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Sentence Structure and Usage

Now that we’ve reviewed the building blocks, let’s take a look at how effective writers use the parts of
speech to construct clear and compelling sentences.

At the most basic level, a sentence is a group of words that contains at least one independent clause and
expresses a complete idea. It has a subject and a predicate and can stand on its own.

• A subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about.
• The predicate conveys information about the subject.

Simple sentences have only one verb and contain only one main idea.

Example: The dog barks.

Complex sentences have one main clause and at least one subordinate clause.

Example: The dog is hungry because I did not feed him this morning.

Compound-complex sentences consist of more than one main clause and at least one subordinate
clause. It is the combination of a compound sentence and a complex sentence.

Example: The dog is barking because he is hungry, but I can’t feed him now.

Learning to avoid common pitfalls of problematic structure will help developing writers catch problems
during the writing process. Many times these problems stem from the transition from oral to written
language. Fragments and run-on sentences are commonplace (and acceptable) in informal speaking but
point to inexperience (or carelessness) in written forms.

Fragments lack a verb, a subject, or both. A fragment may also be a clause beginning with a
subordinating word or phrase (i.e. dependent clause) that is not attached to an independent clause.
Sentence fragments are easily revised by adding the missing verb and/or subject, or by connecting the
dependent clause with an independent clause.

Example: It’s important that students learn correct structure. Because fragments are distracting to a
reader.

Revised: It’s important that students learn correct structure because fragments are distracting to a reader.

Or: Sentence fragments are distracting to a reader, so it’s important for students to learn correct structure.