Understanding Sentences, Paragraphs and Writing Techniques, Exams of English

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WRITING EXERCISE

BY

Danti Pudjiati, S.Pd, M.Hum

PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN BAHASA INGGRIS

STKIP KUSUMA NEGARA JAKARTA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ….……………………………………………………………….. i

CHAPTER I

SENTENCE

I. THE SIMPLE SENTENCE

A. Explanation A sentence is a group of words that contains at least one subject and one verb. A sentence expresses a complete thought.^1 A simple sentence has one subject and one verb. The subject tells who or what did something. The verb tells the action (or condition). These are examples of simple sentence: Subject Verb Object I study French. My head hurts. The students are reading magazines. Galih went to the office yesterday. (^1) Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Writing Academic English Fourth Edition (New York: Pearson Longman, 2006), p. 164.

4. _____________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________

C. The Formula of Simple Sentences^2

1. Subject + Verb The visitors have arrived. The old man died. The verb in this structure is called an intransitive verb, e.g. arrive, die, rise, and wait. a. Subject + Verb(trans) + Object The children have eaten all the fried chickens. The shop sells clothes. A verb in this structure is called a transitive verb, e.g. eat, sell, take, and wear. b. Subject + Verb + Complement She looks very beautiful. It is a big house. A verb in this structure is called a linking verb, e.g. be, become, get, look, seem. The complement can be a noun phrase ( a big house ). c. Subject + Verb + Adverbial The test is tomorrow. We laughed on the car. The meetings are every week. An adverbial can be an adverb phrase ( tomorrow ), a prepositional phrase ( on the car ) or a noun phrase ( every week ). d. Subject + Verb + Object + Object (^2) AS. Hornby, Oxford Advanced Grammar (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), p. 75.

He should give the children candies. Here there is a direct object ( candies ) and an indirect object ( the children ). e. Subject + Verb + Object + Complement The project kept everyone very busy. All the publicity made the song a big hit. Here the complement ( a big hit ) relates to the object of the clause ( the song ). f. Subject + Verb + Object + Adverbial I put my clothes in my wardrobe. Here the adverbial ( in my wardrobe ) relates to the object ( my clothes ). g. We can add extra adverbials to any of clause structures. The visitors have just arrived. To my surprise, Sarah actually sent me a text message right away.

D. Production

Make your own simple sentences based on the formula given!

1. Subject + Verb (Intransitive)
2. Subject + Verb (Transitive) + Object
3. Subject + Verb + Complement

ANSWER KEY

B. Identification B.1. Underline the Subject and Verb.

1. My native language is Spanish. S V
2. Mario works in the hospital. S V
3. All of us sit in front of the class this morning. S V
4. In my country most of people are Muslims. S V
5. Lima is the capital of Peru. S V B.2. Identify 5 Simple Sentences.
6. My name is Frank Sanchez.
7. I was born on November 2nd, 1977, in the large city of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
8. I am a student at Green Hills College in Boston, Massachusetts.
9. I live at St. Avenue 53B, Boston.
10. There are nine persons in my family. **C. Production
11. Subject + Verb (Intransitive)** They are sitting. 2. Subject + Verb (Transitive) + Object Mr. Galih teaches French. 3. Subject + Verb + Complement

His mother is pretty.

4. Subject + Verb + Adverbial Barbara is on time. 5. Subject + Verb + Object + Object You give us many candies. 6. Subject + Verb + Object + Complement The party made everyone very happy. 7. Subject + Verb + Object + Adverbial My father has bought an apartment in Liverpool.

f. Yet [= to add an unexpected or surprising continuation] Cigarette smoking is a factor in longevity , yet Japanese people have a very high rate of tobacco use. g. So [= to add an expect result] It began to rain , so I opened my umbrella.

