SENTENC

E
Types and
Styles
ARLENE JOY CASTILLO, Student MAT-English
SENTENC
E
Types
ARLENE JOY CASTILLO, Student MAT-English
 What is
SENTENCE?
 4

“
Facts
about Sentences
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1. A sentence begins with a capital letter.

 He obtained his degree.
2. A sentence ends with punctuation(a
period, a question mark, or an
exclamation point).
 He obtained his degree.
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3. A sentence contains a subject that is

only given once.
 Smith He obtained his degree.
4. A sentence contains a verb or a verb
phrase.
 He obtained his degree.
5. A sentence follows an order
7

(Subject+Verb+Object word order).

 He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree
(object).
6. A sentence must have a complete idea that
stands alone. This is also called an
independent clause.
 He obtained his degree.
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Sentence Types
according to
Purpose
declarative interrogative
imperative exclamatory
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1.Declarative Sentence
It makes a statement. It usually
ends with a period and frequently
used in speaking and writing.
Examples:
1. I have four pets.
2. Two of my pets are dogs.
3. The reporter discusses the
lessons comprehensively.
2. Imperative Sentences
10

It gives a command or makes a

request. Usually, it ends with a period.
In this sentences, the subject you is
understood.
Examples:
1. Give me a glass of water.
2. Please do the activity on one whole
sheet of paper.
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3. Interrogative Sentences:
It is used to ask questions. Usually
it ends with a question mark.

Examples:
1. How many friends do you have?
2. Do you love riding in the roller
coaster?
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4. Exclamatory Sentences
It expresses a strong emotion.
Usually it ends with exclamatory
point.
Examples:
1. She is such a beautiful dog!
2. Don’t chew on that!
3. What do you think you’re doing!
 Let’s Practice!
13

Analyze each sentence and classify each as

Declarative, Imperative, interrogative, or
exclamatory and tell the reason why the sentences
are considered such.
1. What time does the next plane leave?
2. Randy will go on vacation with his parents.
3. Please check your work more carefully next time
4. That was the best movie I’ve seen in a long time!
14

5. Josh and Suzanne have been next-door neighbors

since first grade.
6. Leave the room quietly when the bell rings.
7. Have you seen Will Smith’s new movie?
8. This salsa is so hot it makes my eyes water!
9. I hope to catch up on my reading during spring
break.
10. Don’t forget to bring your literature books
tomorrow.
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Sentence Types
according to
Structure
simple compound
complex Compound-
complex
1.Simple Sentence
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It contains only one main clause and no subordinate

clauses. It may contain a
compound subject, a compound predicate,
or both.
Examples:
1. The stories are entertaining.
2. The stories and riddles entertain and
amuse readers.
3. The stories about the Old West entertain
the readers.
2. Compound Sentence
17

It contains two or more main clauses.

A. Usually they are joined by a comma and
a coordinating conjunctions(For, And, Nor,
But, Or, Yet, So).
Examples:
1. Stories about the Old West are
entertaining, and stories set in foreign
countries are interesting.
2. Stories entertain me, and riddles amuse
me, but poems are my favorite.
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B. Main clauses in a compound sentence may

be joined by a semicolon used alone.
Example:
1. Talented oral storytellers are rare ; Spalding
Gray is exceptional.
C. Main clauses in a compound sentence may be
joined by a semicolon and conjunctive adverb
(such as however, therefore, nevertheless)
Example:
1. Stories entertain and amuse; however,
poems are delightful.
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D. Main clauses in a compound

sentence may be joined by a
semicolon and an expression such
as for example.
Example:
1. Many authors write stories and
poems; for example, Sherman Alexie
is known for both his stories and his
poems.
 Let’s Practice! 20

Analyze each sentence and identify each as

Simple or Compound and tell the reason why the
sentences are considered such.
1. The new administration are focused on
fighting against organized crime.
2. I am taking another step forward.
3. Sharks always move around, so they would not
sink to the bottom of the ocean.
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4. What we learned yesterday may not be

useful for our project after all.
5. Every step takes me closer to my
destination, but it also gave me the feeling of
loneliness.
6. The parents and the children can’t believe
what happened yesterday.
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3. Complex Sentence
It has one main clause and one or
more subordinate clauses.
Example 1:
Main Clause

I like Toni Cade Barbara’s stories

S V Subordinate Clause

because they have good characters.

