Basic Terms/Sentence Elements - ELA

Clause

A group of words that contains a subject and a verb that have a relationship.

Subject

(noun, pronoun, adjective) The main noun/pronoun of a sentence or clause that commonly indicates (a) what it is about, or (b) who or what performs the action.

We are watching Netflix.

We, because we are doing the action of watching.

Predicate

(verb/verb phrase, adverb) The part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject.

The child threw the ball

Contains a verb, and states the subject, the child, is throwing a ball.

Object

A noun (or pronoun) that receives the action of a verb or is governed by a preposition.

Katie will walk her dog.

Her dog receives the action of being walked.

Complement

The term for a word or words needed to complete the meaning of a thought.

Independent clause

A group of words that contain a subject and verb and express a complete thought. Can be a sentence.

I enjoy sitting by the fireplace and reading.

Dependent (subordinate) clause

A clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it does not express a complete thought.

I went out on the bike that Mary gave me for my birthday.

Cannot stand on its own in a sentence without sounding odd.

Phrase

A group of words that stand together as a single grammatical unit, typically as part of a clause or sentence. Does NOT contain a subject and verb and cannot be a complete thought because of this.

Prepositional phrase

A group of words that consist of a preposition, its object, and any modifiers.

The keys were left on the table.

Shows where the keys are

Coodinating conjunction

Joiners. For example, it can be used to join an adjective with another adjective, a noun with another noun, or a clause with another clause. FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Compound sentence

Has two or more separate but correctly joined independent clauses.

This house is too expensive, and that house is too small.

Joined by the word “and,” but both parts can act on their own.

Subordinating conjunction

Joins subordinate clauses to main clauses. Examples are “although,” “because,” “if,” “since,” “before,” etc. The role of this and the dependent clause is to establish a time, place, reason, condition, concession, or a comparison for the main clause.

You should not park here, unless you have a permit.

Complex sentence

An independent clause with one or more dependent clauses added.

We decided to go for a hike even though it was raining, and we enjoyed the adventure.

Appositive phrase

A noun or noun phrase that sits next to another noun to rename it or to describe it in another way. Usually offset with commas, and be used in the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

A winning prize-fighter, Charles put on his gloves.

Charles, a winning prize-fighter, put on his gloves.

The person competing was Charles, a winning prize-fighter.

The noun is Charles, and the phrase is changing how the reader views Charles (renaming/redescribing him in another way)

Infinitive phrase

The infinitive form of any verb plus any complements and modifiers. Functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

He likes to knead the dough slowly.

The infinitive verb is "to knead." The complement is its direct object ("the dough"). The modifier is the adverb ("slowly").

Conjunctive adverb

A word (or short phrase) that provides a link to the previous sentence or previous independent clause. Common examples: also, consequently, furthermore, however, incidentally, indeed, likewise, meanwhile, nevertheless, nonetheless, therefore.

They can also be phrases: as a result, as a consequence, for example, on the contrary, etc.)

I washed my hands; therefore, my hands are clean.

We can prevent the spread of disease; for instance, we can wash our hands after using the restroom.

I vs. me

I=subject me=object

Ann and I went to the library. vs. The store gave a discount to Ann and me.

The first sentence shows “Ann and I” as the subject, and the second sentence shows “Ann and me” as the object. Or, in the first sentence we are doing the action; and in the second sentence we are having an action done unto us.

Passive voice

Action performed on the subject, not by the subject

Parallel structure

using same pattern of words, example: walking and drawing, not: to walk and drawing