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Writing Paragraph - Topic 4

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18 views6 pages

Writing Paragraph - Topic 4

Uploaded by

elogi.glow
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TOPIC 4

PHRASES, CLAUSES AND SENTENCES


A. PHRASE

A Phrase is a small group of words forming a meaningful unit within a clause is called a
phrase. They don’t contain a subject or a verb. Phrases can be classified into five
groups:

Noun Phrase

A noun phrase is a group of words in a sentence that acts like a noun.


Example :
Have you seen the man in black.

Verb Phrase

A verb phrase is a combination of a verb and a particle.


Example :
I have been living in Los Angeles since I was born.

Adjective Phrase

An adjective phrase is a prepositional phrase which is used as an adjective.


Example:
My neighbor has a very interesting job.

Adverbial Phrase

An adverbial phrase is a phrase with two or more words that act adverbially.
Example :
You have to hand in your assignment as fast as possible.

Prepositional Phrase

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and is followed
by a noun or a pronoun.
Example :
I parked my car under the bridge.
B. CLAUSE
A clause is made up of a subject and a verb. Depending on the type, clauses can
sometimes act as a sentence. Clauses can be classified into two main groups:

Main Clause (Independent Clause)

It can stand alone as a sentence.


Example:
I like pizza.

Subordinate Clause (dependent Clause)

It cannot express a complete thought. In other words, it can’t stand alone.


Example:
When I saw him. (incomplete)

C. SENTENCE
A complete sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it can be made up of more than
one clause.
Example:
I ate some meat.

We can make up more complex sentences by adding multiple clauses or phrases to


give extra information about what's being described.
Example:
I went out to eat some fish but I couldn’t find a good restaurant.
A sentence is made up of words put together to do a certain job. Words are the smallest
meaningful units of a sentence.

Example:

barks / dog / angry


Each of the above words work differently in a sentence:

 barks ( a verb ) – a word type that tells what a noun is doing or being
 dog ( a noun )– a word type that names people, places, things and ideas
 angry is an adjective – a word type that describes a noun
Words are linked to create a phrase to build up the sentence.

 Simple sentences

If there is a capital letter at the beginning of a clause and a full stop at the end, you
have a sentence.

For example:

The angry dog barks.

This is a simple sentence. A simple sentence consists of one clause that has a subject
and a verb.

A simple sentence puts across one simple idea. For example:

Rebecca sang.

There can also be several words in the verb. An example of a sentence with two words in
the verb is:

It was raining.

An example of a sentence with three words in the verb is:

Sean has been running.

In each of the examples there is just one main verb and one idea. This is the simplest type
of sentence and is usually very easy to understand.
 Compound sentences

A compound sentence generally joins two simple sentences together.

You can use words such as 'and', 'or' and 'but' to join the ideas. These are called connectives.

For example:

 It was cold but we still went to town.


 It was raining and we stayed indoors.
This makes the two ideas equal in the sentence - if you take away one part of it, you are left with
a simple sentence again. These are very common when speaking and they are not difficult to
understand.

Here are three more examples of compound sentences with the connectives written in bold:

 The couple walked down the road and their neighbours waved from the house.
 The dog came rushing in so the cat ran upstairs.
 My friend gave me a lift because it was raining.
One advantage of compound sentences is that a writer can build more detail into their writing.
However, one problem is that some writers can get carried away and write long rambling
sentences.

For example:

My friend came round and said, "Do you want to get out of the house for a while?" and I did so
we went to town and walked around for a bit and then some women came over who we knew
from work so we started talking to them and then we felt hungry so we...

Remember, care needs to be taken when using connectives. Two in a sentence is usually enough,
and they don't need to be used in every sentence.
 Complex sentences

A complex sentence communicates more than one idea, so it is like a compound sentence
in a way.

However, the ideas are not equal. This is because one part is like a simple sentence, so
it can stand on its own. The other part can't - it needs something else to support it.

For instance, look at this sentence:

You can't persuade me to go to town, no matter how hard you try.

The first part could be a simple sentence - it stands on its own.

However, the second part, 'no matter how hard you try', is not a simple sentence and it
doesn't stand on its own. It needs something else to make sense.

We use complex sentences a lot when we speak, but it's important to use them in your
writing too.

These are the most difficult sentences to get right.

Here is another example:

When I arrived the angry dog barked.

The main clause is 'the angry dog barked' because it has a subject and a verb and makes
sense by itself.

The minor clause is 'When I arrived'. Although it is a clause with a subject and a verb, it
doesn't make sense on its own. It needs a main clause.

You can add more minor clauses to make a more complex sentence.

When I arrived the angry dog barked because it was hungry.

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