The Sentence•A sentence is a word group that

contains a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought.

• Britney Spears was a well-known singer.

• A vampire stalked his victim through the dark streets of New Orleans.

• Michael Jackson did not get to perform in his last tour even though he had worked on it a long time.

Sentence Fragment

•A sentence fragment is a word group that looks like a sentence but does not contain a subject and verb or does not express a complete thought.

•Was a well-known singer.

• A vampire stalked his victim through.

• Even though he had worked on it a long time.

Sentence Types

•There are four types of sentences.• Declarative

• Imperative

• Interrogative

• Exclamatory

Period: Declarative Sentence

•Makes a statement and ends with a period.

• Example: I really like pie.

• I made a statement about pie, or, I declared to the world my thoughts. When you ‘declare’, it is always with a period.

Imperative Sentence

• Gives a command or makes a request. Most imperative sentences end with a period. A strong command might end with an exclamation point.

• Example: John, please close the door.

• I have requested or ‘kindly commanded’ John to do something. It is punctuated with a period.

• Example: Do your homework.

• I have commanded a task be done.

• Stop her!

• A strong command can be ended with a !

Question Mark: Interrogative Sentence

• Asks a question and ends with a question mark. (Think of an interrogation room…they are used for questioning suspects.)

• Example: What do you know about aliens?

• Was the game exciting?

Where were you on the night of August 15th?

Exclamatory Sentence

• Shows excitement or strong feeling and ends with an exclamation point.

• Example: You’ve just won a trip to Disneyland! What a beautiful sunset! Our notes are over!

End Marks . ! ?

Period .• Use at the end of a sentence.

– I like pie.

–Other uses of a period:• Use after an initial.

– J.K. Rowling

– Use after an abbreviation– etc.

– Use as a decimal point– 3.1

– Use to separate dollars from cents– $3.41

Exclamation Point !• Use to show:– Strong emotion– Anger– Shock– Excitement– Fear

• Use with interjections:– Wow! That was cool!– Oh no! I dropped my wig!

**Unacceptable to use more than one exclamation point in formal writing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Question Mark ?• Use at the end of a question.– Don’t you love taking notes?

• Use at the end of a declarative statement to indicate disbelief.– She’s our new teacher. (declarative statement)– She’s our new teacher?(declarative disbelief)

• Other uses of the question mark:• Use with parentheses to show you are unsure of the spelling

of a certain word.– I have to visit the orthopedic(?) surgeon.

Comma Rules

*You can add these to your end mark notes.

Rule #1.

• Put a comma before the coordinating conjunction when connecting two COMPLETE sentences together.– Example: • We went shopping.• We bought milk.• We went shopping, and we bought milk.

F.A.N.B.O.Y.S.

• For• And• Nor• But• Or• Yet• So

Rule #2

• When listing three or more items in a series, separate them with commas.– Example:• I bought apples, oranges, bananas, and pineapple.• I took my hair dryer, my curling iron, and my hairspray.

Rule #3– After an introduction (dependent clause):• When we went shopping, we bought apples.

– Before a question:• Her shirt was cute, don’t you think?

– Comment added to end of the sentence• I know the answer, I think.

Rule #4

• Put commas around the name of a person you are talking to.– Example:• John, where are you going?• Where are you going, John?

Rule #5

• Put commas around words that interrupt the flow of the sentence.– Example:• The woman, however, forgot her hat.• The woman, who was wearing a red hat, blocked my

view.• The new teacher, Mrs. Kyle, is really nice.

Rule #6

• Put commas around information that is not needed in the sentence.– Example:• Sara, my cousin, forgot her lunch.• Mozart, the composer, wrote many pieces of music.

Other uses for commas:• Use after the greeting in a personal letter

• Dear Aunt Silvia,

• Dates• February 3, 2013

• Addresses• I live at 2059 E. Sunny Drive, Ogden, UT 84414

• Use after the closing of a letter• Sincerely,

• After a mild interjection• Oh, I didn’t see you there.

• Indicate a pause to avoid confusion.• After Kelly, Jennifer will get a turn.

Semicolon, colon, hyphen

Semicolon ;• 1. Use when combining 2 independent clauses

(sentences) on the same topic.– Example:• We went shopping; we bought milk.• My mother co-signed for a loan; now I have my own car.–Notice, the semi-colon takes the place of a comma and

conjunction.

* The word that follows the semicolon is NEVER capitalized. (Unless it is a pronoun like Jane, I, etc.)

• I went to the movie; ate some popcorn. (YES)• I went to the movie; Ate some popcorn. (NO)

;

• 2. Use between a conjunctive adverb or transitional expression.– The popular names of certain animals are misleading;

for example, the koala bear is not a bear.

Examples of these:However Instead MeanwhileBesidesFor example Therefore In fact Furthermore

;

• 3. Use a semicolon to separate items in a series when it already contains commas.– We went on a field trip to Topeka, Kansas;

Freedom, Oklahoma; and Amarillo, Texas.

