English: Ellipses, Square Brackets, Phrases, Clauses, & Sentences

three-dot ellipsis (...)

usually middle of quotation

four-dot ellipsis (....)

end of sentence and start of new sentence

what type of ellipsis?

“I want to have a lot of kids...maybe seven or eight. I will marry within the Hasidic community, ‘cause I wouldn’t marry out of my own religion.” -Menucha Lederman, Pottsville, Iowa

what type of ellipsis?

“In the family we are three brothers and three sisters….I am the oldest one in the family.” -Hilario Lopez, Migrant worker from Honduras

when do you use brackets?

insert your own words to clear things up

example

I think if I have enough money to get me through, then I think that’s great….I spend [my money] on dress material, shoes.

phrase

group of related words and doesn't contain both a subject and its verb

preposition

word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence

prepositional phrase

group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun

appositive

a noun/pronoun placed by another noun/pronoun to explain it

appositive phrase

group of words made up of an appositive and its modifiers

what phrase is this? Linde sat in the restaurant and talked to the waitress for the evening.

prepositional

what phrase is this? Jeffrey, my oldest brother, works for a company that installs timing systems for track.

appositive

verbal phrases

verb forms used as another part of speech

gerund

verb form that ends in -ing and acts as a noun

gerund phrase

group of words with a gerund and any modifiers acting as a noun

infinitive

verb form usually followed by "to" and can be used as a noun, adjective, or adverb

infinitive phrase

group of words with an infinitive and any modifiers that are used as a noun, adjective, or adverb

participle

verb form ending in -d, -ed, or -ing that is used as an adjective

participial phrase

group of words with participle and its modifiers that ends in -d, -ed, or -ing that is used as an adjective

what phrase is this? Stacey enjoys working at Scheels.

gerund

what phrase is this? Conner loves to work at Scheels.

infinitive

what phrase is this? Laughing at the joke, Tracy lost her balance and fell.

participle

absolute phrase

combines a noun and participle and any other modifiers or objects

what phrase is this? Her arms folded across her chest, Professor Hill warned the class about the penalties of plagiarism.

absolute

clause

group of words with a subject and verb working together

independent clause

complete sentence, subject, verb, and complete thought

subordinate/dependent clause

contains subject and verb but no complete thought so not a complete sentence

what can subordinate/dependent clauses begin with?

relative pronouns, relative adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions

what clause is this? Tinley loves to dance.

independent

what clause is this? When Susan left for her trip, she forgot to lock her door.

dependent

simple sentence

group of words with subject, verb, and complete thought

compound sentence

two independent clauses joined by a comma, and coordinating conjunction, a semicolon (;), or a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb (however, furthermore, etc...)

complex sentence

one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

compound-complex sentence

2 independent clauses and at least one dependent clause

what sentence is this? I went to the store to buy milk.

simple

what sentence is this? I would love to travel to Hawaii someday, and I plan on saving to achieve my dream.

compound

what sentence is this? Because she doesn’t like to read, she struggles with finishing a book.

complex

what sentence is this? The boy, that lost his dog, was searching the park, but he still couldn’t find find it.

compound-complex

subordinating conjunctions: AAAWWUBBIS

after, although, as, when, while, until, because, before, if, and since

coordinating conjunctions (compound sentences connected with a comma by these): FANBOYS

for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so