Required Parts of a Sentence

Subject

In general, the subject refers to the part of the sentence that tells who or what the sentence is
about. The subject is a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. For example:

• David walked down the street.

• They went to beach.
• The white dog is sleeping.

While “David" and "They" are single-word subjects, "The white dog" is a noun phrase that includes
an adjective to provide additional information about the subject.
There are a few different types of subjects. A simple subject is just one word, without any
modifiers, usually a noun or pronoun. A complete subject is the simple subject plus all
modifiers. A compound subject is made up of more than one subject element. For example:

• Simple subject: Kate is a thin girl.

• Complete subject: Jeffrey's poem about his mother made the class cry.
• Compound subject: Paul and Tommy joined the soccer team at the same time.
Predicate

The predicate of a sentence includes the verb and everything that follows it. This typically
tells what the subject does with an action verb or describes the subject using a linking verb
and a complement.

• David walked down the street.

In this sentence, "walked" is the action verb that tells the reader what Kelly is doing, and
"down the street" is an adverb phrase that modifies the verb by describing where she
walked.
As with subjects, it's also possible to have a compound predicate that consists of two
different actions.

• Simple predicate: Harry cried.

• Complete predicate: The mouse slowly ran towards the food.
• Compound predicate: She laughed at the dog's tricks and decided to adopt him.

Predicates can contain a good deal of information and may be quite long. Predicates
often have several parts in addition to the verb, including objects and complements.
Complement

In predicates that use linking verbs rather than action verbs, items following the
verb are known as complements. Complements modify the subject by describing it
further. For example:

• I am a teacher.
• The cat was the laziest creature.
• The woman seems smart.
To write a complete sentence, you must include at least a subject and a predicate.
If you only include one of these, you will have only a sentence fragment which is
grammatically incorrect.
Sentence structure

A sentence’s “structure” is the way its words are arranged.

In English, we have four main sentence structures: the simple sentence,

the compound sentence the complex sentence and the compound-complex
sentence. Each uses a specific combination of independent and dependent clauses
to help make sure that our sentences are strong, informational, and most
importantly, that they make sense!
In the examples, independent clauses are green, dependent clauses are purple, and
conjunctions are orange. Here are examples of each type of sentence:

1.The dog ran.                                                                             Simple Sentence

2.The dog ran and he ate popcorn.                                 Compound sentence
3.After the dog ran, he ate popcorn.                                 Complex sentence
4.After the dog ran, he ate popcorn, and he drank a big soda.   Compound-complex sentence
Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a
subject and a verb and is a complete idea.

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.

Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be attached to an

independent clause to become complete. This is also known as a subordinate clause.
• Although I like spaghetti,…
• Because he reads many books,…
Prepositional Phrase:

A phrase that begins with a preposition (i.e., in, at for, behind, until, after, of, during) and
modifies a word in the sentence. A prepositional phrase answers one of many questions.
Here are a few examples: “Where? When? In what way?”

• I like spaghetti for dinner.

• He reads many books in the library.
Simple Sentences

A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may also have an object and
modifiers. However, it contains only one independent clause.

• She wrote.
• She completed her literature review.
• He organized his sources by theme.
• They studied APA rules for many hours.
Compound sentence 

A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses.  These two

independent clauses can be combined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction or
with a semicolon.

• Examples:

• She completed her literature review, and she created her reference list.

• He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.
• They studied APA rules for many hours, but they realized there was still much to
learn.
Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and at least one dependent

clause. Dependent clauses can refer to the subject (who, which) the sequence/time (since,
while), or the causal elements (because, if) of the independent clause.
If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this clause. If, on the
other hand, the sentence begins with an independent clause, there is not a comma
separating the two clauses.

• Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to follow.
• They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.
Compound-Complex Sentences

Sentence types can also be combined. A compound-complex sentence contains at least

two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

• She completed her literature review, but she still needs to work on her methods
section even though she finished her methods course last semester.

• Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them

chronologically, and he carefully followed the MEAL plan for organization. 

• With pizza and soda at hand, they studied APA rules for many hours, and they
decided that writing in APA made sense because it was clear, concise, and objective.
 Let us go to eat babes!

Let us go to eat, babes!

Why do we use Punctuation and Capitalization? Marks of punctuation
and capitalization help readers understand and interpret sentences better.
Some marks are required to prevent misreading, and some are optional
and depend on what the writer wishes to achieve. For example, ending a
sentences with an exclamation mark rather than a period.
What is Capitalization?

Capitalization occurs when the first letter in a word is an upper-case letter.

Period '.'

1. A complete sentence that makes a statement ends with a period. A

sentence is a group of words containing a subject and predicate. In British
English, a period is called a 'full stop'.

He went to Detroit last week.

2. Most abbreviations end with a period.

Dr. Smith lives on Creek Rd. near St. Mary's Hospital.

Question Mark '?'

A question ends with a question mark.

When is she coming?

How old are you?
Exclamation Point '!'

The exclamation point is used at the end of a sentence to indicate great

surprise. It is also used for emphasis when making a point. (strong
feeling / excitement)

Be careful not to use exclamation mark too often.

a. What a wonderful day it is!

b. I can't believe he is going to marry her!

Comma ','

Comma is a punctuation mark that groups and separates words within a

sentence. It indicates a pause.

Use a comma before and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and so when these words connect

two independent clauses.
1. A comma separates things in series. (list of items)

a. I ate pizza, a burger, and ice cream.

b. I like reading, listening to music, taking long walks, and visiting

my . friends.

This is one of the most common uses of a comma. Notice that a comma is
included before the conjunction 'and' which comes before the final element
of a list.

2. A comma separates an interruption from the rest of the sentence.

Mr. Walker, our teacher, is very clever.

3. A comma separates two independent clauses that are connected by a conjunction
such as 'but’.

a. They wanted to purchase a new car, but their financial situation would .

. not allow it.

b. I would really enjoy seeing a film this evening, and I'd like to go out for . .

a drink.

4. Separate phrases (clauses)

a. In order to qualify for your certificate, you will need to take the TOEFL
. exam. Although he wanted to come, he wasn't able to attend the course.
5. Introduce a direct quote (as opposed to indirect speech i.e. He said he
wanted to come...).

a. The boy said, "My father is often away during the week on business
. trips.“

b. His doctor replied, "If you don't stop smoking, you run the risk of a
. heart attack.
Quotation Marks (double " or single ')

1. Quotation marks are used to identify the exact words of a speaker.

President Bush said, "We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not
fail."

2. For speech within speech, the other style is used as inner quotation
marks:

'Dave said, "Good afternoon, Frank"', recalled Frank.