UNIT 8 Handout: Sentence structure review

You have become familiar through your reading and writing during the lower secondary
curriculum with all the ways in which sentences can be constructed. The three types are
simple (one main verb), compound (several main verbs, connected by ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘so’
or ‘or’), and complex (one main verb and at least one subordinate clause containing a
non-main verb). Your choices should be affected by the type of writing you are doing, and
your audience and purpose. Generally, however, the most engaging style is one which uses
a range of types and a variety of ways of beginning and structuring sentences, bearing in
mind that the succinct conveying of information and ideas is most effectively achieved by
the use of complex sentences.

Participle phrases
Any sentence – simple, compound or complex – can be made more interesting and
concise by the addition, at the beginning, middle or end, of a participle phrase. This
means a phrase containing a present or past participle, active or passive, with or without a
preceding preposition, for example:
Waving cheerfully; misinformed about the route; having left on time; having been instructed to arrive
early; after having checked the map.

Subordinating connectives
There is a large number of single-word or short-phrase connectives in English that can
be used at the beginning of a subordinate clause, e.g. because, while, even though. This
clause can be attached to the sentence either before the main part of the sentence, or after
it, or inserted into the middle of it. For example, all three of these versions are correct:
Although they were late, they arrived in time to see the show.
They arrived in time to see the show, although they were late.
They arrived, although they were late, in time to see the show.

Relative clauses
Non-defining relative clauses
Where a noun is followed by ‘who’, ‘whose’ or ‘which’, preceded by a comma, this is
called a non-defining relative clause. Its function is to tell the reader something more
about the person or thing without having to start a new sentence and repeat the subject
of the previous one. A relative clause cannot go at the beginning of a sentence because it
must be linked to the already-mentioned noun. For example:
The women, who were highly skilled, finished the extra work more quickly than expected.
The women finished the extra work, which was very difficult, more quickly than expected.
The women, whose extra work was very difficult, finished it more quickly than expected.
The women finished more quickly than expected the extra work, which was very difficult.
As with all subordinate clauses, a comma is needed at the end as well as at the beginning
of the clause, unless it finishes the sentence. To check the commas are in the right place,
read the sentence without the part between commas to see if it makes sense.

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Cambridge Checkpoint English 9: A World View 1

 UNIT 8 Handout: Sentence structure review

Defining relative clauses

By using ‘who/whose/which’ without the comma it is possible to form a sentence which
contains two pieces of information, one linked to the other. A clause beginning with a
relative pronoun without a comma is called a defining relative clause. This means that
the information about the noun is not separable from it, as is the case with non-defining
relative clauses, but an essential part of the definition of the noun and the meaning will
be different. For example:
The children, who were absent, did not see the film. (non-defining relative clause)
The children who were absent did not see the film. (defining relative clause)
Things to do now:
a Give your own example for each category above.
b Find examples of sentence types in a passage of a book you are reading for each of the
categories above.
c Write a piece of argumentative writing of about half a page which employs all of the
sentence types above.

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Cambridge Checkpoint English 9: A World View 2