Clauses and Sentences

Definitions and Examples of Basic Sentence Elements

The Mastering the Mechanics webinar series also describes required sentence elements and varying sentence types. Please see these archived webinars for more information.

Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink, regular font = prepositional phrase

Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a subject and a verb and is a complete idea.

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.

Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be attached to an independent clause to become complete. This is also known as a subordinate clause.

• Although I like spaghetti,…
• Because he reads many books,…

Subject: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that does an action. Determine the subject in a sentence by asking the question “Who or what?”

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.

Verb: Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or concept does. Determine the verb in a sentence by asking the question “What was the action or what happened?”

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.
• The movie is good. (The be verb is also sometimes referred to as a copula or a linking verb. It links the subject, in this case the movie, to the complement or the predicate of the sentence, in this case, good.)

Object: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that receives the action. Determine the object in a sentence by asking the question “The subject did what?” or “To whom?/For whom?”

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.

Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that begins with a preposition (i.e., in, at for, behind, until, after, of, during) and modifies a word in the sentence. A prepositional phrase answers one of many questions. Here are a few examples: “Where? When? In what way?”

• I like spaghetti for dinner.
• He reads many books in the library.

English Sentence Structure

The following statements are true about sentences in English:

• A new sentence begins with a capital letter.
• He obtained his degree.

• A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point).
• He obtained his degree.

• A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.
• Smith he obtained his degree.

• A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.
• He obtained his degree.

• A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.
• He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).

• A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an independent clause.
• He obtained his degree.

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may also have an object and modifiers. However, it contains only oneindependent clause.

Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink, regular font =prepositional phrase

Here are a few examples:

• She read.
• She completed her literature review.
• He organized his sources by theme.
• They studied APA rules for many hours.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses.  These two independent clauses can be combined with a commaand a coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma  or semicolon = pink, regular font; coordinating conjunction = green, underlined

Here are a few examples:

• She completed her literature review, and she created her reference list.
• He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.
• They studied APA rules for many hours, but they realized there was still much to learn.

Using some compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Dependent clauses can refer to the subject (who, which) the sequence/time (since, while), or the causal elements (because, if) of the independent clause.

If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this clause. If, on the other hand, the sentence begins with an independent clause, there is not a comma separating the two clauses.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma = pink, regular font; dependent clause = blue, italics

Here are a few examples:

• Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to work on her methods section.
• Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

• Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to follow.
• Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

• They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.
• Note that there is no comma in this sentence because it begins with an independent clause.

• Using some complex sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Compound-Complex Sentences

Sentence types can also be combined. A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least onedependent clause.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma  or semicolon = pink, regular font; coordinating conjunction = green, underlined; dependent clause = blue, italics

• She completed her literature review, but she still needs to work on her methods section even though she finished her methods course last semester.
• Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them chronologically, and he carefully followed the MEAL plan for organization. 
• With pizza and soda at hand, they studied APA rules for many hours, and they decided that writing in APA made sensebecause it was clear, concise, and objective.

• Using some complex-compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.
• Pay close attention to comma usage in complex-compound sentences so that the reader is easily able to follow the intended meaning.

Source:

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/sentencestructure

AYAH

Ayah..

Kau adalah orang yang selalu 

Berkorban untuk anak-anak 

dan istri tercintamu

Ayah..

Kau selalu ada ketika kami

membutuhkan mu baik materi 

maupun tenaga mu

Ayah..

Kau adalah sosok pemimpin 

yang menjadi panutan dalam hidupku

Ayah.. 

Setiap hari kau peras keringat mu

hanya untuk aku dan ibu 

Ayah..

Aku sebagau anak hanya bisa

berdo'a semoga Allah selalu 

melindungimu

Ayah..

Aku selalu berdoa agar 

setiap langkahmu di mudahkan 

oleh sang pencipta

Ayah..

Hanya do'a dan rasa bangga 

yang bisa ku berikan padamu,  

lewat prestasi di sekolahku 

semoga dengan itu bisa menghapus rasa lelahmu.

