The essential elements of a sentence

SubjectsVerbsThe simple sentence

The independent clauseThe complex sentence

The independent + the dependent clauseWhat a sentence should not be

The dependent clause

The subject of the sentence is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that identifies what the clause is about.

The subject is who or what is performing the action.

Subject examples:

John went to the store to buy a carton of eggs.

The little bee buzzed happily amongst the flowers.

Bow down, my lowly subject.

The verb is a word that represents the action in the sentence or clause and/or characterizes the subject in some way.

Verbs can also show the tense (past, present, future) and mood (the sun shined brightly).

Verb examples:

Mavis tripped clumsily over a rock.

The children are all singing carols on the porch.

The one big thing to remember about a subordinate clause is that it CANNOT STAND ALONE by itself. Alone it is also called a fragment. (The next guide will talk about this more.)

Also called the dependent clause.

Examples (this is what happens when there is no independent clause):

While flying over the mountain.

And then took a bath.

I feel like something’s missing.

Fragments

The Next Guide: