to combine two sentences into one, but you must follow some
rules.

You might be wondering: "What is a sentence?" A sentence consists of 3 things:

1. subject

the person, place, or thing performing or doing the action

2. verb

the action

3. complete idea

the reader isn't left waiting for another word

Take a look at this sentence:

I hit the ball.

Subject=I

Verb=hit

Is it a complete idea? Yes.

Therefore, this is a good sentence.

The ball is a direct object. Not all sentences require a direct object. For example

Birds fly.

Subject=birds
Verb=fly

Is it a complete idea? Yes.

There is no direct object here; however, it is still a complete idea and a good sentence.

Here's another example.

I take.

Subject=I

Verb=take

Is it a complete idea? No.

This sentence requires a direct object. (This sentence is called a sentence fragment.) It is
actually the verb which determines whether the sentence requires a direct object or not. If the
sentence requires a direct object, it is called a transitive verb. If the verb does not need a direct
object, it is called an intransitive verb. If you are unsure about some verbs, use a dictionary.
Dictionaries often denote transitive and intransitive verbs with the initials t.v. and i.v.,
respectively.

Here's one more example.

Murray takes the train to school Mom rides the bus.

Subject=Murray AND Mom

Verb=takes AND rides

Is it a complete idea? It is TWO complete ideas.

This last example is a run-on sentence: Two complete sentences (ideas) incorrectly combined.
This sentence lacks signal words which tell the reader when to stop or pause. A part of a
sentence that can be a sentence by itself is called an independent clause. This last example
has TWO independent clauses.

Summary

If you put two sentences (or independent clauses) together without a sufficient amount of signals
(commas, semicolons, or connecting words), you have created a run-on.