LESSON 4

UNDERSTANDING SENTENCES
Along with words and phrases, sentences are basic units of meaning to
consider when we try to improve reading rate and comprehension. Clear accurate
understanding of sentences is essential to other comprehension skills and to the
effective reading and study of textbook chapter.
A sentence is commonly defined as a group of words that express a
complete thought or idea. Understanding sentences can be used as a
comprehensible input through comprehending punctuations, context clues,
references, and sentence core parts.
Aims of this lesson:
1. This lesson is aimed at providing the students with knowledge and application
of punctuations in order that they are able to read better.
2. After studying this lesson, it is expected that you have good understanding
about punctuations.
3. This lesson contains all important types of punctuations which are needed very
much in catching the writer’s message.

A. PUNCTUATIONS
Punctuation is the set of marks used to regulate texts and clarify their
meanings, principally by separating or linking words, phrases, and clauses.
1. Comma (,)
The comma has a number of different uses. But in each case, it separates
some type of information from other parts of the sentences. The different uses of
the comma are explained below.

a. The introductory use. The comma can be used to separate introductory,

beginning, or opening parts of a sentence from the main part of the sentences.
Examples:
1. To my surprise, most people attending the party were over thirty years old.
2. At the age of sixteen, he began to give piano concerts.
3. In spite of noise, he was able to sleep.
4. Before the war began, American colonist had already been rebelling for several
years.

b. The Parenthetical Use. The comma can be used to separate additional

information from the main part of the sentence. Writers occasionally interrupt
the core sentence to add some extra (parenthetical information which
important, but not crucial, to the sentence meaning. They use a comma before
and after this parenthetical information. To you as a reader, this use of the
comma should help you to tell important from less important information and

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 should aid you in identifying the sentence’s core part. You will notice that even
when the parenthetical phrase is left out, the sentence is complete and conveys
meaning.
Examples
1. My daughter, Raida Afifah, plans to go to Bali.
2. Dolphins, as a matter of fact, are very friendly creatures that frequently come
to the rescue of people.
3. Carl Akely, the American Naturalist, led two expeditions in the nineteen-
twenties.
4. The Coal Mine Safety Act, one of the first federal efforts to enforce safety
standards, reduced worker productivity.
5. Drug and alcohol, experts warn, are an unsafe and dangerous combination.

c. The Serial Use. Whenever several items are presented in a list or series, in a
sentence, they are separated by comma. Many different types of items may be
given in series. Single words, such as nouns or adjectives as well as phrases
and clauses are all separated by commas when they are part of list. In all cases,
the items in a series are equal and consistent in how they are connected or
related to the core parts of a sentence. As you are reading, if you notice many
items separated by commas, you might expect that they are a series of related
facts or ideas.
Examples
1. After I saw the film, I was bored, tired, and angry.
2. The language skills are taught in the order of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing.
3. Please runs upstairs, go into my bedroom, get my hand phone, and give it to
me.
4. Social adjustment requires that an individual maintain himself independently,
to be gainfully employed, and to conform to social standards set by the
community.

d. Related Ideas Use. The comma can be used to joint two closely related and
complete ideas within a single sentence. When used in this way, the comma
must be used with a conjunction or connecting words (and, or, nor, but and
for). This use of the comma tells you that there are actually two complete but
related ideas within a sentence (there are two sets of core parts within the
sentence)
Examples
1. We walked two miles into the woods, but we did not see a single wild animal.
2. We as teachers cannot be held responsible for the differences in ability that
students bring in the classroom, but we are responsible for motivating our
students and for making sure that they are involved in learning.