Colon :• 1. Use after a complete sentence to introduce a

long quote, a list, an illustrative example.– Example:• Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address said: “Four

score and seven years ago…”• We bought a lot of groceries: apples, pears, carrots,

bread, etc.• We saw a strangely dressed woman: bright, pink lipstick,

outrageous muumuu, huge floppy shoes, and hair that looked like she had stuck her finger in a light socket.

:

• 2. Time– Example:• 2:30 a.m.

:

• 3. Business letter salutation– Example:• To whom it may concern:• Dear Sir:

:

• Subtitles in titles (or to separate chapters and verses).– Example:• Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Hyphens -

• 1. Use to put two words together that mean the same thing, and to link a letter to a word.– Example:• Well-worn book• Small-town girl• All-star• Brand-new stereo• X-ray

-

• 2. Fractions– Example:• Two-thirds• Three-fourths

-

• 3. Numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine.– Example:• Twenty-four• Thirty-three• One hundred and sixty-seven

-

• 4. Show family relationship (except “grand” and “half”)

– My sister-in-law takes care of my great-aunt.– My step-brother is awesome.– My grandma and half sister are taking me to a

movie.

Dashes and Ellipsis

Dashes --

• 1. Use to indicate an abrupt break in thought or speech.– Ms. Alonzo—she just left—will be one of the

judges of the talent show.

Ellipsis Points …

• 1. Show where words have been omitted.– “Four score and seven years ago….”– Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers…. How many

peppers did Peter Piper pick?

– **You must put an end mark at the end of ellipsis points if they occur at the end of the sentence.

… = VERY POWERFUL

• “America has always been a very strong nation with people who are willing to work hard, help one another and strive for success. Americans are strong. Americans love their country. Those who say that America is responsible for creating the terrorists who hate our country and seek to destroy us (with terrorism in the name of correcting the ‘western evil’) are terribly misguided. That is not the America I see. When I think of America, I see hope. I do not see despair.”

By adding ‘…’ we can change the entire quote.

• “Americans are…responsible for creating the terrorists who hate…they seek to destroy… with terrorism. That is…the America I see. When I look at America, I see…despair.”

…

• 2. Indicates a pause or a ‘trailing off’ of thought.– I don’t want to…uh…go on the rollercoaster.– I am so tired that I think I might fall asleep…zzzzz.

**You must put an end mark at the end of ellipsis points if they occur at the end of the sentence.

Quotation Marks/Punctuating Dialogue

Quotation Marks “”

• 1. Use to enclose a direct quotation—a person’s exact words. Do not use for an indirect quote.– Direct: “Isn’t Justin Bieber the best in the world?

Carly asked Jane.– Indirect: Carly told Jane how she thought Justin

Bieber was the best in the whole world.

– **Look for a ‘speaker tag’

“”

• 2. A direct quote begins with a capital letter.– Brandon shouted, “Over here!”

“”

• 3. If the speaker tag interrupts a quote, the second part of the quotation begins with a lowercase letter.– “Did you know,” asked Angelo, “how Batman

became the superhero he is?”

“”

• 4. A direct quote is set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma, exclamation point or questions mark…never a period.– Alyssa said, “I like cheese.”– “I like cheese, too,” Anne replied.– “What a cool movie!” Bob shouted.– “Do you like action movies?” Dave asked.

“”

• 5. The only time end marks go outside the quotation marks is if you have a slogan, title, etc. that does not include the end marks. – Did you know that Nike’s slogan is “Just Do It”?

“”

• 6. Use half-quotation marks when using a quote within a quote.– Mrs. Hall reminded us, “I said, ‘Make sure you turn

in your books on time’.”

7. When writing dialogue, begin a new paragraph each time the speaker changes.

“No, I don’t think that we should go to the party because I am too tired,” Anne whined.

“Come on!” John begged. “I really think we would have fun.”

“Yeah,” Malory joined in, “we really should go for a little while.”

“Fine. I suppose we can go for a bit,” Anne relented, with a sigh. “I just don’t want to stay too long.”

“Sounds like a plan,” John smiled.

Period vs. Comma• “I think we should get married,” Bob told Sally. “We are

really good friends and I love you.”

• “I thought,” Sally sighed, “that you would never ask!”

• MORE EXAMPLES:• “I want to go to Lagoon,” Lexi said.

• “I want to go to Lagoon!” Lexi shouted.

• “Do you want to go to Lagoon?” Lexi asked.

• “I do want to go to Lagoon,” Bob replied. “I could go this weekend.”

• “Do you think,” Lexi wondered, “that we could go on Friday?”

• “Yes!” Bob agreed. “That’s a great idea.”

Underlining/Italics vs. Quotation Marks

Underline/Italics• Titles – Books– Magazines– Newspapers– Plays– CD’s– Movies– TV shows– Radio series– Specific names of trains, ships, aircraft, and paintings.• When using a computer, you ALWAYS use italics…

underline when it is hand-written.

“Quotation Marks”

• Use quotation marks with:– Direct quotes– Titles of short stories– Titles of poems– Song titles– Essay titles– Title of an individual TV episode– Title of an individual newspaper or magazine

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