9/9/2015

I went to the store.

Brenda and Lois are runners.
Tom was eating the bowl of noodles.
What do I notice?
These sentences are very short and simple
noun, verb, noun (simple sentence)
Independent clauses (complete sentence)
No adjectives or adverbs
All nouns at the beginning of the sentence (they are subjects)
The Rule: In order to have a complete sentence, you need a verb (predicate) and a noun
(subject).
Teacher example:
I run.
I run around the track.
I run around the track at midnight.
My example:
She paints.
She paints birds.
She paints birds in trees.

9/14/15

 The team won the game, but they didnt get overconfident.
Bob agreed to do the talking, and Frank promised he would keep quite.
Teddy spent seven hours studying calculus at the Mexican diner, so now he can
set his math book on fire with his salsa breath.
What do I notice?
Two simple sentences combined
All contain a comma
Compound sentences
2 independent clauses
There are coordinating conjunctions after the comma (F-or A-nd N-or B-ut O-or Yet S-o)
The rule: In order to have a compound sentence, you require two independent clauses
seperated by a comma and a coordinating conjuction.
- Comma always before the coordinating conjuction
Teacher example:
- Joe screamed down the hallway, and Noah laughed at him.
- Lucas hates the TV, yet strives to be a superstar.
My example:
- Maria is about to give her speech, and she is crying.

9/21/15

After I got sick, I went to the doctor.

Since it is blizzarding, school got cancelled.

While Sally copied Bobs homework, he was cheating on her.
Because I was so hungry, I decided to cook for myself.

What I noticed:
part of sentence after comma is an independent sentence
part before comma is a dependent clause
All contain a comma
commas seperate clauses
Sentences begin with subordinate conjunctions
A
A
A
After Although as

W
while

W
U
B
B
I
when until before because if

S
since

The rule: When a sentence starts with an AAAWWUBBIS word, you need a comma after the
phrase.
Teacher example:
- Although Colin is bitter, everyone is going to rememebr AAAWWUBBIS in their
lifetime.
- After you pick up your date, make sure to open the doors for her.

My own example:
- Although Brandon misspelled the Homecoming posters, we caught the mistake
before it was too late.

9/28/15

Exhausted, we collapsed as soon as we arrived home.

Rolling on the floor laughing, tears ran down our faces.

What I notice:

Without giving a second thought, we rescued the kittens.

Freezing, Sally put on a fourth layer before stepping outside.

all contain a comma

Start with a dependent clause
end with an independent clause
clauses seperated with a comma
It is still a complete sentence even without the front branch sentence

The Rule: Sentences that start with dependent clauses and end with dependent classes need
to be seperated with a comma.
Teacher Example:
- Screaming, Joe and Bryce ran into the house and huddled under the bright lights
of the kitchen.
- Starving to death, Maddie ate an enire pan of pizza.
- Having a bad day, Jasmine decided to end her day with a pint of ice cream with
some netflix.
My own example:
- Being the person that I am, I screamed at the boy who took my juicy juice at
lunch.

10/12/15

Juliet, not yet fourteen, is too young to marry.

My cousin, who is deathly afraid of clowns, refused to go to the circus.
I drove my car, without a license, to the beach.

 She left the restaurant, even though she was starving, because she couldnt
stand looking at his face anymore.
What I notice:
All have 2 commas
The clause between the commas is dependent
The last clause is dependent
First clause is sometimes independent, sometimes dependent
Middle clause (middle branch sentence) is adding extra detail, unnecessary

The rule: Middle branch sentences are a part of the sentence that provide extra detail but arent
necessary for the sentence to make sense. COmmas go on both sides of the middle branch
sentence.
Teacher example:
-Joe, with his angelic singing voice, serenaded the freshmen girls.
-Amanda, fast as lightning, went down to the lunch room.
My example:
-Peter, the best, is better than the rest.

10/26/15

What I notice:

Youre on your phone when youre not supposed to be.

Its time for it to shed off its skin.
Theyre not happy that their ball landed there.

All start with an abbreviation

No definite subject other that you, it, they (no proper nouns)
Simple sentences
use homophones

The rule: theyre= they are

their= ownership
there= location
its= it is
its=possesive
your=ownership
youre= you are
two=2
to= everyone knows what to means
too=also
Teacher examples:
two students, Bryce and Jasmine, went to Mars to explore the alien race too!

 Andrew said that their hair was blue and theyre all wearing eskimo outfits;
Andrew is the prime witness.
My Example:

I want to tap that, too.

11/12/15
The dinner was great; the dessert was average.
The movie is interesting; I couldnt keep my eyes off the screen.
Dad is going bald; his hair is getting thinner and thinner every day.
She backed out of her garage without looking; her car has a huge dent from the
garbage can.
What I notice:
2 independent clauses
seperated by a semicolon
The first sentence is the main information, the second clause is adding extra info.
The rule:
In order to use semicolons, you must have two independent clauses on both
sides that relate to each other.
Teacher example:
Brayden has glasses, Irina is thinking of getting the same brand of glasses.
My example:
I was so tired today; I got almost no sleep last night, because all I did was ~rave.