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30/08/2011

The Anatomy of a Complete Sentence

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  • Ally

    Ally

    自小熱衷鑽研英語、分享心得,酷愛研究遣詞用字、文法活用,討厭硬記生吞詞彙生字、死記爛背文法規則。自有一套獨特的英語教學方法——「語境技巧」(Context Approach) ,著重語境理解及語文邏輯,達到有效表達和溝通。慨歎學生過於考試主導(exam-oriented)、死操試題、不求甚解,欲藉著學生爭取優異成績的鬥志,驅動學生有效地應付英語公開試,同時提升英語水平,求分數同時求學問。

    大學畢業後即任會考及高考班英文老師,現為資深英文導師及英語專欄作家,熟悉各大英語公開試,例如:SAT, IELTS, TOEFL, HKCEE, HKASLE, HKDSE。

    進攻SAT


Improving Sentences requires students to choose an answer which is both grammatically correct and the most effective. Remember, determining if a sentence is grammatical is the easy part, especially when you are performing well in Identifying Sentence Errors. Hence, let’s first look at the common problem areas of Improving Sentences that deal with grammar.

 

1. Grammatically Complete Sentences

 

A grammatically complete sentence must have a subject, a finite verb* and present a complete thought. Lacking any of these will result in a sentence fragment which is grammatically unacceptable since it violates the principle of clarity.


- Lack a subject

 

It is unclear who performs the action.


- Lack a finite verb (i.e. present or past tense form) [This is most often tested in the SAT.]


The verb contributes fundamentally to the meaning and structure of a sentence. The rest of the sentence depends largely on the verb. For example, when the subject remains the same, say Tom, the rest of the sentence will probably change if we replace the verb “loves” with “hates”.


- Subordinate clause stands alone


A subordinate clause only presents a fragment of thought. This leaves readers in doubt and hinders communication. For example, when one reads this subordinate clause, “while I was young”, one inevitably asks what happened while you were young.


The questions are how to see if a sentence lacks a subject or a finite verb and what a subordinate clause is. To solve these, learning the 3 types of sentence structures in English is essential.

 

The 3 types of sentences


1. Simple sentence

 

A simple sentence has 1 independent clause. The clause is called independent because it expresses a complete thought and can stand alone. 1 clause has 1 subject and 1 finite verb. It is possible to have 2 finite verbs when there is a coordinating conjunction. That is, there are 2 actions done by the same subject.

 

 

2. Compound sentence


A compound sentence has 2 independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. The 2 clauses weigh equally. They can both stand alone as simple sentences.

 

Examples of coordinating conjunctions: for, and, but, or, nor, yet, so

 


3. Complex sentence


A complex sentence has 1 independent clause and 1 dependent clause joined by a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun. The 2 clauses weigh unequally. The subordinating one (i.e. the dependent clause) either begins with a subordinating conjunction to show its relationship with the main one (i.e. the independent clause) or a relative pronoun to provide additional information to the noun just before the relative pronoun. A dependent clause cannot stand alone since it does not express a complete thought.

 

Examples of subordinating conjunctions: after, before, although, because, when, while, if, unless


Examples of relative pronouns: that, who, when, where, why

 

 

(You may also like to read article 2 (2011-06-21) on “analyzing complicated sentence structures”.)

 

In summary, the rules are


- 1 clause: 1 subject + 1 finite verb


- For each coordinating/subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun, 1 additional subject and 1 additional finite verb are required.

 


 

 

 


If you have any questions or enquires, feel free to visit my facebook page: www.facebook.com/allylo.english.

(Next Tue: Improving Sentences cont’d)

 

 《經濟通》所刊的署名及/或不署名文章,相關內容屬作者個人意見,並不代表《經濟通》立場,《經濟通》所扮演的角色是提供一個自由言論平台。

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