Don’t call it a grammar lesson

Note to self: Instead of saying “now it is time to learn graaaaammmaarr” and getting a chorus of groans in reply, why not say “I’m going to teach you something useful you can use in your writing”?

Eg: “Today we’re going to learn how to put dialogue into your writing so that it looks the same way it does in a novel!” instead of “None of you know how to punctuate quotations. We’re doing a grammar lesson.” (chorus of groans)

This generally only works if the students don’t have a big fat grammar textbook in front of them, however.

Use a comma when directly addressing someone

Just make sure your students don’t start using commas EVERY SINGLE TIME THEY SEE A NAME after you teach them this rule. Remind them that they’ll usually be using this kind of comma inside dialogue (with quotation marks ” “).

Tips for Recognizing Incomplete Sentences

1. Complete sentences have (a) a subject and (b) a verb that is actually doing something. 

(a) A subject is
-a noun
-often, but not always, near the beginning of the sentence
-“doing” the verb

(b) A “verb that is actually doing something” is
-in one of the twelve verb tense forms
-often, but not always, right after the subject
-being done by the subject
-not just describing the subject

Examples:

–> I like cheese a lot. ✓ (complete sentence) 

• I = subject
• like = verb

–> Swimming can be fun. ✓ 

• Swimming = subject (a verb in the -ing form can act as a noun)
• can be = helping verb + verb

–> The person that I like most is you. ✓

• person = subject (the full subject is “The person I like most”)
• is = verb

–> The person that I like most × (incomplete sentence) 

• no verb that is actually doing something (“like” is just describing “The person”)

–> Until the end. × 

• no subject
• no verb

2. Incomplete sentences often have a verb in a weird form.

–> Walking to the store. ×

• Walking = subject? verb in a weird form?  

–> Johnny walking to the store. ×

• Johnny = subject?
• walking = verb in a weird form (it’s just describing the subject)

–> Johnny is walking to the store. ✓

• Johnny = subject
• is walking = helping verb + verb

–> I saw Johnny walking to the store. ✓

• I = subject
• saw = verb

–> Sorry, the apple eaten yesterday. ×

• apple = subject
• eaten = verb in a weird form (it’s just describing the subject)

–> Sorry, the apple was eaten yesterday. ✓

• apple = subject
• was eaten = helping verb + verb (this is a passive verb)

–> Sorry, the apple eaten yesterday was yours, wasn’t it? ✓

• apple = subject (the full subject is “the apple eaten yesterday”)
• was = verb

3. Incomplete sentences often start with a subordinator 

–> Because you have no money. ×

• because = subordinator
• Note: “You have no money” is a complete sentence, but the subordinator “because” turns it into an incomplete sentence.

–> I will not marry you because you have no money. ✓

• I = subject
• will not marry = helping verb + not + verb

–> Because you have no money, I will not marry you. ✓

• I = subject
• will not marry = helping verb + not + verb
• Note: This sentence starts with the subordinator “because,” but the second part of the sentence, “I will not marry you,” makes it a complete sentence. See my post on English Sentence Structure for a way to explain this more fully to students.

Types of incomplete sentences

In my previous post about English sentence structure, I talked about combining complete sentences with incomplete sentences.

There are actually many types of incomplete sentences. Here are the main ones:

1. Starts with a subordinator
I talked about these in my previous post.

even though I’m so hungry (incomplete)
–> Even though I’m so hungry, I don’t want to eat.
–> I don’t want to eat even though I’m so hungry.
–> I, even though I’m so hungry, don’t want to eat.

2. Transitions 

Transitions are words or groups of words that are used to connect ideas. However, unlike the subordinators and “fanboys” connectors I described in my previous post, transitions don’t really “do” anything grammatically. 

however
–> However, we haven’t fixed the problem yet.
–> We haven’t fixed the problem yet, however.
–> We haven’t, however, fixed the problem yet.

Here’s how you use transitions to connect ideas between two sentences:
–> We made good progress yesterday. However, we haven’t fixed the problem yet.
–> We made good progress yesterday. We haven’t fixed the problem yet, however.
–> We made good progress yesterday. We haven’t, however, fixed the problem yet.

