Sentences

Sentence – a set of words that contains a subject and a predicate and conveys a statement, command, question, or an exclamation.

Sentence Parts

Subject – what/who the sentence is about The advanced art students waited for their teacher to arrive at class.

Predicate – what the subject does The advanced art students waited for their teacher to arrive at class.

Sentence Types

Declarative – a sentence that makes a statement (ends with a period mark) Van Gouge painted the starry night in a mental hospital.

Imperative – a sentence that makes a command (ends with a period mark) They have to complete their painting on time.

Interrogative – a sentence that asks a question (ends with a question mark) How did they lose a huge painting?

Exclamatory – a sentence that expresses great emotion, passion, excitement (ends with an exclamation mark) Vivian won $500 from the art competition!

Sentence Patterns

Simple Sentence: A sentence that is just one independent clause. Most kids scribble on walls at an early age.

Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses, but no dependent clauses - connected by FANBOYS (coordinating conjunctions) or a semicolon (;). Art can be very messy sometimes, but the finished product is always worth it.

Complex Sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Once she buys paint brushes, she can start using her new paint set.

Complex-Compound Sentence: A sentence with multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Wendy wanted to win an art competition, in order to buy new shoes, but she was not an artist.

Loose Sentence: A sentence that contains an independent clause plus a subordinate construction (either a clause or phrase) with your main point at the beginning. Jason dropped his clay sculpture, which he had spent over a month working on.

Periodic Sentence: A sentence in which the independent clause is given at the end of the sentence in order to create interest or generate suspense with the main point coming at the end. Jason spent over a month working on a clay sculpture, which he dropped and broke.

Parallel Structure: A sentence using the same pattern of two or more verbs or ideas that match in tense or structure to show that they are of equal importance and to help the reader comprehend what is being written - this sentence requires symmetry. The art students make sculptures, paintings, music, and many other forms of art.

Balanced Sentence: A sentence where phrases or clauses at the beginning and the end parallel each other by virtue of their likeness of structure, meaning, or length - this sentence requires symmetry. Ms. Parker went to the art supply store to return some broken canvases and buy some new canvases.

Chiasmus: A sentence that includes a repetition of ideas (words, phrases, or clauses) in inverted (reversed) order - this sentence requires symmetry. John Adams High School has one art class and it’s the only art class.

Asyndeton: A sentence that leaves out conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. Ms. Parker described her students as hardworking, gifted, and one of a kind.

Polysyndeton: A sentence that uses multiple conjunctions in close proximity to each other between words, phrases, or clauses for a rhetorical purpose. Ms. Parker described her students as hardworking and gifted and, lastly one of a kind.

Anaphora: A sentence that features the purposeful repetition of a word, words, or a phrase at the beginning of several successive clauses in order to place emphasis and draw attention. Art can be seen as an easy subject, a lot of people assume that everyone can make art, but in reality it can be challenging for some people, since they might not have a good imagination.

Epistrophe: A sentence featuring several phrases or clauses ending with the same word or words. Almost any surface can be painted on, a canvas can be painted on, a wall can be painted on, even people can be painted on.

Sentence Errors

Run-On/Rambling/Fused Sentence – a sentence construction error where two or more independent clauses are connected incorrectly without punctuation. Jenifer had to finish her painting soon it was due next week she didn’t even begin working on it. [WRONG] Jenifer had to finish her painting soon because it was due next week and she didn’t even begin working on it. [RIGHT]

Comma Splice – a sentence construction error where two or more independent clauses are connected incorrectly using commas Art can have many different meanings, it depends on how a person perceives it. [WRONG] Art can have many different meanings. It depends on how a person perceives it. [RIGHT]

Fragment – incomplete sentence pieces that are not connected to or do not form an independent clause Because the paints dried up. [WRONG] Because the paints dried up, it was no longer usable. [RIGHT]

Misplaced/Dangling Modifiers – modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that add description; a misplaced modifier describes the wrong part of a sentence and a

dangling modifier is missing the part it’s supposed to modify

The art teacher gave out painted students that were brand new. [WRONG] The art teacher gave out brand new paints to the students. [RIGHT]

Double Negative – combining two or more negative words in a sentence in a way that is supposed to produce a positive force Jack’s art exhibition was no good because she procrastinated and had to rush at the last minute. [WRONG] Jack’s art exhibition was not good because she procrastinated and had to rush at the last minute. [RIGHT]