IBU

Dalam Senyummu kau sembunyikan letihmu

Derita siang dan malam menimpa mu
Tak sedetik pun menghentikan langkahmu
Untuk bisa Memberi harapan baru bagiku

 

Segenap cacian selalu menghampirimu
Secerah hinaan tak perduli bagimu
Selalu kau teruskan langkah untuk masa depanku
Mencari harapan baru lagi bagi anakmu

 

Bukan setumpuk Emas yg kau harapkan dalam kesuksesanku
Bukan gulungan uang yg kau minta dalam keberhasilanku
Bukan juga sebatang perunggu dalam kemenanganku
Tapi keinginan hati mu membahagiakan aku

 

Dan yang selalu kau berkata padaku
Aku menyayangimu sekarang dan waktu aku tak lagi bersam mu
Aku menyayangimu dengan ketulusan hatiku                                                                         

Hingga akhir hayatku

How to Make Fish and Chips

Ingredients: 

• sunflower oil , for deep-frying
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 225 g nice white fish fillets , from sustainable sources, pinboned, ask your fishmonger
• 225 g flour , plus extra for dusting
• 285 ml good beer , cold
• 3 heaped teaspoons baking powder
• 900 g potatoes , peeled and sliced into chips
• For the mushy peas
• 1 knob butter
• 4 handfuls podded peas
• 1 small handful fresh mint , leaves picked and chopped
• 1 squeeze lemon juice

Directions:

• To make your mushy peas, put the butter in a pan with the peas and the chopped mint. Put a lid on top and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with sea salt and black pepper. You can either mush the peas up in a food processor, or you can mash them by hand until they are stodgy, thick and perfect for dipping your fish into. Keep them warm while you cook your fish and chips.
• Pour the sunflower oil into your deep fat fryer or a large frying pan and heat it to 190ºC/375ºF. Mix the salt and pepper together and season the fish fillets on both sides. This will help to remove any excess water, making the fish really meaty. Whisk the flour, beer and baking powder together until nice and shiny. The texture should be like semi-whipped double cream (i.e. it should stick to whatever you're coating). Dust each fish fillet in a little of the extra flour, then dip into the batter and allow any excess to drip off. Holding one end, lower the fish into the oil one by one, carefully so you don't get splashed – it will depend on the size of your fryer how many fish you can do at once. Cook for 4 minutes or so, until the batter is golden and crisp.
• Meanwhile, parboil your chips in salted boiling water for about 4 or 5 minutes until softened but still retaining their shape, then drain them in a colander and leave to steam completely dry. When all the moisture has disappeared, fry them in the oil that the fish were cooked in at 180ºC/350ºF until golden and crisp. While the chips are frying, you can place the fish on a baking tray and put them in the oven for a few minutes at 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4 to finish cooking. This way they will stay crisp while you finish off the chips. When they are done, drain them on kitchen paper, season with salt, and serve with the fish and mushy peas.

How to Make Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Stir sugar, cream, and milk into a saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Heat just until mix is hot and a small ring of foam appears around the edge.
2. Transfer cream mixture to a pourable container such as a large measuring cup. Stir in vanilla extract and chill mix thoroughly, at least 2 hours. (Overnight is best.)
3. Pour cold ice cream mix into an ice cream maker, turn on the machine, and churn according to manufacturer's directions, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. When ice cream is softly frozen, serve immediately or place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the ice cream and place in freezer to ripen, 2 to 3 hours.

How to make Lasagna

How to Make Lasagna

Ingredients:

 

-1 pound sweet Italian sausage

               -  3/4 pound lean ground beef

-            -  1/2 cup minced onion

-           - 2 cloves garlic, crushed

-         -  1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

-          -2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

-          -  2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce

-          -1/2 cup water

-         - 2 tablespoons white sugar

-         - 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves

-          - 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

-         - 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

-          -1 tablespoon salt

-         - 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

-         - 4 tablesspoon chooped fresh parsley

-         - 12 lasagna noodles

-        -  16 ounces ricotta cheese

-         - 1 egg

-         - 1/2 teaspoon salt

-         - 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced

-         - 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

     

          Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

Direct Speech:

Direct speech, also known as quoted speech, consists of words or phrases that are taken directly from the source. These words are quoted or written exactly as the words were originally spoken.

With regards to direct speech, there is no interpretation or annotation; the words are taken directly from one source and repeated to another. In other words, we take the words directly from the speaker and repeat them exactly as they were originally stated.

Examples of direct speech:

•           Jonah said, ''I don't like your hat.''

•           Jonah said, ''Please take off that Yankees hat.''

•           Jane said, ''It's not my fault that you are a Red Sox fan.''

Indirect Speech:

Indirect speech, also known as reported speech, is when words or phrases are reported in our own words. The original words are modified and/or interpreted as opposed to being quoted.

When talking about indirect speech, we use words that refer to something that has already happened. To do so, we are speaking in the past tense and are summarizing, modifying, or synthesizing what has already been said.

Examples of direct speech:

•           Amy said it was cold.

•           He said he had been on Facebook since 2010.

•           She said she had been teaching college classes for two years.

Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech:

General rules for changing direct speech into indirect speech

Omit all inverted commas or quotation marks. End the sentence with a full stop.

If the verb inside the inverted commas/quotation marks is in the present tense, change it into the corresponding past tense. If it is in the simple past tense, change it into the past perfect tense.

-Direct speech: The girl said, ‘I like singing.’

-Indirect speech: The girl said that she liked singing.

-Direct speech: Rahul said, ‘I will have to reach home by 8.30.’

-Indirect speech: Rahul said that he would have to reach home by 8.30.

-Direct speech: Alina said, ‘I met James yesterday.’

-Indirect speech: Alina said that she had met James yesterday.

When the verb inside the quotation marks expresses a universal truth, we do not normally change it into the past tense.

-He said, ‘All people have equal rights.’

-He said that all people have equal rights. (More natural than ‘He said that all people had equal rights.’)

Use pronouns appropriately.

Study the examples given below.

-Direct speech: The boy told the girl, ‘I told you that we were not going on a holiday.’

-Indirect speech: The boy told the girl that he had told her that they were not going on a holiday.

Changing Indirect Speech to Direct Speech:

The conversion of Indirect to Direct Speech generally presents no special difficulties.

Follow all the rules which we learned for changing the Direct to Indirect Speech in reverse for changing Indirect to Direct Speech.

The following examples will show you how simple and easy it is.

Examples:

•           Indirect: He enquired whether his name was Ahmed.

•           Direct: He said to him, “Is not your name Ahmed?"

•           Indirect: Clinton asked John to go with him.

•           Direct: Clinton said to John, “Come with me."

•           Indirect: The stranger asked Alice where he lived.

•           Direct: The stranger said to Alice, ‘where do you live?’

•           Indirect: An old mouse asked who would bell the cat.

•           Direct: An old mouse said, “Who will bell the cat?"

•           Indirect: Ram said to his mother that he would be late that night.

•           Direct: Ram said to his mother, “I will be late today night."

These examples are enough for you to understand how to change an Indirect to Direct Speech.

Statements in Reported Speech:

If you use a statement in Reported Speech, follow the steps described on our page Reported Speech – Summary.

• changing of the person, backshift of tenses, shifting of expressions of time/place

1. The introductory sentence

1.1. The introductory sentence in the Simple Present

If the introductory sentence is in the Simple Present, there is no backshift of tenses.

• Direct Speech → Susan: “Mary works in an office.”
• Reported Speech → Susan says (that)* Mary works in an office.

The introductory sentence is here: Susan says ... → this sentence is in the Simple Present, so there is no backshift of tenses.

1.2. The introductory sentence in the Simple Past

If the introductory sentence is in the Simple Past, there is mostly backshift of tenses.

• Direct Speech → Susan: “Mary works in an office.”
• Reported Speech → Susan said (that)* Mary worked in an office.

The introductory sentence is here: Susan said ... → this sentence is in the Simple Past, so there is backshift of tenses.

1.3. Types of introductory sentences

The word say in introductory sentences can be substituted with other words, e.g.

• add
• decide
• know
• mention
• remark
• tell *
• think

2. Change of persons/pronouns

The person/pronoun used in Direct Speech may be adapted in Reported Speech, depending on the situation.

Emily and John are talking about fashion at school. Emily says to John:

• Emily: “I like your new T-shirt.”

Possibility 1:

John says to his friend Max in the afternoon:

• Emily said (that) she liked my new T-shirt.

Possibility 2:

Emily says to her friend Julia in the afternoon:

• I said (that) I liked his new T-shirt.

3. Backshift of tenses

If the introductory sentence in in the Simple Past, there is backshift of tenses in Reported Speech. We shift the tense used in Direct Speech one step back in Reported Speech. If we use Past Perfect or the modals would, could, should, might, must, ought to and needn't in Direct Speech there is possibility to shift the tense back in Reported Speech.

3.1. Simple Present → Simple Past

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Peter: “I work in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he worked in the garden.

3.2. Simple Past, Present Perfect, Past Perfect → Past Perfect

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Peter: “I worked in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he had worked in the garden.
Peter: “I have worked in the garden.”
Peter: “I had worked in the garden.”

3.3. Auxiliaries, Modals

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Peter: “I will work in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he would work in the garden.
Peter: “I can work in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he could work in the garden.
Peter: “I may work in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he might work in the garden.
Peter: “I would work in the garden.” could might should ought to	Peter said (that) he would work in the garden. could might should ought to

3.4. Present Progressive → Past Progressive

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Peter: “I'm working in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he was working in the garden.
Peter: “I was working in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he had been working in the garden.
Peter: “I have been working in the garden.”
Peter: “I had been working in the garden.”