S V
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Example 2.
Subordinate Clause Main Clause

When I read her stories, I enjoy them

S V S V
Subordinate Clause

because they are believable.

S V
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4. Compound-complex Sentences
It has two or more main clauses and
at least one subordinate clause.
Example:
Main Clause
Subordinate Clause

I read Frankenstein, which Mary Shelley wrote,

S V Main Clause S V

and I reported on it.

S V
 Let’s Practice! 25

Analyze each sentence and identify each as Complex

or Compound-complex and tell the reason why the
sentences are considered such.
1. The runners who completed the marathon
celebrated at the finish line.
2. Because she arrived first, Kristin unlocked the
door, but she left the key in the lock.
3. Lee didn’t know when we would return, but we
went with him anyway.
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4. Tonight we’ll just eat whatever is left from

lunch, and tomorrow we’ll order pizza.
5. Although the lead actor had the flu, we
presented the play.
6. The pool where we usually swim is too small
for swim team practice.
SENTENC
E
Styles
 Why
Sentence
Style
Matters?
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A. Varied Sentence lengths and styles

1. Featuring Short Sentences
A. Ideas separated into shorter sentences:

My mother wants me to spend next

weekend with her and my two aunts.
They all talk nonstop. I am sure I would
be nothing more than a fly on the wall
while they talk about all the family
members. I am simply not going!
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2. Ideas embedded in longer sentences:

My mother wants me to spend next

weekend with her and my two aunts who
all talk nonstop. I am sure I would be
nothing more than a fly on the wall while
they talk about all the family members,
so I am simply not going!
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3. Combining Short Sentences

You can combine short sentences as a means
of explaining an idea or a connection
between two ideas.
Ex.
Two short sentences: My television is
broken. It is Karen’s fault.
Sentence combination that maintains
intended emphasis and causality: Because of
Karen, my television is broken.
4. Incorporating Sentences of Varying Lengths. 32

Text of varying lengths is easier to read than text

where the sentences are all about the same length.
Consider the following text that begins the first chapter
of Mark Twain’s A Tramp Abroad. Twain begins with a
long sentence (thirty-three words), follows with a
medium-length sentence (seventeen words), and closes
with two short sentences (six and five words,
respectively). This mix of sentence lengths creates text
that flows smoothly and is easy to read.
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One day it occurred to me that it had been
many years since the world had been afforded
the spectacle of a man adventurous enough to
undertake a journey through Europe on foot.
After much thought, I decided that I was a
person fitted to furnish to mankind this
spectacle. So I determined to do it. This was in
March, 1878.
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I was thinking one day. I thought of something

the world hadn’t seen lately. My thought was of
an adventurous man. The man was on a walking
trip through Europe. I thought some more. Then
I decided that I should take such a trip. I
should give the world something to watch. So I
determined to do it. This was in March 1878.
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One day it occurred to me that it had been many

years since the world had been afforded the
spectacle of a man adventurous enough to
undertake a journey through Europe on foot, so
after much thought, I decided that I was a
person fitted to furnish to mankind this
spectacle, and it was in March 1878 that I
decided I was determined to do it.
5. Diversifying sentence openers and 36

endings.
Like making all your sentences the same length, starting all
your sentences in the same format—say, with “the” or
“there”—could result in seriously boring text. Even if you
vary your openings slightly but still follow the basic
subject–verb–object format every time, you’re missing an
opportunity to make your sentences more interesting.
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*All sentences begin with one or two words:

