English rules lesson 1-3

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One pronoun as the subject – He prays each night for dogs.

Two pronouns as the subject – He and she are both still awake because of the coon hounds.

A phrase – Staying awake all night is no fun.

A clause – What makes me mad is all the noise!

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Clause

when he gets the money

(This has a subject [he] and a verb [gets], but you’re left dangling, aren’t you? It’s not a complete sentence. This is called a dependent clause. It depends on something else to make a complete sentence.

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Complete Sentence

Billy will buy coon hounds when he gets the money.

(Now we know what’s going on!)

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Determine if the following are complete sentences or dependent clauses.

When I left my office that beautiful spring day.

I was walking along whistling when I heard the dogfight.

About twenty-five feet from me they caught him and down he went.

Down on my knees.

With one final whimper.

Where the alley emptied into the street, he stopped and looked back.

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As I watch him disappear in the twilight shadows.

Whatever it was that had interrupted his life, he was trying to straighten it out.

As I turned to enter my yard.

As I caressed the smooth surfaces, my mind drifted back through the years, back to my boyhood days.

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Phrase

the sound of the hounds

(We just saw that a clause has a subject and a verb. There’s no verb here; this is called a phrase. It could be the start of a great sentence, but it needs some help. It needs some action.)

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Complete Sentence

The sound of the hounds echoed in Billy’s mind even after the night quieted.

(Now there’s some action! It makes a very clear, complete sentence.)

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Tell which part of the sentence (subject or predicate) is missing in the sentence fragments below:

A whole bucketful of tears.

My dog-wanting.

Bawling and yelling for Mama.

Had a talk with him.

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Let’s build a few sentences.

Phrase

young Billy

Dependent Clause

by the time hunting season was over

Complete Sentence

By the time hunting season was over, young Billy was a nervous wreck.

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