BOLIVARIANREPUBLICOFVENEZUELA

MINISTERYOFPOPULARPOWERFOREDUCATION
MICROMISIONSIMNRODRGUEZ

Theoretical Practical Guide

Authors:
ClavijoVanessa
MouradRimadibi
NavarroIram
SilvaLuisa
Teacher:
MSC.IrisNormarinaRivas
SanFernando,Octuber,2015

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

NDICE
INTRODUCTION
Partsofthespeech4
Exercises.6
Thephrase..8
Nounphrase...9
Verbphrase.9
Prepositionalphrase..10
Adverbialphrase.11
Adjectivephrase..11
Exercises..12
Clauses.13
Mainclauses.13
Subordinateclauses14
Exercises....14
Typesofclauses...14
Exercises15
Identificationofcomplements.15
Transitivepattern..16
Copulapattern..16
Ditransitivepattern...16
Exercises...16
Typesofsentences.17
Compoundsentences.17
Complexsentences.18
ComplexCompoundsentences18
Exercises19
Exercises19
Bibliographicreferences..22

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

INTRODUCTION
The following guide theoretical and practical, is designed for English
languagelearnersbasedonlessonsfromthesecondquarterofMicroMision
SimonRodriguezinthecourseSyntax.Highlightingitsimportance,because
thiscourseisbasedonthesetofrules,principles,andprocessesthatgovern
the structure of sentences in a language, in this case English language. In
otherwords,syntaxisanimportantruletowriteandspeakcorrectly.
This guide is made of a dynamic, simple way and adapted to the
demands and needs of the English students. Our intention is produce a
practicalmaterialforthedevelopmentofwrittenandreadingskills.
This guide contains parts of the speech, types of clauses, type of
phrasesandtypesofsentences.

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

PARTSOFSPEECH
Partsofthespeechconsiderthewordsasthesmallestelementsthat
havedistinctivemeanings.Thereforeitisabsolutelynecessarytodistinguish
them to use the language properly. They can be exemplified for English as
follow:

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Exercises:
1) Identifythenouninthefollowingsentences
Thisismydog.Helivesinmyhouse.WeliveinBarquisimeto
NNN
Wehadabreakfastatacafneartherailstation.
NNN
2) Identifythepronouninthefollowingsentences
Ihelpedhimcarryit.
Pron
TheteachertoldusthatwearethebestteamatMicroMision
PronPron
Danystoldherboyfriendbecarefulwhenyougooutwithyourfriends.
PronPron
3) Identifytheverbsinthefollowingsentences
Englishisawebsite.IlikeEnglishClub
VV
Wehavetoknow,clearlyourvalues
VV
Wewillselectourcareer
V

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

4) Identifyadjectivesinthefollowingsentences
Shewantsabigcarforherbluegarage
AdjAdj
Thepinkhouseatthecornerisbeautiful
AdjAdj
Thequietstudentsareveryintelligent

AdjAdj
5) Identifyadverbsinthefollowingsentences
Theoldmanwalkedslowly
Adv
Igotothegymfrecuently
Adv
Mydogeatsveryquickly
Adv

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

6) Identifythedeterminersinthefollowingsentences
Thatbagisthemostbeautifulinthestore
DetDetDet

ThisisJuanheismyfriendfromCalabozo

DetDet
Thosecatarehispets
DetDet
7) Identifytheprepositionsinthefollowingsentences
WewenttoschoolonMonday

PrepPrep
Thereisamouseunderneaththepiano.
Prep
Thekeysareonthetableathome
PrepPrep

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

8) Identifytheconjuctionsinthefollowingsentences
IlikedogsandIlikecats
Conj
Heisindietbutheeatsicecreameveryweek
Conj

Sheboughtnewshoesbecauseshehasanewwork

Conj
9) Identifytheinterjectionsinthefollowingsentences
Oops!Ididitagain
Interj
Ouch!Thathurts
Interj
Ooh!Youaresobeautifultoday
Interj
ThePhrase.
Aphraseistwoormorewordsthatdonotcontainthesubjectverbpair
necessarytoformaclause.Phrasescanbeveryshortorquitelong.Hereare
twoexamples:
Afterlunch
Afterlunchwellgotowork.