Original: The girl was terribly upset when her purse was stolen. There
wasn’t anything that could get the image out of her mind. The thief was
running when he grabbed her purse. The girl didn’t see him coming and
was caught off guard. The girl fell down and never got a good look at him.
Revision: [Reverse the sentence.] Having her purse stolen upset the girl
terribly. [Start with the key issue.] Her mind held onto the image and
would not let it go. [Add an adverb.] Unfortunately, she didn’t see him
coming and was so caught off guard that she fell down and never got a
good look at him.
Sentences begin with a variety of words but all follow the
38

subject–verb–object format:
Original: The young woman got up off the ground. Then she ran to her dorm
room in a state of shock. She got in the elevator without looking at anyone. She
started crying as soon as she walked into her room. Her roommate held her hand
and tried to get her to calm down. Some friends from down the hall showed up.
Revision: The young woman got up off the ground. [Rearrange to create an introductory
phrase.] In a state of shock, she ran to her dorm room. [Insert an adjective at the
beginning.] Frightened, she got in the elevator without looking at anyone. [Choose an
unusual subject for the sentence.] Tears came as soon as she walked into her room.
[Rearrange to create an introductory phrase.] In an effort to calm her down, her
roommate held her hand. [Add some new content at the beginning of the sentence.] As timing
would have it, some friends from down the hall showed up.
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6. Including Sentences with Differing Structures

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KEYPOINTS
-Using a variety of sentence lengths helps make text interesting.
-Varying your sentence beginnings helps keep texts from being too
monotonous.
-Using a mix of sentence structures makes text more inviting and
engaging.
-You can use short sentences to create emphasis.
-You can add emphasis by placing key words and terms at the ends of
sentences and as the last word in a series.
-You can also add emphasis to a sentence with paired ideas by
strategically aligning words with the ideas.
B. Writing in Active Voice and Uses of Passive41
Voice
1. Recognizing Active and Passive Voice
To use active voice, you should make the noun performs
the action, the subject of the sentence, and pair it
directly with an action verb.
Example:
Matt Damon left Harvard in the late 1980s to start his acting
career.
Matt Damon’s acting career was started in the late 1980s when he
left Harvard.
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Example 1
The original screenplay for Good Will Hunting was
written by Matt Damon for an English class when he was
a student at Harvard University.
 
Example 2
As an actor, Matt Damon is loved by millions of fans
worldwide.
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2. Using Action Verbs to Make Sentences More

interesting.

Even though the passive voice might include an action verb,

the strength of the action verb is lessened by the structure of
the sentence. Also, the passive voice tends to create
unnecessary wordiness. Read the following sentences and
think of a way to reword each using an action verb in active
voice. Then study the suggested revision in each case.
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Examples
Original: The zebras were fed by the zoo workers. (eight
words)
Revision: The zoo workers fed the zebras. (six words)
 
Original: Water was spewed in the air by the elephant.
(nine words)
Revision: The elephant spewed water in the air. (seven
words)
 
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Original: The home of the hippopotamus was

cleaned up and made tidy by Hank, the Hippo Man.
(sixteen words)

Revision: Hank, the Hippo Man cleaned up and

tidied the hippopotamus’s home. (eleven words)
3. Writing in the Active Voice
46

Once you completely understand the difference

between active and passive voice, writing in active voice
becomes easy. All you have to do is to make sure you
always clearly say who or what did what. And if you notice
you are using forms of the verb “to be” with your action
verb, look closely at the reason. If you are writing in
progressive tense (“Carrie is walking to my house”) or
perfect progressive tense (“Melissa will have been
married for four years by then”), you will need to use
such helping verbs, even in active voice.
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4. Using Passive Voice

Sometimes passive voice actually is the best option.

The point is to only use passive voice when you
consciously decide to do so. Consider the following
acceptable uses of passive voice.
A. When you don’t know who or what is responsible for
48

the action:
 
Example: Our front door lock was picked.
 
B. When you want to hide the person or thing
responsible for the action, such as in a story:
 
Example: The basement was filled with a mysterious
scraping sound.
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C. When the person or thing that performed the action

is not important:
 
Example: The park was flooded all week.