3.5. Past Progressive, Present Perfect Progressive, Past Perfect Progressive → Past Perfect Progressive

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
Peter: “I was working in the garden.”	Peter said (that) he had been working in the garden.
Peter: “I have been working in the garden.”
Peter: “I had been working in the garden.”

4. Shifting/Conversion of expressions of time and place

If there is an expression of time/place in the sentence, it my be shifted, depending on the situation.

Emily is at school, writing in her workbook. She misses her red pen at lunchtime. Emily says to John:

• “I lost my red pen here this morning.”

Possibility 1:

John says to his friend Max who is in the same room.

• Emily said (that) she had lost her red pen here this morning.

Possibility 2:

One day later, John sees his friend Gerry at his house. They talk about school.

• John says to Gerry → Emily said (that) she had lost her red pen at our school that morning.
• John says to Gerry → Emily said (that) she had lost her red pen there yesterday morning.

Direct Speech	Reported Speech
this evening	that evening
today/this day	that day
these days	those days
now	Then
a week ago	a week before
last weekend	the weekend before / the previous weekend
next week	the following week
tomorrow	the next/following day
here	There

* Do not forget the person after the word tell:

• She told me (that) ...
• She told George (that) ...

QUESTION FORMS AND REPORTED SPEECH:

WORD ORDER

Normal word order is used in reported questions, that is, the subject comes before the verb, and it is not necessary to use 'do' or 'did':

EXAMPLES:

Direct speech	Indirect speech
"Where does Peter live?"	She asked him where Peter lived.
"Where are you going?"	She asked where I was going.
"Why is she crying?"	He asked why she was crying.

YES / NO QUESTIONS

This type of question is reported by using 'ask' + 'if / whether' + clause:

EXAMPLES:

Direct speech	Indirect speech
"Do you speak English?"	He asked me if I spoke English.
"Are you British or American?"	He asked me whether I was British or American.
"Is it raining?"	She asked if it was raining.
"Have you got a computer?"	He wanted to know whether I had a computer.
"Can you type?"	She asked if I could type.
"Did you come by train?"	He enquired whether I had come by train.
"Have you been to Bristol before?"	She asked if I had been to Bristol before.

QUESTION WORDS

This type of question is reported by using 'ask' (or another verb like 'ask') + question word + clause. The clause contains the question, in normal word order and with the necessary tense change.

EXAMPLES:

Direct speech	Indirect speech
"What is your name?" he asked me.	He asked me what my name was.
"How old is your mother?", he asked.	He asked how old her mother was.
The policman said to the boy, "Where do you live?"	The policeman asked the boy where he lived.
"What time does the train arrive?" she asked.	She asked what time the train arrived.
"When can we have dinner?" she asked.	She asked when they could have dinner.
Peter said to John, "Why are you so late?"	Peter asked John why he was so late.

Imperative:

Imperative sentences do not normally have an expressed subject. This is because the subject ‘you’ is usually understood. As a result of this, imperative sentences begin with a verb in the simple present tense.

An imperative sentence expresses ideas such as advice, order, request, suggestion, instruction, permission, allowance etc.

In order to change an imperative sentence into the indirect speech, we use a to-infinitive. A –that clause is also possible in some cases. Note that instead of ‘said’ we use one of the following reporting verbs.

Advise, command, request, suggest, threaten, order, forbid, decree, propose, entreat, prompt, counsel, pardon, beg, persuade, instruct etc.

Notes:

After suggest, we use a –that clause and not an infinitive.

The verb propose is not followed by an object.

The verb forbid itself conveys a negative sense. Therefore, we do not use not in the following clause.

Study the following examples:

-Direct: The old woman said to the boy, ‘Please help me.’

-Indirect: The old woman requested the boy to help her.

-Direct: I said to him, ‘Love and obey your parents.’

-Indirect: I advised him to love and obey his parents. OR I advised that he should love and obey his parents.

-Direct: The teacher said to the students, ‘Work hard.’

-Indirect: The teacher advised the boys to work hard. OR The teacher suggested that the boys should work hard.

Sources:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/direct-vs-indirect-speech-definition-rules-examples.html

http://www.weblearn.in/direct_speech/

https://www.englishgrammar.org/direct-indirect-speech-general-rules/

http://www.english-for-students.com/IndirecttoDirectSpeech.html

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/reported_statements.htm

https://www.ef.edu/english-resources/english-grammar/question-forms-and-reported-speech/

https://www.englishpractice.com/improve/changing-imperative-sentence-indirect-speech/