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Certainphraseshavespecificnamesbasedonthetypeofwordthat
beginsorgovernsthewordgroup:nounphrase,verbphrase,prepositional
phrase,adjectivesphraseandadverbialsphrase.
NounPhrases
A noun phrase includes a nouna person, place, or thingand the
modifierseither before or afterwhich distinguish it. The pattern looks like
this:
OptionalModifier(s)+Noun+OptionalModifier(s)
Herearesomeexamples:
Theshopliftedpairofjeans
Pair=nounthe,shoplifted,ofjeans=modifiers.
Acatthatrefusedtomeow
Cat=nouna,thatrefusedtomeow=modifiers.
YrisisgreatEnglishteacher
Teacher=nouna,great,English=modifiers.
VerbPhrases
Sometimesasentencecancommunicateitsmeaningwithaoneword
verb.Othertimes,however,asentencewilluseaverbphrase,amultiword
verb,toexpressmorenuancedactionorcondition.Averbphrasecanhave
uptofourparts.Thepatternlookslikethis:
AuxiliaryVerb(s)+MainVerb+VerbEndingWhenNecessary
Herearesomeexamples:
Hadcleaned
Had=auxiliaryverbclean=mainverbed=verbending.
Shouldhavebeenwriting

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Should,have,been=auxiliaryverbswrite=mainverbing=verbending.
Mustwash
Must=auxiliaryverbwash=mainverb.
Herearetheverbphrasesinaction:
MomhadjustcleanedtherefrigeratorshelveswhenLawrenceknockedover
thepitcheroforangejuice.
Sarahshouldhavebeenwritingherresearchessay,butshecouldn'tresist
anothershortchapterinherStephenKingnovel.
Ifguestsarecomingfordinner,wemustwashoursmellydog!
PrepositionalPhrases
Attheminimum,aprepositionalphrasewillbeginwithaprepositionandend
withanoun,pronoun,gerund,orclause,the"object"ofthepreposition.
Theobjectoftheprepositionwilloftenhaveoneormoremodifierstodescribe
it.Thesearethepatternsforaprepositionalphrase:
Preposition+Noun,Pronoun,Gerund,orClause
Preposition+Modifier(s)+Noun,Pronoun,Gerund,orClause
Herearesomeexamples:
Ontime
On=prepositiontime=noun.
Underneaththesaggingyellowcouch
Underneath=prepositionthe,sagging,yellow=modifierscouch=noun.
Fromeatingtoomuch
From=prepositioneating=gerundtoo,much=modifiers.

10

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Adverbialphrase
Adverbialphraseisthetermfortwoormorewordswhichplaytheroleof
anadverb.Lookattheseexamples:
x

Iwillsitquietly.
(normaladverb)

Iwillsitinsilence.
(adverbialphrase)

Iwillsitlikeamonkmeditates.

(adverbialclause)
(Whenthemultiwordadverbcontainsasubjectandaverb(likeinthis
example),itisanadverbialclauseasopposedtoanadverbialphrase.)
Intheexamplesabove,alltheadverbstellushowthepersonwillsit.They
arealladverbsofmanner.Whenusedtomodifyaverb,anadverb(including
anadverbialphraseandanadverbialclause)willusuallydescribewhen,
where,orhowsomethinghappens.
Adjectivephrase
Anadjectivephrase(oradjectivalphrase)isaphrasethattellsus
somethingaboutthenounitismodifying.Thehead(principal)wordinan
adjectivephrasewillbeanadjective.Intheexamplesbelow,theadjective
phraseisshadedandtheheadword(i.e.,theadjective)isinbold:
x

Thenearbymotelofferscheapbutcomfortablerooms.
(Inthisexample,theheadadjectivestartstheadjectivephrase.)

Theseareunbelievablyexpensiveshoes.
(Inthisexample,theheadadjectiveendstheadjectivephrase.)

Sarahwasfairlyboredwithyou.
(Inthisexample,theheadadjectiveisinthemiddleoftheadjective
phrase.)

11

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Likeanormaladjective,anadjectivephrasecanbeusedbeforethenounitis
modifying(likeinthefirsttwoexamplesabove)orafterthenounitis
modifying(likeinthelastexample).

Exercises:
1. Identifythenounphraseinthefollowingsentences:
Thetallboythrewtheblueballwithgreatforce.
NPNPNP
IramforgotVanessasbirthday.
NP
2. Identifyverbphraseinthefollowingsentences:
Iamstudying
VP
TheyareplayingDomino
VP
3. Identifyprepositionalphraseinthefollowingsentences:

ThemanfromBarinasboughtanewsuit.
P.P
Luisahidherbooksunderthebed
P.P

12

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

4. Identifyadverbialphraseinthefollowingsentences:

Infrontofthehouse,thecarstopped
AdvP
Vanessaspokewithconviction
AdvP

5. Identifyadjectivephraseinthefollowingsentences:

Themoviewasnottooterriblylong
AdjP
Thenewoutfitwasverypriceybutreallybeautiful
AdjPAdjP

Clauses
Aclauseisagroupofrelatedwordsusuallycontainingasubjectanda
verb.
E.g.Samuelgoeshome
SubjectVerb
Clauses are classified as main clause (Independent clause) and
subordinateclauses(dependentclause)
Main clause: Express a complete thought and may constitute a
sentence
E.g.:Closethedoor

