SB 1.5 Analyzing and Creating Complex Sentences

Analyzing and Writing a Complex Sentence

- Create complex sentences by combining phrases and clauses to show the relationships between ideas.

- Understand the ways in which language choices can be made to achieve intended effects.

Learning Targets

Phrases and Clauses

Clauses have a subject and predicate.

Independent clause:

- Expresses a complete thought
- Can stand alone as a complete sentence

Dependent clause (subordinate clause):

- Group of words that has a subject and a predicate but does not express a complete thought

- Cannot stand on its own as a sentence

- Needs to be combined with an independent clause to make a sentence

Phrases are two or more words that work together but do not have a subject-verb pair.

Multiple Choice

A group of words that has a subject and a predicate but does not express a complete thought

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

Two or more words that work together

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

Expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a complete sentence

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

down New Jersey Avenue

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

she takes my hand

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

to begin my very first day of school

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

and we set off

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Multiple Choice

on an otherwise unremarkable September morning

• Phrase

• Dependent Clause

• Independent Clause

Reorder

Does all that look familiar? Now use the phrases and clauses from steps 1 and 2 to reconstruct the complex sentence from “The First Day.”

• on an otherwise unremarkable September morning

• long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother,

• she takes my hand

• and we set off down New Jersey Avenue

• to begin my very first day of school

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More practice?
Go to IXL and practice skill 7BC.