The Language of Grammar: Compound Sentences

After students have mastered the organizational structure of the simple sentence, they are ready to move on to the compound sentence, which combines two complete thoughts. I like presenting this with a math equation.

1 Complete Thought + 1 Complete Thought = 1 Compound Sentence

In short, a compound sentence is really just compounding or combining two simple sentences to make a new sentence. There a few ways we can do this.

SAMPLE LESSON

The first is to place a comma followed by a conjunction between two complete thoughts.

In this example, our first complete thought is “Michelangelo loved painting.” Our second complete thought is “he loved sculpting.” The glue that holds them together, so to speak, is “, and”.

Of course there are many other conjunctions (listed below), which are more appropriately called coordinating conjunctions, that could be used in a similar format, but the most common are and, or, but. It’s important to remember that the choice of which conjunction to use depends on the message within the sentence.

If we want to show continuation or similarity such as in the sentence above, then we use and.

If we want to show alternatives, then we use or.

Note that “depending on” is a two-word preposition in this case.

If we want to show contrast, then we use but.

Another way to make a compound sentence is to place a semi-colon between two complete thoughts. This format, however, is a bit harder to pull off, so it takes a degree of trial and error to figure out when it works. Typically, students might write something like this at first.

Yes, this sentence is grammatically correct and connects two related ideas in a logical way. However, we could just as easily use the comma conjunction format and say exactly the same thing.

If we want to get the most out of the semi-colon format, then we have to imagine it offering something different than the other compound sentence formats. There should be an even more intimate or profound connection between two related ideas. Likewise, the first complete thought should lead to something bigger or more significant in the second complete thought.

Now this sentence uses the semi-colon in a much better way. The ideas are connected very deeply, and the second complete thought builds on the first.

The final way to combine two complete thoughts is to place a semi-colon followed by a conjunctive adverb followed by a comma between them.

Conjunctive adverbs (listed below) are sometimes called connective adverbs. They are commonly confused with coordinating conjunctions because their functions are so closely related. I think it’s fine to lump them in with conjunctions as long you remember the difference when it comes to diagramming.

To diagram compound thoughts connected with coordinating conjunctions and semi-colons, we stack the first thought on top of the second thought. Then, we simply draw a dotted step leading from the top verb to the bottom verb. Lastly, we write the conjunction, if there is one, on the step.

Complete thoughts connected by conjunctive adverbs are also stacked on top of each other, but instead of a dotted step, we draw a dotted vertical line connecting the top thought to the bottom thought. Place the vertical line all the way to the left, and write the conjunctive adverb like a regular adverb connected to the second verb.  

SAMPLE LESSON

Much like Leonardo, Michelangelo’s (1475 – 1564) talents launched him into the forefront of Renaissance art. His work was so revered that he became the subject of two biographies during his own lifetime, which was pretty much unheard of for anyone, let alone an artist. A look at our practice sentences illustrates some of the reasons for his fame.  

Scholars are unsure whether Michelangelo had help interpreting the theological aspects of his paintings. Either way, he was an artistic genius and Biblical scholar in his own right. What my students often find so incredible is that his works make complex Church doctrine feel simple and easy to understand.

What’s more, his works garner a level of contemplation that is both intellectual and prayerful, ultimately evoking wonder and awe in God Himself.

The Language of Grammar: Pattern Two

Once you have learned how to classify and diagram pattern one sentences, the next step is to learn pattern two sentences. They have three core parts.

First comes the subject noun (SN), or who or what the sentence is about. Next comes the verb-transitive (V-t), which is an action verb that sends or transfers its action to something else. The something that receives the action is called the direct object (DO).

Before we get started with examples, take a moment and download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference.

SAMPLE LESSON

Pattern two sentences are all about the verb-transitive. If students understand their function, then everything else falls into place. Let’s take a look at a few to see how they are used in sentences.

Aside from the fact that Henry has some serious anger management issues, you probably noticed that each verb-transitive is directly connected to an object. We can establish that connection by taking the verb-transitive and simply asking what after it.

Pounded what?—fist

Kicked what?—door

Lowered what?—hatchet

If there were no answer to the what question, then we would have to conclude that the verb was not a verb-transitive. Here are some sentence examples with verbs that are not transitive.

