Sentence Structure Study Guide: Pre-GED Language Arts, Writing (page 3)

The practice quiz for this study guide can be found at:

Sentence Structure Practice Problems: Pre-GED Language Arts, Writing

Having a solid understanding of sentence structure is crucial for doing well on the GED exam. In fact, 30 percent of the GED writing assessment addresses sentence structure. With that in mind, you should make the most of the sentence structure practice and review in this chapter as you prepare for exam day.

The Parts of a Sentence

You probably already know that a sentence expresses a complete thought and has to have a subject and a predicate. The subject is the part of a sentence that tells who or what the sentence is about. The predicate includes a verb, or action word, and tells what the subject is or does. Consider the following basic sentence:

Ella watched the news.

In the previous sentence, Ella is the subject, and watched the news is the predicate. Watched is the verb.

Keep in mind that a sentence can have more than one subject and predicate. A compound subject includes two or more subjects in the same sentence, and a compound verb includes two or more verbs. Let's take a look at the following sentence:

Ella and Simone sat on the sofa and watched the news.

In the previous sentence, Ella and Simone are compound subjects; sat and watched are compound verbs.

The previous sentences are fairly basic. In order to understand more complex types of sentences, you must also be able to recognize clauses. A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb. A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but cannot stand alone as a complete thought. Although the dog was barking is an example of a dependant clause. An independent clause is a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. He did not seem fierce is an example of an independent clause.

A compound sentence includes two independent clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction, such as and, but, or, nor, so, for, or yet. The conjunction used in a sentence should show the relationship between the two clauses, and it is preceded by a comma.

Let's take a look at the following sentence:

We thought we would be late to the movie, but we got there in plenty of time.

Notice that the previous compound sentence contains two shorter sentences, or independent clauses. The conjunction but shows that the second clause is true, despite appearing to be contrary to the information in the first clause.

A complex sentence includes a dependent clause that is connected to an independent clause by a subordinating conjunction, which shows the relationship between the two clauses. Examples of subordinating conjunctions are:

• comparison/similarity: as if
• contrast/difference: although, whereas, while, even though
• cause and effect/purpose: because, since, so that, as
• condition: if, unless, whether, because, even if
• time/sequence: before, after, while, as soon as, once
• place: wherever, where

A subordinating conjunction always introduces a dependent clause. However, the dependent clause can come either before or after the independent clause. Consider the following example:

Because it was raining, I stayed inside all day.
I stayed inside all day because it was raining.

Because it was raining is the dependent clause; it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. The conjunction because indicates a cause and effect relationship between raining and stayed inside all day. Notice that either the dependent or independent clause can come first without changing the meaning of the sentence. Also, remember that a comma should be placed between clauses if the dependent clause is first.

Now that we've reviewed the basic components of complete sentences, let's go over some of the other important things to understand about sentence structure, including sentence fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices, coordination and subordination, modification, and parallelism.

Sentence Fragments

A sentence fragment is a group of words that does not express a complete sentence or thought. To identify a sentence fragment, ask yourself:

• Is the subject missing?
• Is the verb missing?
• Is it a dependent clause?

Answering yes to any of these questions indicates a sentence fragment. Let's look at a few examples of sentence fragments, and what revisions are necessary to turn them into complete sentences.

Rides his bike to school.

The previous sentence fragment does not have a subject. The verb rides tells the action; however, it does not tell who or what is performing the action. To revise this fragment and make it a complete sentence, a subject must be added. For example, Jonah rides his bike to school.

My favorite actress.

This sentence fragment includes a subject, but it does not include a verb. To make this a complete sentence, an action must be added. One possible correction would be, My favorite actress wore a purple gown to the awards ceremony. Now the sentence includes a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete thought.

Whether or not we choose to go with them.

This is an example of a dependent clause. It includes a subject and verb, but does not express a complete thought. To turn a dependent clause into a complete sentence, we must add an independent clause. One way to correct this would be, The Smiths are going camping this weekend, whether or not we choose to go with them.

Although most of us probably use sentence fragments in conversation, they are not acceptable in standard written English. On the GED exam, you will be expected to recognize incomplete sentences and identify ways to revise these fragments to create proper, complete sentences. Look at the following example. Is it a sentence fragment? If so, what changes would make it a complete sentence?

Most of the students in our class.

This is a sentence fragment because there is no verb. Adding a predicate will change this into a complete sentence. Possible corrections could be Most of the students in our class have lockers in the center hallway, or Math is the favorite subject of most of the students in our class. On the GED, you will not have to identify subjects, verbs, or other parts of speech. However, you will need to be able to recognize complete sentences and make necessary corrections to them.

Run-on Sentences

As discussed, a sentence fragment does not contain enough information. Run-on sentences, on the other hand, contain too much information. A run-on sentence occurs when two independent clauses have been joined together without punctuation. Remember, an independent clause contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought, so a run-on sentence is actually two sentences that run together.

Here are a few ways to correct run-on sentences:

• Insert a period to create two complete sentences.
• Insert a semicolon to separate the independent clauses.
• Insert a comma and coordinating conjunction to create a compound sentence.

Let's take a look at the following run-on sentence:

We went to the library on Saturday the book I wanted was not available.