2. With a conjunctive adverb A second way to form a compound sentence is as follows^6 : Conjunctive Adverbs can be used by words: Addition moreover, in addition, beside Condition otherwise Concession however, still, nevertheless Result therefore, consequently, accordingly^7 For example: a. John is a very lazy student ; besides, he always comes late to class. b. You must do as the doctor says ; otherwise, you may get sick again. c. His new wife is very beautiful and kind ; nevertheless, she cannot cook at all. d. There is very little rain in this region ; consequently, we often have crop failures. 3. With a semicolon A third way to form a compound sentence is to connect the two independent clauses with a semicolon alone.^8 For example: 1. Three hundred guests attended his wedding ; two attended his funeral. 2. Gerard bought a new car ; he was very happy. 3. The men play the volley ball ; they are so tired. B. Identification B.1. Make compound sentences by joining the following pairs of sentence with one of these coordinating conjunctions: and, but, so, or, yet, for, nor. Punctuate them carefully. (^6) Ibid ., p.168. (^7) Marcela Frank, Modern English Part II , (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972), p. 7. (^8) Ibid ., p. 171. Independent clause; + conjunctive adverb + independent clause

C. Production Make your own compound sentences by using coordinator conjunctions!

1. And
2. Yet
3. But
4. Nor
5. Or
6. For
7. So

ANSWER KEY

B. Identification

B.1. Add the semicolon, conjunctive adverb, coordinate conjunction!

1. After marriage, the bride may take her husband’s family name and she may keep her own family name.
2. The party lasted until midnight , so everyone was tired.
3. There is no demand in the United States for the type of car you sell , so I cannot give you an order for this car.
4. I can’t swim well , but I can play tennis.
5. Many people enjoy themselves at the beach on a warm day , so there are many things to do. B.2. Combine each group of sentences in the three ways (by semicolon, conjunctive adverb, coordinate conjunction)
6. Mr. Smith was very angry at his boss’ order , but he decided to obey it anyhow.
7. Mr. Smith doesn’t like his aunt , so he won’t invite her to his wedding.
8. The young man needs a car for his work ; he is going to buy one right away.
9. The new student was very shy , so the teacher didn’t call on him.
10. The new student was very shy ; nevertheless the teacher called on him several times. C. Production
11. And Rita bought candies and cakes for her friends few days ago.
12. Yet The company moved in its marketing division to Phoenix , yet the operations division stayed in Boston.
13. But I want to go Manchester, but my parents do not permit me.
14. Nor

III. THE COMPLEX SENTENCE

A. Explanation It contains one independent clause and one (or more) dependent clause (s). In a complex sentence, one idea is generally more important than the other. We place the more important idea in the independent clause and the less important idea in the dependent clause.^9 There are three kinds of dependent clause:

1. Complex Sentence with Adverb Clauses An adverb clause acts like an adverb; that is, it tells where, when, why and how. An adverb clause begins with a subordinator, such as when, while, because, although, if, so, or that. It can come before or after an independent clause.^10 For example: Although women in the United States could own property, they could not vote until 1920. A citizen can vote in the United States when he or she is 18 years old. 2. Complex Sentence with Adjective Clauses An adjective clause acts like an adjective; that is, it describes a noun or pronoun. An adjective clause begins with a relatives pronoun, such as who , whom , which , whose , or that , or with a relative adverb, such as where or when. It follows the noun or pronoun it describes.^11 For example: a. Men who are not married are called bachelors. b. Last year we vacationed in Cozumel, which features excellent scuba diving. 3. Complex Sentence with Noun Clauses A noun clause begins with a wh- question word, that , whether , and sometimes if. A noun clause acts like a noun; it can be either the subject or an object of the independent clause.^12 (^9) Oshima and Hogue (2006), op. cit ., p. 172. (^10) Loc.cit. (^11) Loc.cit. (^12) Loc.cit.

For example:

• That there is a hole in the ozone layer of Earth’s atmosphere is well known.
• The scientists know what caused it. In the first example, that there is a hole in the ozone layer of Earth’s atmosphere is the subject of the verb. In the second example, what caused it is the object of the verb know. B. Identification Improve this paragraph, which contains too many compound sentences. Change compound sentences into complex sentences, using one of the subordinator listed. Use each subordinator once. Equal Rights for Women Russian women started to gain equality earlier than women in the United States. In the former Soviet Union, men and women had access [ as soon as ] to equal education and job opportunities and that reflected the Soviet philosophy. The [ _________ ] 1937 Soviet constitution declared that women and men had equal rights and responsibilities, and women joined the workforce. Also [ ________ ], millions of Russian men were away in the military during World War II, so Russian women filled their places at work. [ ________ ] Soviet women worked full time at their jobs, but they also had the primary responsibilities for taking care of the family. [ ________ ] They finished their work, and they had to shop, cook the evening meal, and perhaps wash, iron, or mend the family’s clothes. U.S. women started to demonstrate [ _________ ] that they could do the work of men during World War II. Because although when after as soon as since