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2. The Semicolon (;)
The primary use of the semicolon is to separate two very closely related ideas
which have been combined in a single sentence. Sentence 1 and 2 in the examples
below can be combined to form sentence 3.
Examples
1. They bought the house at a very low price.
2. The former owner had to sell immediately and move to another city.
3. They bought the house at a very low price; the former owner had to sell
immediately and move to another city.
You may notice that this use of the semicolon is similar to the use of the
comma to separate complete and related ideas in one sentence. One main
difference is that a conjunction such as and or but must be used along with the
comma, but the semicolon can be used alone – without conjunction. When a
semicolon is used, you know that the two ideas have equal weight or importance.
Examples:
1. The job had to be finished on time; we found we had underestimated the
amount of work involved.
2. A good actor has to spend a lot of time in classes where he studies human
emotions, such as sadness, happiness, or anger; in these classes, he
concentrates on the audience in the theatre.
3. The fisherman caught fifteen trout; they cooked over on open fire.
Occasionally, a semicolon is used to separate sentence parts which, if divided
by comma, would be confusing or difficult to read. To illustrate this use of the
semicolon, the sentence below has been written in two versions.
1. Speakers at the conference included Dr, Frank, a biologist, Dr, Flock, a
philosopher, and Professor Smith, a geneticist.
2. Speakers at the conference included Dr, Frank, a biologist; Dr, Flock, a
philosopher; and Professor Smith, a geneticist.
As you read the first version of the sentence, you are not sure whether the
speakers include Dr. Frank and a biologist or whether it was Dr. Frank who was
being described as a biologist.
3. The Colon (:)
The colon is most often used to introduce a list, statement, or quotation.
The colon tells you, the reader, that some type of additional information which
further explains the main idea of a sentence is to follow. The colon also serves as
a marker indicating that the sentence’s core parts precede the colon.

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Examples
1. Books that I have enjoyed recently include: Pride and Prejudice, Sons and
Lovers, and Bleak House (The colon introduce a list of book titles)
2. The causes of the war can be divided into three categories: social, economic,
and political (a list of categories will follow).
3. Chomsky described two levels of language: One underlying or deep structure
involved with meaning, and a surface level used in ordinary conversation. (The
colon in this example signals that an explanation of the two levels of language
is to follow).

4. The Dash (–)

The dash is most commonly used in a sentence to separate unessential or
parenthetical element from the core sentence, when using a comma would be
confusing. This usage also assists the reader in separating core parts from
supporting information.
Examples
1. At least three sports – basketball, football, and tennis – are continually gaining
television fans.
2. Throughout history, man has been puzzled and exasperated by the strange
duality of his nature – half animal, half angel – and much religious and
philosophic teaching has been an attempt to understand and integrate these two
sides of human nature.
Summary
The sentence, one of the basic units of meaning, is defined as a group of
words that express a complete thought or idea. In order to be complete, a sentence
must contain sufficient information, so the reader is not left to questions what
happened or to whom or to what something happened.
All complete sentences must have two essential components; these are called
core parts. First, a sentence must have subject; it must be about person, thing, or
idea. Second, a sentence must express some type of action; something must
happen to or be done by the subject. In long complicated sentences, identifying
the core parts is more difficult because it is necessary to separate the core parts
from other words, phrases, and clauses which provide additional information
about the core parts.
Punctuation is an aid to the reader in comprehending sentence meaning and
identifying the core parts of the sentences. Each types of punctuation mark gives
the reader specific information about the relative importance of ideas and the
location of core parts within the sentence.