Do not use transitions to “glue” two sentences together.
–> We made good progress yesterday, however, we haven’t fixed the problem yet. (WRONG)

3. When

after dinner
–> After dinner, I studied for five hours.
–> I studied for five hours after dinner.
–> I studied, after dinner, for five hours.

4. Where

under the bed
–> Under the bed, there was a huge spider.
–> There was a huge spider under the bed.
–> There was, under the bed, a huge spider.

5. How

Slowly but steadily
–> Slowly but steadily, he pushed the car up the hill.
–> He pushed the car up the hill, slowly but steadily.
–> He pushed the car, slowly but steadily, up the hill.

6. Why

Due to her poor grades
–> Due to her poor grades, she will not be able to enter university.
–> She will not be able to enter university due to her poor grades.
–> She will not be able, due to her poor grades, to enter university.

7. Extra information about a noun
The extra information should go right after the noun.

a city in British Columbia, Canada
–> Kelowna, a city in British Columbia, Canada, is known for its Ogopogo monster. (extra information about Kelowna)
–> A city in British Columbia, Canada, Kelowna is known for its Ogopogo monster. (This is very formal!)
–> I really like Kelowna, a city in British Columbia, Canada.

8. Extra information about a whole sentence

which isn’t good
–> I haven’t been exercising lately, which isn’t good.

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Notes:

You’ll notice that I didn’t describe the grammar of most of these incomplete sentences. Instead, I focused on what they do (their function).

A lot of students hate hearing about prepositional phrases, adverb clauses, adjective clauses, noun clauses, noun phrases, etc. For many students it’s easier to just think “I should give some extra information about how, when, why, etc. by adding an incomplete sentence.”  

I’m not saying it’s wrong to teach grammatical terms, but maybe it’s a good idea not to teach those terms until students are at quite a high level (and age).

Next post: Tips for recognizing incomplete sentences.

English sentence structure

When teachers try to explain how English sentences work, they usually make it way too complicated. I’m going to give you the short and easy version.

There are basically four types of sentences in English:

1) complete sentence
–> eg: I like cheese.

A complete sentence has to have a subject (a noun) and a verb. It may also have some other words to complete the thought of the verb.

2) complete sentence + complete sentence
–> eg: I like cheese, but my brother likes ham.

You need to use one of the seven “fanboys” (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to connect two complete sentences. There are no other words that can be used to connect two complete sentences.

3) 
–> eg: I like cheese because I am a cheesy person.

The incomplete sentence (“because I am a cheesy person”) can’t stand on its own. It needs to be “hooked” onto the complete sentence (“I like cheese”).

Why is “because I am a cheesy person” an incomplete sentence? It’s because the word because is a “subordinator.” A subordinator is a word that makes a sentence incomplete.

There are a LOT of subordinators in English. Some common ones are: although, even though, since, so that, when, while, before, while, whenever, if, unless, whether, as.

Additionally, you can put the incomplete sentence before the complete sentence.

–> eg: Because I am a cheesy person, I like cheese. (You need a comma here.)

You can also put the incomplete sentence in the middle of the complete sentence.

–> eg: I, because I am a cheesy person, like cheese. (You need two commas here.)

4) complete sentence + complete sentence
                  ^ incomplete sentence
–> eg: I like cheese because I am a cheesy person, but my brother likes ham.

Sentence type 4 is just a combination of sentence types 2 and 3.

Additionally, you can move the complete and incomplete sentences around:
–> eg: Because I am a cheesy person, I like cheese, but my brother likes ham.

You can also keep adding more and more complete and incomplete sentences.
–> eg: I like cheese because I am a cheesy person, but my brother likes ham because he is a hammy person.
–> eg: I like cheese because I am a cheesy person, but my brother likes ham because he is a hammy person, although I don’t really know what that means. (This sentence is kind of long, but the grammar is technically correct.)

Next post: Other types of incomplete sentences.