D. When you do not want to place credit, responsibility,

or blame:
 
Example: A mistake was made in the investigation that
resulted in the wrong person being on trial.
E. When you want to maintain the impression of objectivity:
50

 
Example: It was noted that only first graders chose to eat
the fruit.
 
F. When you want to avoid using a gendered construction and
pluralizing is not an option
 
Example: If the password is forgotten by the user, a security
question will be asked.
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KEYPOINTS
-In active voice, the subject of the sentence completes the action.
--In passive voice, the action is performed by someone or
something other than the subject of the sentence.
-As a rule, you should write using the active voice in order to make
sentences more interesting.
-One way to avoid dull sentences is to avoid starting sentences
with wording such as “there are,” “there was,” and “it is.”
-Using action verbs without the verb “to be” creates stronger,
active voice sentences.
-Some specific situations call for the use of the passive voice.
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C. Using Subordination and Coordination

Subordination and coordination are used to clarify the
relative level of importance or the relationship between
and among words, phrases, or clauses within sentences.
You can use subordination to arrange sentence parts of
unequal importance and coordination to convey the idea
that sentence parts are of equal importance.
1. Subordination
53

Subordination allows you to convey differences in importance

between details within a sentence. You should always present
the most important idea in an independent clause and use
dependent clauses and phrases to present the less important
ideas.
*after, because, by the time, even though, if, just in case,
now that, once, only if, since, though, unless, until, when,
whether, while, that, what, whatever, which, whichever, who,
whoever, whom, whomever, whose.
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I will come to your house or meet you at the gym,

whichever works best for you.

The core idea is that I will either come to your house or

meet you at the gym. The fact that you’ll choose
whichever option works best for you is subordinate, set
apart with the relative pronoun “whichever.”
Smaller sentence 1: The number of students who live at home and take 55
online college classes has risen in the past ten years.
Smaller sentence 2: The rise has been due to increased marketing of
university online programs.
 
Larger sentence using subordination (version 1): The number of students
living at home and taking online college classes has risen in the past ten
years because of increased marketing of university online programs.
 
Larger sentence using subordination (version 2): Because of increased
marketing of university online programs, the number of students living
at home and taking online courses has risen in the past ten years.
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2. Coordination
Some sentences have two or more equal ideas. You can use
coordination to show a common level of importance among
parts of a sentence, such as subjects, verbs, and objects.

Examples
Subject example: Both green beans and asparagus are great with
grilled fish.
Verb example: We neither talked nor laughed during the whole two
hours.
Object example: Machine embroidery combines the beauty of high-
quality stitching and the expediency of modern technology.
 
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*and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet (FANBOYS) –

Coordinating conjunctions.

*both…and, either…or, just as…so, neither…

nor, not…but, not only…but also, whether…or-
Correlative Conjunctions.
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Ideas presented in two sentences: I’m planning to

see the Statue of Liberty while I’m in New York.
I’m also going to go to a Broadway play.

Ideas presented in one sentence using coordination:

While I’m in New York, I am planning to see the
Statue of Liberty and go to a Broadway play.
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KEYPOINTS.
-Subordination refers to ideas in a sentence that are of less importance than
the main idea. Subordinated ideas are typically connected to the rest of the
sentence with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.
-Coordination refers to two or more ideas of equal weight in a single
sentence. Coordinated ideas are usually joined to each other with
coordinating conjunctions or correlative conjunctions.
-You can create emphasis using subordination and coordination within longer
sentences.
-Problems with subordination include placing main ideas in subordinated
clauses and phrases and including too many subordinated ideas in one
sentence.
D. Using Parallelism 60

Parallelism is the presentation of ideas of equal weight in

the same grammatical fashion. It’s one of those features
of writing that’s a matter of grammar, style, rhetoric, and
content. If used well, it can enhance your readers’ (and
even your own) understanding and appreciation of a topic.