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B. USING CONTEXT CLUES
1. Figure out the meanings of words from their use in a sentence.
2. Use types of context clues.
What do you usually do when you come to a word you do not know in your
reading?
a. Look it up in the dictionary?
b. Ask your teacher?
c. Ask another students or friends?
d. Try to guess what it means?
If your answered a, b, or c, then you are not reading as effectively and
efficiently as you could be. In fact, the best strategy for dealing with an unknown
word is to try to guess what it means. This strategy:
 is fast because you don’t interrupt your reading.
 helps your comprehension because you stay focused on the general sense
of what you are reading.
 helps build vocabulary because you are more likely to remember the
words.
 Allows you to enjoy your reading more because you don’t have to stop
often.
WHAT IS CONTEXT
Read the following brief paragraph. Several words are missing. Try to
figure out the missing words and write them in the blanks.
Most Americans can speak only one _______. Europeans, however,
________ several. As a result, Europeans think ______ are unfriendly and
unwilling to communicate with them.
Did you insert the word language in the first blank, speak or know in the
second blank, and Americans in the third blank? You could tell from the sentence
what word to put in. The words around the missing words (the sentence context)
gave you clues to what word would fit and make sense. Such clues are called
context clues. Context clues can help you to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar
words.
Words are unit which is a constituent at phrase level and above. It is
sometimes identifiable according to such criteria. Words are the raw materials we
use to write everything from such as email, messages and memos to letter, essays
and textbooks. Therefore, when you do not understand a word an author uses, you
can use several strategies to help you define it. To understand an author’s specific
meaning of a word, you must look at the word in context, how it is used with the
other words in the sentence and surrounding the sentences. This is because word
takes a meaning from their context and has multiple meaning.

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Think about definitions of the word medium in these sentences.
1. The internet is a powerful medium for finding information.
2. Copper is a good medium for conducting heat.
3. I asked for my beef burger to be cooked medium more than rare, but less
than well done.
4. At the state fair, we saw a fortuneteller and a medium to try to
communicate with my dead uncle’s spirit.
5. The artist used watercolors on cloth as the medium for her work.
Explanation
Understanding the way the word is used with the other words in the sentence
helps you understand the specific meaning of medium.

 In sentence 1 medium is a mean of communication.

 In sentence 2 medium is something that carries energy.
 In sentence 3 medium is an intermediate amount.
 In sentence 4 medium is a person who channels communication between
the earthly world and spirit.
 In sentence 5 medium is the technique and material used by an artist.

DEFINING WORD AND PHRASES WHILE READING

To understand the variety of material you are required to read, you must
use the strategies flexibly, choose the strategy or strategies that best fit the
situation, for example, when you come to a word you do not understand, you
might first look for any context clues you can use. On the other hand, if you
recognize a part of the word, perhaps that is the entire clue you need. Or you
might start by looking it up in the dictionary and fitting the meaning back into the
context.

REMEMBERING WORD

 Understanding
Being able to remember something often depends on how thoroughly you
learned it in the first place. You must get or understand something before
you can “forget it”. In this context, understanding means your ability to
translate words and information into ideas that make sense to you.
However, applying several of your senses will help: see it, say it, hear it,
and write it.
 Reviewing and Using
Begin a session by reviewing some of the words you have already learned,
and then tackle new ones. You also have use new information to remember
it. In fact, it has been estimated that you must use a new word at least ten

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 times before it is really “your”. Try to use a few in your writing and
conversations each day.
TYPES OF CONTEXT CLUES
There are many types of context clues in determining word meanings in
textbook material: definition, example/illustration, cause and effect, contrast,
restatement, and modifier.
1. Definition Clues
Many times a writer defines a word, directly or indirectly, immediately
following its use. The writer may define a word directly by giving a brief
definition or providing a synonym (a word that has the same meaning). The words
and phrases such as means, is, are, refer to, can be defined as, can be called, and
are called often use.
Examples
1. Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human
communication.
2. Business refers to the production, distribution, and sale of goods and services
for a profit.
3. A markdown is a reduction in the original selling price of a product.
At other times, a writer may define a word indirectly. Indirect definitions
usually follow the word and are set off by commas, parentheses, or dashes. In the
following examples, the boldface word or phrase is defined the underlined part of
the sentence.
Examples
1. A hypochondrium, excessive worry over one’s health, is common among
senior citizen.
2. Some stores offer loss leader (products on which the stores lose money) to gain
new customers.
3. Probability – the likelihood that an event will occur – is important in the field
of statistics.

2. Example/illustrate Clues
Writers often include examples that help to explain or clarify a word.
Suppose you don’t know the meaning of the word toxic, and you find it used in
the following sentence.
Toxic materials, such as arsenic, asbestos, pesticide, and lead, can cause
bodily damage.