The first two examples have action verbs, but they are not transitive because their action does not go anywhere, so to speak. Yes, there are prepositional phrases that follow the verbs, but prepositional phrases can’t receive action. Remember, they show relationships between ideas. They establish context. As such, the first two sentences are pattern one.

The last sentence definitely does not have a verb-transitive because “was” is not even an action verb. It’s a linking verb, which we’ll get to later when we learn patterns four and five. Since “was” has no action in the first place, it certainly can’t send action to anything.

Finally, let’s try diagramming our pattern two sentence examples.

Each core part goes on the main horizontal line in the same order they appear in the sentence. We use a long vertical line to separate the subject noun and the verb-transitive because that signals the separation between the complete subject and the complete predicate. Yes, that means the direct object is part of the predicate because it is connected to the verb. As such, we only use a short vertical line to separate the two.

Go back to the previous lesson for a review of the modifier questions for adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

Now for the fun part. Let’s try classifying and diagramming some pattern two sentences about Henry VIII and his six wives.

And there you have the tragic tale of Henry VIII’s six wives. We’ll look at some of the other players in this great drama in the next lesson on pattern three sentences.  

The Language of Grammar: Pattern One

The best place to start classifying and diagramming is with a pattern one sentence. In its most basic form, it consists of only two words. The first word is the subject noun (SN), or who or what the sentence is about. The second word is the verb (V), or what is being said about the subject noun.

Before we get started with examples, take a moment and download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference.

SAMPLE LESSON  

Let’s take a look at a pattern one sentence.

In the example, “Henry” is the subject noun because the sentence is about him, and “ruled” is the verb because that is what is being said about him. Of course, it’s kind of a boring sentence, but it is a sentence. We know that because it’s a complete thought by itself. As such, the subject noun and the verb are the sentence’s core parts

If we want to make it more interesting, we just add a few modifiers. Adjectives (Adj) are good modifiers to start with. They add meaning to nouns and pronouns. They show “what kind,” “which one,” and “how many” of something. Here is an example.

“King” is an adjective because it says what kind of person Henry is. “VII” is also an adjective. It says which Henry the sentence is about.

Next, let’s try an adverb (Adv) modifier. Adverbs add meaning to verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They show “how,” “when,” “where,” “why,” and “to what extent” of something.

“Self-righteously” is an adverb because it shows how he ruled.

(Incidentally, I say it was self-righteously because Henry would not listen to the reason of men such as St. Thomas More who warned him of the dangers of breaking with the Church in order to satisfy his more carnal appetites. Likewise, Henry was very clever at justifying his actions as being for the sake of securing a male heir, allegedly “for the kingdom.”)

Okay, the sentence has gotten a lot more interesting, but it still lacks context. That’s where prepositional phrases come in handy.

Prepositional phrases start with a preposition (P) and end with an object of the preposition (OP). Collectively, their function is to show the relationship of one idea to another idea. Some prepositional phrases function as adjectives; others function as adverbs.

By adding “over England” we now have an adverb prepositional phrase that modifies “ruled.” Specifically, it tells us where Henry ruled.

Prepositions should either be memorized or so familiar as to be immediately recognizable.

Let’s add a few more prepositional phrases and see what happens.

We now have three prepositional phrases. “Over England” still explains where he ruled. “From 1509” explains when he ruled. “To 1547,” however, shows how many years he ruled past 1509. As such, we have to build the diagram like this.

Notice that “to 1547” is drawn off of “1509.” That makes it an adjective prepositional phrase because 1509 is a noun, not to mention that the phrase answers an adjective question.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

To round out the lesson, here are several more pattern one sentences about Henry VIII that include adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. 

“CV” stands for “Compound Verb,” meaning there are two verbs in the sentence.
Compound core parts get stacked one on top of the other. The one on top should be the first one to appear in the sentence.

Poor Henry! (Note my sarcasm.) When we get to pattern two sentences in the next lesson, I’ll be able to fill in more of the racy details like who he married and what happened to each of them. For now, we have to content ourselves with generalities.