Examples:
“Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.”
“Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”
“Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.”
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While it was raining, I had to run into the

grocery store, the dry cleaners, and stop
at the bookstore.
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This sentence is not parallel because it includes three

equally weighted ideas but presents two of them with action
verbs and one without.

While it was raining, I had to run into the grocery store,

duck into the dry cleaners, and stop at the bookstore.
 
While it was raining, I had to run into the grocery store, the
dry cleaners, and the book store.
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Coordinated Conjunction: Louie, my crazy Shih tzu

loves running after Frisbees and plays with leaves.
 
Possible Corrections: Louie, my crazy Shih tzu, loves
running after Frisbees and playing with leaves.
OR
Louie, my crazy shih tzu, loves to run after Frisbees
and to play with leaves.
 
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After I get off work, I’m driving to the gym, doing five
miles, and weights.
On Saturday, my roommates and I are playing in a game
of pick-up basketball, collecting coats for charity, work
on our homework for three hours, and go to a party in
the Village.
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Example with like words: It’s unusual to feel intense

attraction and intense repulsion for the same person.
 
Example with paired words: You always seem to run to
guitar lessons and crawl to piano lessons.
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KEYPOINTS
-Parallelism refers to common grammatical treatment of like-
weighted items within a series.
-Parallelism is also a rhetorical and stylistic technique for arranging
ideas in a pleasing and effective way.
-Paired ideas within a sentence should be parallel.
-Ideas within a series should be parallel whether embedded in a
sentence or listed vertically.
-In almost all situations, more than one possible method exists for
making a sentence or list parallel.
 
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E. Avoiding Sexist and Offensive Language

Use acceptable nonsexist language by using passive voice,

using plural formats, eliminating pronouns, switching to
direct address, and choosing nonsexist terms whenever
possible. An option of last resort is to use “his or her,”
“his/her,” “her or his,” or “her/his” or even to alternate
“his” and “her” throughout a text.
*Using Plural Format
68

By using plural nouns instead of singular nouns, you can

switch from sex-specific singular pronouns to gender-neutral
pronouns.

A family member who misses a holiday dinner will find he has

missed more than the food.

Family members who miss holiday dinners will find they have
missed more than the food.
*Revising to Eliminate Pronouns
69

Since English includes many singular gender-specific

pronouns, another way to eliminate sexist language is to
eliminate the use of pronouns.
 
A family member who misses a holiday dinner will find he
has missed more than the food.

A family member who misses a holiday dinner misses more

than the food.
*Using Direct Address
70

Sometimes you can simply switch from third-person

singular to second-person singular or plural and in the
process make your tone more engaging.

A student who forgets to bring his book to class will be

assessed a ten-point penalty for his daily work.

If you forget to bring your book to class, you will be

assessed a ten-point penalty for your daily work.
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*Choosing Nonsexist Terms

One of the best methods of solving the sexist language

problem is to choose nonsexist terms. With a little
practice, you can learn to naturally use the currently
preferred nonsexist language rather than terms that
are no longer acceptable.
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*Avoiding Other Offensive Language

Use currently accepted terminology when referencing

groups of people. If you are writing about a group of people
and you are unsure of the proper terminology, research the
most recent usage patterns before you write.
Be sensitive when referencing people with disabilities by
using a “people first” approach. For example, say “a person
who uses a wheelchair” instead of “a wheelchair-bound
person.”
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KEYPOINTS
-Some language that was formerly considered acceptable is
now considered sexist.
-You can avoid sexist language by using passive voice or plural
constructions, by eliminating pronouns, or by switching to
direct address.
-Whenever possible, you should choose from among nonsexist
terms that are increasingly available.
-Be sensitive when you write. Avoid any language that might
offend others.
 75

REFERENCES
Sentences Structure and Types of Sentences-Academic
Guides at Walden University retrieved from
https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/gramm
ar/sentencestructure#s-lg-box-9131421.

Grammar and Composition Handbook, High School 1, New

York, New York.
Thank you for
Listening!!