ALA: Grammar

Sentence Structure, Mood, Verb tenses

What are the 3 (sometimes) part of a sentence?

Subject, Verb, Object

Subject

What the sentence is doing or being

Verb

What is being done to or by the subject

Object

The person place or thing that is being acted upon

Simple Sentence

Has a lone independent clause

Independent clause

A group of words that can stand on it’s own as a sentence and has (at least) a subject and a verb

The students read a play.

Simple Sentence

The students read a book.

Simple Sentence

Complex sentence

Has at least one independent clause, and one dependent clause

Dependent clause

A group of words that has a subject and a verb, but doesn’t express a complete thought, so it cannot be “independent,” or stand alone as a sentence.

Sentence fragment

Dependent clause

The students read a play and studied for their class.

Complex sentenence

**Identify the Dependent Clause:** The students read a play and studied for their class.

and studied for their class

**Identify the Subject:** and studied for their class.

Their

**Identify the Verb:** and studied for their class.

studied

Marker Word

A word the indicates it might be a dependent clause

After, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order, to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while

Marker Words

Compound sentence

Connects 2 independent clauses together usually with a coordinating conjunction or punctuation, like a semi-colon or comma

The students read a play and they studied for their class.

Compound sentence

Coordinating conjunction

A word that joins two independent clauses of equal importance

For, and, neither, but, or ,yet, so

Coordinating conjunction

Compound-complex sentence

Sentence that has at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clause.

Because the students read a play and studied for a test, they were miserable.

Compound-complex sentence

Mood

Shows how the verb conveys the writer’s attitude towards a specific subject or event.

5 types of mood

Indicative, Imperative, Interrogative, Conditional, Subjunctive

Indicative Mood

Makes a statement or asks a question

He is eating a potato.

Indicative Mood, Declarative sentence

Is he eating a potato?

Indicative Mood, Interrogative sentence

Imperative Mood

Expresses a command or request

What can the command do in imperative mood? (4)

Make an order, gives advice, issue a warning, make a request

Give me a potato!

Imperative mood, Make an order

Try the potatoes before you buy them.

Imperative mood, gives advice

Look out!

Imperative mood, issue a warning

Please order me a potato.

Imperative mood, make a request

Interrogative Mood

It asks us something or requests information and require an answer

Can a question be both interrogative and indicative?

Yes

Will you bring me a potato?

Interrogative Mood

Get your own potato.

imperative

Conditional mood

What would happen or what might happen in different circumstances

I would eat broccoli if I were starving.

Conditional mood

If I were you, I would eat a potato for dinner.

Conditional Mood

True or False: Most conditional sentences have the word if?

True

Subjunctive Mood

Expresses wishes, proposals, suggestions, or imagined situations. It talks about event that aren’t guaranteed to happen.

Why is subjunctive different from most verb tenses?

The subjunctive doesn’t describe any particular time, and is mainly used to describe things which aren’t solid, objective facts.

What is the result of this fact: Unlike most verb tenses, the subjunctive doesn’t describe any particular time, and is mainly used to describe things which aren’t solid, objective facts.

It’s often known as the subjunctive mood, rather than tense.

When do you use subjunctive in English?

When talking about events that someone wants to happen; anticipates will happen or imagines happening

What is the difference between subjunctive and conditional mood sentences.

Conditional sentences are used to express conditions that are real or unreal. It is introduced by the word ‘if.’ Subjunctive sentences are used to express unreal situations or actions that have not yet taken place, and it is often introduced by the word ‘wish.’

I would like to suggest that you write your essay.

Subjunctive mood

When I come to New Zealand, I will meet you there.

Subjunctive mood

I wish I had a purple potato.

Subjunctive mood

Verb tenses

Tell us when the action in a sentence is happening: past, present, and future

Most English tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called -----------. Understanding the --- basic tenses allows writers to re-create much of the reality of time in their writing.

Auxiliary, six

Auxiliary

An auxiliary verb “helps” the main verb in a sentence to help express the mood, voice or tense in the future tense.

What are the main auxiliary verbs?

To be, To have, To do

To be

am, is, are, was, were, being, been, will be

To have

has, have, had, having, will have

To do

does, do, did, will do

Simple present tense

The simple present tense is an action in present time, or when you use a verb to tell about things that happen continually in the present, like every day, every week, or every month

When do we use simple present tense?

When it happens often or is factual

I work at Northfield High School.

Simple present tense

I have a cat named Fergus.

Simple present tense

I have a degree in theater and dance.

Simple present tense

Why is it called ‘simple’ present tense.

because its basic form consists of a single word (like work or works)

Present perfect

The present perfect tense is an English verb tense used for past actions that are related to or continue into the present.

What past participle does present perfect consist with?

Has or have

Michelle taught for 30 years.

Simple past

Michelle has taught for 30 years.

Present perfect

Michelle has corrected the tests.

Present Perfect

Michelle corrected the tests.

Simple past

Participle

A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed.

Identify the past participle: Michelle has taught for 30 years.

Taught

Identify the past participle: Michelle has corrected the tests.

Corrected

Present perfect is formed by:

Subject +”has” or “have + past participle

Simple past

The simple past tense is used to describe a completed activity that happened in the past. In other words, it started in the past and ended in the past.

How is simple past different than simple present?

It is different than simple present, which suggests the task is on-going.

When is past perfect used?

It is used to emphasize that an action was completed before another action took place

Fergus destroyed a mouse.

Simple past

Maizy snow-shoed with me.

Simple past

I called my dad.

Simple past

Simple past is formed by:

Base form of verb+ed

Past perfect

The past perfect tense describes a completed activity in the past.

What past participle does the past perfect tense use?

to be

I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the driveway.

Past perfect

**Identify the “to be” verb in this sentence:** I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the driveway.

Before

**Identify the past participle in this sentence:** I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the driveway.

Called

Past perfect is formed by:

“had” + past participle

Before I knew it, she had run out the door.

Past perfect

**Identify the “to be” verb in this sentence:** Before I knew it, she had run out the door.

Before

**Identify the past participle in this sentence:** Before I knew it, she had run out the door.

Run

After Solange had finished her homework, she went sledding.

Past perfect

**Identify the past participle in this sentence:** After Solange had finished her homework, she went sledding.

Finished

**Identify the ‘to be’ verb in this sentence:** After Solange had finished her homework, she went sledding.

After

Simple Future

The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or certainty.

The simple future tense is formed by:

“Will” + base form of the verb

True or false: “Will” is not an auxiliary verb we see in the future tense

False

The Northfield orchestra will not perform this evening.

Simple future

The bread will be done in the morning.

Simple future

Francis will go to bed tonight.

Simple future

Future Progressive

Used for an ongoing action that will occur in the future

Future Progress is:

“will be” + present participle (“verb-ing”)