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 This sentence gives four examples of toxic materials. From the examples
given, which are all poisonous substances, you could conclude that toxic means
“poisonous”.
The words and phrases such as include, for example, for instance, to
illustrate, such as, and like indicate example clues.
1. Unconditioned responses, including heartbeat, blinking, and breathing, occur
naturally in all humans.
2. Mark experienced several traumas in early childhood, including the divorce of
his parents and the death of his grandma.
3. Most condiments, such as pepper, mustard, and catsup, are used to improve the
flavor of foods.
4. Reports such as the check-and-earnings statement are essential to operating a
business.
3. Cause and Effect Clues
The words and phrases such as because, consequently, so, due to, as a
result indicate cause and effect relationships.
Examples
1. Mary’s eyes had been sore for almost a week, so her mother decided to take her
to an oculist for treatment.
2. John was energetic enough to work sixteen hours at hospital because he had a
restful week end.
3. Computer is very expensive, so we cannot afford to buy it.

4. Contrast Clues
It is sometimes possible to determine the meaning of an unknown word
from a word or phrase in the context that has an opposite meaning. The words and
phrases such but, although, even though, yet, on the other hand, whereas,
nevertheless, and on the contrary indicate contrasting ideas.
Examples
1. During the ceremony, the graduates were quiet, but afterward they became
boisterous.
2. I loathe dogs even though most of my family loves them.
3. Most of graduates were elated, although a few felt sad and depressed.
4. I am certain that the hotel will hold our reservation, but if you are dubious, call
to make sure.

5. Inference Clues/ Logic of a Passage

Many times you can figure out meaning of unknown word by using logic
and reasoning skills. For Instance, look at the following sentence.

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 John is quite versatile; he is a top athlete, an excellent car mechanic, and a
gourmet cook.
You can see that John is successful at many different types of activities,
and you could reason that versatile means “capable of doing many things
competently”.
Some of questions now before us are empirical issues that are requiring
evidence directly bearing on the question.
From the way empirical is used in the sentence, you know that an
empirical issues is one that require direct evidence, and from that information you
can infer, or reason, that empirical has something to do with proof or supporting
facts.
6. Restatement
The words and phrases such as or, in other word, that is to say, that is and
the signals, commas, parentheses, and dashes indicate restatement.
1. The instructors also teach the culture (the idea and beliefs of society).
2. Students memorize information; in other word they learn and remember
basic rules and facts.
3. Communicating or getting our message across is concerned not only of a
second language teacher but also all in our daily lives in whatever
language we happen to use.
4. An awareness of body language – the subtle messages conveyed by
posture, hand movement, eyes, and smiles – is one among the many
avenues to improve communication by adult.
5. Ancient Egyptians wrote hieroglyphics – pictures used to represent words.

7. Modifier
The phrase or clause after a noun modifies the noun.
1. They have city manager, who runs all the service departments of the
government and takes charge of buying, for the city.
2. An Illiterate person, being unable to read and write, is often cheated

8. Sentence/Paragraph
The sentence or sentences that come before or after the sentence
containing word explain the word. The paragraph in which an unknown word
appears may also explain the word.
1. At six on faster morning, the bell in the church began its sonorous ring. The
full, deep, rich ring of the bell could be heard in the empty street as the sun
came up.

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2. Language learning strategies are not always readily observable to the human
eye. Many aspects of cooperating a strategy in which learner works with
someone else to achieve a learning goal, can be observed, but the act of making
mental association, an important memory strategy, can not be seen.
3. Children’s capabilities include both reception and production. They can
understand and they can communicate.

Exercise
1. They were conscientious workers, never stopping until they had taken care of
every detail so that everything was done correctly and precisely.
Conscientious means …
2. We feared that the new prime minister would be a menace to society, but she
turned out to be great peacemaker.
Menace means …
3. He jumped into fray and enjoyed every minute of the fight.
Fray means …
4. Fatty deposits on artery walls combine with calcium compound to cause
arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
5. Servers in restaurant depend on customers to leave a gratuity for their services.
Without tips, waiters could not make a living.
Gratuity means …
a. Money b. compliment c. recommendation
6. In searching for food, homeless people often have to scavenge in dumpsters.
Scavenge means …
a. Sleep b. hunt c. hide

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C. REFERENCE
Understanding reference words in reading is an essential skill in order to
understand the passage in reading, so read this lesson carefully!
Take a look at this sentence – what wrong with it?

