Sentences

Definition: Sentences are a group of words that make sense and convey a complete thought.                      Types of Sentences:

1.     Statements: A statement is a type of sentence that begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. It usually gives information.

a.      Sarah will turn 10 in September.

b.     There are seven continents in the world.

2.     Commands: A command also starts with a capital letter and end with a period. It tells you to do something.

a.      Do not sit here.

b.     Clean your room.

3.     Questions: A question starts with a capital letter and with a question mark. It asks something.

a.      What is your name?

b.     How are you?

4.     Exclamations: An exclamation starts with a capital letter and ends with an exclamation mark. It shows a surprise expression or excitement.

a.      I love you!

b.     I missed my bus!

Parts of Sentences:

1.     Subject: tells us what the sentence is about. In a statement, it is usually found at the start of the sentence. The subject can either be one word or several words.

a.      Sarah drew an elephant.

b.     The cost to paint the school was very high.

c.      About 9 million people visit the fair every year.

d.     We finished our homework.

2.     Predicate: tells us about what the subject does or is about. It always contains the verb.

a.      Sarah drew an elephant. (drew is the verb (in bold) and the predicate is underlined).

b.     My sister and I visited our grandmother.

c.      Mrs. Hudson’s class held a class party.

Combining Sentences: When two sentences tell us about the same thing, they can be combined by using the word “and”.

1.     Sarah likes chocolates.

2.     Sarah likes chips.

Combine the above two sentences:

Sarah likes chocolate and chips.

1.     Apples are delicious.

2.     They are healthy.

3.     They are fresh.

Combine the above three sentences:

Apples are delicious, healthy, and fresh.

Capitalization:

1.     The first word: The first word in a sentenced always starts with a capital letter.

a.      My name is Tom.

b.     Tom is late for school.

2.     Names of people and pets:

a.      My sister Jill loves me.

b.     My puppy’s name is Ben.

3.     Titles: is a word that comes before a person’s name.

a.      Mr. Hudson.

b.     Aunt Lucy.

c.      President Lincoln.

d.     Judge Bill.

e.      Miss Newton

f.      Grandpa Bob

Note: If a title is not with a name it should never be capitalized.

1.     My aunt loves me.

2.     Bill’s dad is a judge.

         If a title is used as a name, it should be capitalized. Example:

1.     Tell Mom to cook pasta.

2.     Grandmother is coming home today.

4.     Names of Specific Places: always start with a capital letter.

a.      Yellowstone National Park

b.     Acres Green Elementary School

c.      Denver Library

5.     Days of the week: always start with a capital letter

a.      Sunday

b.     Monday

c.      Tuesday

d.      Wednesday

e.      Thursday

f.      Friday

g.     Saturday

6.     Months of the year: always start with a capital letter

a.      January, February

b.     March, April

c.      May, June

d.     July, August

e.      September, October

f.      November, December

7.     Holiday names: always start with a capital letter.

a.      Christmas

b.     Mother’s Day

c.      Father’s Day

d.     New Year’s Day

8.     Media Titles (Books, Movies, Songs)

a.      The Tale of Two Cities

b.     Mary Jane

c.      Titanic

d.     Jingle Bells

e.      Alice in Wonderland

9.     The Letter I is always capitalized in a sentence.

a.      Tom and I read a book.

b.     I am a girl.

Punctuation:

1.     Periods: A period tells us about the end of the sentence. It tells us when a sentence stops. It is a punctuation mark that comes at the end of a statement or a command.

a.      The sky is blue.

b.     Do not sit here.

2.     Question Mark: A question mark tells us about the end of a sentence. It tells us when a sentence stops. It is a punctuation mark that comes at the end of a question.

a.      What is your name?

b.     Who is she?

3.     Exclamation Mark: An exclamation mark tells us about the end of a sentence. It tells us when a sentence stops. It is a punctuation mark that comes at the end of an exclamation sentence.

a.      What a beautiful day!

b.     I love you!

4.     Commas: are also punctuation marks. They are used in the following;

a.      Dates: They are used between the day and the year.

                                                    i.     January 27, 2018

                                                  ii.     September 30, 1976

                                                iii.     September 7, 2008

                                                iv.     May 10, 1975

b.     Cities and States: They are used between the names of cities and states.

                                                    i.     Denver, Colorado

                                                  ii.     Lynchburg, Virginia

                                                iii.     Eden Prairie, Minnesota

                                                iv.     San Antonio, Texas

c.      Series: is a list of several words.

                                                    i.     Jill, Tom, and Bob are best friends.

d.     Compound Sentences: A simple sentence tells us about one complete thought. A compound sentence on the other hand is a combination of two simple sentences joined together with a conjunction and a comma.

                                                    i.     Sarah likes cake, but her brother likes pastry.

                                                  ii.     Do you like the school, or would you like to be at home?

                                                iii.     Tom plays football, and Jim plays soccer.

5.     Quotation Marks: These are used to quote the exact words of a person, also called a dialogue.

a.      “I love chocolates,” said Sarah.

b.     God said, “Let there be light.”

Note: Remember that the period, question mark, and the exclamation marks are all put inside the quotes

6.     Apostrophes: tell us about ownership.

a.      Sarah’s piano.

b.     Tom’s cat.

c.      Teacher’s room.

d.     Dad’s car.

7.     Contractions: is the way to join two words together. It is a shorter way of saying something. An apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter.

a.      is not=isn’t

b.     was not=wasn’t

c.      does not=doesn’t

d.     have not=haven’t

e.      are not-aren’t

f.      were not=weren’t

g.     did not=didn’t

h.     can not=can’t

Subject-Verb agreement:

1.     Adding s and es:

a.      When the subject is singular as “s” or “es” to the regular verb.

                                                    i.     Tom runs very fast.

                                                  ii.     Jill cooks tasty food.

                                                iii.     Jim kisses his dog.

b.     When the subject is plural do not put “s” or “es”.

                                                    i.     The children love to play.

                                                  ii.     Tom and Jill sing beautifully.

2.     Adding ed (Forming past tense):

a.      Present tense: tell us about what is happening currently.

b.     Past tense: tell us about what happened in the past. Change the verb to the past tense by adding ed. If the verb ends in e just add d. If the verb ends in y drop the y to i and then add ed.

                                                    i.     The boy closed the door.

                                                  ii.     The baby sucked his thumb.

                                                iii.     The baby cried.

3.     Past, Present and Future tenses:

a.      Present tense: Verbs that relate to what is happening right now.

                                                    i.     She eats an apple every day.

                                                  ii.     She sings beautifully.

b.     Past tense: Verbs that tell us what happened in the past.

                                                    i.     She ate an apple.

                                                  ii.     She sang beautifully.

c.      Future tense: Verbs that tell us what is going to happen.

                                                    i.     She will eat an apple today.

                                                  ii.     She will sing beautifully.