Notice that there are two complete sentences that are run together. Let's look at some ways to fix this run-on:

We went to the library on Saturday. The book I wanted was not available.

We went to the library on Saturday; the book I wanted was not available.

We went to the library on Saturday, but the book I wanted was not available.

Any of these revisions is correct. One similarity between these corrections is that punctuation is placed at the end of the first independent clause. If you choose to use a period to separate a run-on sentence, remember to capitalize the first letter of the second sentence, and be sure that each sentence contains a subject, a predicate, and expresses a complete thought.

Now that you've had a chance to review run-on sentences, let's put your knowledge into practice. Use what you know about run-on sentences to answer the following question.

Which correction should be made to the following sentence?

The movie started at 4:45 this afternoon the theater was completely full by 4:30.

1. insert a comma after afternoon
2. insert a semicolon after afternoon
3. insert a period after theater
4. insert a comma after theater
5. no correction is necessary

Answer: b

In this run-on sentence, the first independent clause ends with the word afternoon. One possible correction is to insert a semicolon following afternoon. Another option is to create two completely separate sentences by inserting a period following afternoon, then capitalizing the word the. A third option is to insert a comma following afternoon and add a coordinating conjunction, such as but.

Modifiers

Modifiers are word or phrases that provide details and description in a sentence. Adverbs and adjectives are often used as modifiers. Typically, removing a modifier does not change the basic meaning of the sentence. Modifiers can provide details that make writing clearer and more interesting. However, improper modification can cause confusion.

Dangling modifiers do not clearly point to what they are intended to modify. In general, a modifier and the word or phrase it modifies should be placed together in the sentence. When a modifying word or phrase is not placed near what it is modifying, its meaning can be unclear. Consider the following example:

Sewing a new button on, his shirt looked like new.

Sewing on a new button is the modifying phrase, yet the dangling modifier makes it appear that the shirt sewed on the button. Since a person did the sewing, the modifying phrase should be followed by someone's name. Another way to correct the sentence would be to change the modifying phrase into a clause that includes a subject and verb.

Sewing a new button on, Lamar thought his shirt looked like new.

After Lamar sewed a new button on, his shirt looked like new.

An infinitive phrase—a set of words beginning with the word to—can also be a dangling modifier. Such phrases should modify the person or object performing the action, as follows:

To encourage employees to increase productivity, a reward program was implemented.

.

This modification error can be corrected by stating who implemented the program:

To encourage employees to increase productivity, the manager implemented a reward program.

Now it's your turn to practice. Rewrite the following sentence to correct the modification.

After searching the entire neighborhood, my dog was still missing.

As it is written, someone might think the dog searched the neighborhood, which is not the intended meaning of the sentence. Possible corrections could be:

After searching the entire neighborhood, I was upset that my dog was still missing.

After I searched the entire neighborhood, my dog was still missing.

Another problem with modification is a misplaced modifier. In this case, it is unclear what the modifier is intended to modify because the modifier is poorly placed in the sentence. This problem can be fixed by moving the modifier to another place in the sentence. Consider the following sentence:

Taking vitamin C tablets often can prevent catching a cold.

In this example, it is unclear whether the vitamin is taken often, or if taking the vitamin can often prevent catching the cold. Moving the modifier can clarify the meaning of the sentence:

Taking vitamin C tablets can often prevent catching a cold.

Now it's your turn to practice. Rewrite the following sentence to correct the modification.

The book was too difficult in the library.

Someone reading this sentence might think the book was too difficult while it was in the library, but it might not be so difficult somewhere else. That's not the case. One way to revise this sentence would be:

The book in the library was too difficult.

Parallelism

Often, sentences contain a list of words which are joined by a conjunction. Such lists of related ideas should be written using parallel structure and proper grammatical form. Parallelism makes the piece easier to read and improves the rhythm of the sentences. It also helps meanings to be expressed more clearly. Consider the following sentences:

We went to the mall, are buying a pair of shoes, and will look for a wallet.

We went to the mall, bought a pair of shoes, and looked for a wallet.

The verbs in the first sentences are in different tenses; went is past tense, are buying is present tense, and will look is future tense. The second sentence is in parallel structure because all of the verbs are in the same tense. Let's look at a few other examples:

Sierra likes to paint pictures that are bold, creative, and use a lot of colors.

Sierra likes to paint pictures that are bold, creative, and colorful.

The list in the first sentence includes two adjectives and one phrase, so the items are not in parallel form. The list in the second sentence, which includes only adjectives, shows parallelism.

Now it's your turn to practice. Use what you've learned about parallelism to answer the following question.

Which is the best revision of the following sentence?

Mrs. Perry gets vegetables at the produce market, the grocery store, and grows them in her garden.

1. at the produce market, the grocery store, and grows them in her garden
2. at the produce market, at the grocery store, and grows them in her garden
3. in the produce market, in the grocery store, and grows them in her garden
4. from the produce market, from the grocery store, and the garden
5. at the produce market, in the grocery store, and from the garden

Answer: e

The original sentence does not show parallel structure because a preposition precedes the first item, but not the others. Also, the third item includes a verb, but the others do not. Choice e shows parallelism because each item in the list includes only a preposition and the noun.

The practice quiz for this study guide can be found at:

Sentence Structure Practice Problems: Pre-GED Language Arts, Writing