Some people believe that a university education should be available to

everyone as a university education will help with employment.

The problem here is that ‘university education’ has been repeated – the sentence
would have been better presented using a reference word like this:

Some people believe that a university education should be available to

everyone as  this will help with employment.

Reference words (words that refer back to a previous word or phrase but
without repeating it) are very common in reading, and can often cause some
confusion. An important part of understanding a text is being able to identify the
reference words and their relationship to other words, phrases or sentences in the
passage.

References are words which substitute for other words or phrases. They
usually refer back to the ideas that have already been expressed; they sometimes
refer forward to the ideas yet to be stated.
The term The word reference is derived from Middle English referren,
from Middle French référer, from Latin referre, "to carry back", formed from
the prefix re- and ferre, "to bear". A number of words derive from the same root,
including refer, referee, referential, referent, referendum.
Exercise 1
Test your skills – what do the underlined words refer to?

New Zealand is becoming an increasingly popular destination for overseas

visitors. It attracts tourists and people on business, but the vast majority comes as
students. Mostly from Asian countries, they  stay for anything from a few weeks to
a few years or more, studying at language schools, colleges and universities. New
Zealand can offer good homestay accommodation, a clean and beautiful
environment and a reasonable cost of tuition. These factors attract an ever-
increasing number of overseas students, accounting for millions of dollars in
revenue for New Zealand.
It : ______________
They : _______________

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These factors : ____________
Exercise 2
Test your skills – what do the underlined words refer to?

A small group of scientists do not believe that dinosaurs became extinct because
they were big, clumsy beasts. Through their painstaking studies, these researchers
are trying to prove what really happened to these giants of yesteryear on the basis
of a theory that will astonish many: they think the cause of their demise came
from outer space.
they : ______________
their : ______________
these giants of yesteryear : ___________________
they : ______________
their : ______________

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D. IDENTIFYING CORE PARTS OF SENTENCES

DEFINITION OF A SENTENCE
A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought that
always contains subject and verb as its core parts. When you read, you must
understand the sentences in order to get the information that the author is telling in
his writing. For understanding the information, you need to look the key words in
a sentence. The key words are the subject and the verb. The subject tells who or
what the sentence is about. The verb tells what the subject does.
Example
Rachel lives in Pekanbaru
The subject of his sentence is Rachel. The sentence is about Rachel.
The verb in this sentence is lives.
The following exercise will help you learn how to find the important parts
of sentences
A B
1. Rachel is drinking a bus
2. Carol is cooking in a chair
3. Sam is driving near the door
4. Sergio is sitting coffee
5. Laura is standing a book
6. Don Pablo is reading dinner

When a group of words does not have subject or verb, that is not a
sentence, but it is called sentence fragment.
Example

 The man in the black suit

 Ate all the roast beef
 Running in the corridor
 When the race was over

E. TYPES OF SENTENCES
1. Simple sentence
A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject
and verb, and it expresses a complete thought.

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Simple Sentence:
 Has 1 independent clause
 Can stand alone
 Does NOT mean it is simple or easy
Examples
1. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.
2. Pekanbaru is a beautiful town.
3. Padang, the capital of West Sumatera province, is a beautiful town.
4. Will John go to Padang next week?
5. Are you students?
2. Compound sentence
A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a
coordinator. The coordinators are as follow: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
(FANBOYS).
Compound Sentence:
 Has 2 or more independent clauses (ones that can stand alone)
 Sentences combined with a conjunction (FANBOYS)
Examples
1. I went to the movie theatre on Saturday, and the movie “Gundala” was
great.
2. Alejandro played football, but Maria went shopping.

3. Complex sentence
A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more
dependent clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as,
because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or
which.

Complex Sentence:
 Has 1 independent clause (stand alone)
AND
 Has 1 or more dependent clauses (a part that cannot stand alone)
Examples
1. When I got home, the door was locked.
2. Do all of your homework, before you go out to play.
3. The girl who sits next to me is beautiful.
4. The town where I grew up is in Indonesia.

4. Compound-complex sentence
A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent clauses
joined by one or more dependent clauses
Compound-Complex Sentence:
 Has 2 or more independent clauses (stand alone)

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 AND
 Has 1 or more dependent clauses (a part that cannot stand alone)
Example
1. Because we are future English teachers, some people expect us to speak
perfectly, and other people expect us to write perfectly.
2. Although I like to go camping, I haven't had the time to go lately, and I
haven't found anyone with whom to go.

CORE PART OR KEY IDEAS OF A SENTENCE

The two core part of a sentence – the subject and the verb, must be present
for a group of words to convey a complete thought. To be considered as a
sentence in written English, a group of words must fulfill three conditions. It must
(1) contain a subject, (2) contain a verb, and (3) express a complete thought. To
read and understand s sentence, you should be able to quickly identify these three
core parts.
In a simple sentence, the core parts are easy to identify, because, it often
has only the core part and a few additional descriptive words or phrases. Read this
sentence: The ship sank. It consists of the core part: the subject – Ship and the
verb or action – sank. Now read this sentence: After the battle, the ship sank. The
core parts are still easy to identify – ship and sank. However in condition to
conveying the basic message that the ship sank, the sentence contains one
additional place of information – when it sank.

Object
In some sentences, the verb has an object or thing it refers to that
completes the meaning of the sentence. You might think of the object as the
person, place, or thing upon whom or to which the action is performed. The object
is often called the receiver of the action. Here are a few sentences in which the
object is underlined.
The psychology instructor discussed a theory of motivation.
- A theory of motivation is what the instructor discussed.
Researchers have investigated the differences in communication style.
- Differences in communication style are what researchers have
investigated.

Sentence Modifier
Once you have identified the core parts of a sentence, the next step is to
determine how the meaning of those core parts is changed or modified by the
remainder of the sentence. These remaining parts, called modifier, provide you
with further information about one of the core parts. Notice how each of the
underlined modifiers expands, alters, or limits the meaning of the following
sentences.
After showing the film, the instructor gave a quiz.
- The modifier tells when the quiz is given.
Dr. Ling, my philosophy instructor, assigns one chapter per week.

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 - The modifier indicates who Dr. Ling is.
Everyone except engineering major is required to take a philosophy
course.
- The modifier limits by giving an exception

In many long and complicated sentences, the key idea is not as obvious as
in the previous examples. To find the key idea, ask:
1. Who or what is the sentence about?
2. What is happened in the sentence?
Examples
1. Intelligence, as measured by IQ, depends on the kind of test given, the
skill of the examiner, and the cooperation of the subject.
2. Violence in sports, both at amateur and professional level, has increased
dramatically over the past ten years.
Identifying Core parts in Complicated Sentences
Many sentences are short, direct, and straightforward and, as such, are
easy to comprehend. Other, however, are complicated by the addition of
numerous facts and the expression of complex relationships.
Identifying core parts as you read becomes more difficult as sentences
become longer and more complicated and as additional information is added.
Simple sentence:
Abnormal behavior is the product of biochemical processes in the
brain
Complicated sentence:
Many professionals in the field of psychology, especially those
with medical backgrounds, believe that most, if not all, abnormal
behavior is the product of biochemical processes in the brain of
the affected individual.
The sentence is complicated by the addition of three pieces of information: (1)
who believe abnormal behavior is biochemically caused – “many professionals in
the field of psychology, especially with medical background”; (2) the qualifying
statement “most, if not all”; and (3) whose brain – “of the affected individual.”

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