13

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Subordinate clause: It is not complete in itself. It must always be

attachedtosameelementinmainclause.
E.g.Closethedoorwhenyougoout.
Identify the main clause and the subordinate clause in the following
sentences:
Jamesspokeasthoughhewereabornorator
MainclauseJamesspokesubordinateadverbclauseasthoughhewere
abornactor
ThefewbooksthatwereproducedintheMiddleAgeswerewrittenbyhand.
Main clause the few books were written by hand subordinate adjective
clausethatwereproducedintheMiddleAges

Typeclauses
They are classified as adjective clause, adverb clause and relative
clause.
Adjectiveclause:followsthenounorpronounthatitmodifies.Youcan
recognizethembecauseitcontainswho,whichorthat.
E.g.Sheisapersonwholikesexpensivethings

MainclauseAdjectiveclause

AdverbClause:appearsjustbeforeorjustafterthemainclause.
E.g.Ifyoupageyourbills,youwillhaveagoodcreditscore
AdverbclauseMainclause

14

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Identifythetypeofclauseinthefollowingsentences.

SinceIdon'thavethebook,Icouldnotdothereport.
S.CM.C

Thewellknownpoet,whowasimmortalized,isEdgarAllenPoe.
M.CS.C

Iris,whoisagirlinroom18,willrunforrepresentative.
S.CM.C
Identificationofcomplements
Manyverbsrequirecomplementstomakesense:
Josemade
GabrielayValeriaare
These verbs need something more that answer the question what?
Andthisisknownlikecomplements.
E.g.Josemadethelunch
GabrielayValeriaarebeautiful
Intransitivepattern:donothaveanobjectreceivingtheaction.
E.g.Mariawalk
S+V
SubjectVerb

15

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Transitivepattern:areactionverbsthathaveanobject(Directobject)
toreceivethataction.
E.g.Hetookthetrain
S+V+O.D
SubjectVerbComplement
Coppulapattern(likingverbs):ittellswhatsomethingis,was,willbe.It
candescribeandtoshowanattributeofthesubject.
E.g.VanessaisIntelligent
S+V+CS/S+V+Adj.
SubjectverbAdj.
Ditransitivepattern:Ithastwoobjects:Indirectobjectanddirectobject.
E.g.Hetoldastorytohismother
SubjectverbO.D.O.I.
Identify the type of the verbs and its objects in the following
sentences.
Rimapassed(T)thebook(OD)toIram.
LuisaandVanessasang(I)attheschoolconcert.
Shelooks(LV)fine
IrisfoundDany(OI)anoutofshoestore(OD)

16

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Typesofsentences
Compoundsentences
Acompoundsentenceisasentencethathasatleasttwoindependent
clauses joined by a comma, semicolon or conjunction. Anindependent
clauseisaclausethathasasubjectandverbandformsacompletethought.
Anexampleofacompoundsentenceis,'Thishouseistooexpensive,
andthathouseistoosmall.'Thissentenceisacompoundsentencebecause
ithastwoindependentclauses,'Thishouseistooexpensive'and'thathouse
istoosmall'separatedbyacommaandtheconjunction'and.'
When independent clauses are joined withcoordinators(also called
coordinating conjunctions) commas and semicolons, they do more than just
jointheclauses.Theyaddmeaningandflowtoyourwriting.Firstlet'slookat
thecoordinatorsyoucanusetojoinindependentclauses.Theyare:
x

For

And

Nor

But

Or

Yet

So

NotethattheyformthehandymnemonicFANBOYS.Thethreeyouwilluse
mostoftenare'and,''but'and'or.'
E.X: I love chocolate, andI love eating chocolate. Two or more
independentclauses.

17

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Complexsentence
Acomplex sentenceis a sentence that combines one independent
clausewithatleastonedependentclause.Aclauseisagroupofwordsthat
has both a subject and a verb. Anindependent clauseforms a complete
thought. Adependent clause, also called asubordinating clause, does not
form a complete thought and is dependent upon an independent clause for
meaning.
E.X: I love chocolatebecause its decadent. One independent clause and
oneormoredependentclauses
ComplexCompoundsentence
Acompoundcomplex sentencecombines the compound and the
complex sentence. The 'compound' part means that it has two or more
complete sentences. The 'complex' part means that it has at least one
incompletesentence.
E.X: I love chocolatebecause its decadent, andI love eating
chocolatebecauseitsdelicious.Twoormoreindependentclausesandone
ormoredependentclauses.
Identifydetypesofsentenceinthefollowingsentences:
AlthoughIliketogocamping,Ihaven'thadthetimetogolately,andI
M.CI.C
haven'tfoundanyonetogowith.(CompoundComplexSentece)
I.C
Everyonewasbusy,soIwenttothemoviealone.(CompoundSentence)
M.CM.C
Because my coffee was too cold,I heated it in the microwave. (Complex
Sentence)

18

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

I.CM.C
Now,putthelearnedinpractice.Identifypartsofthespeech,type
ofphrases,typeoftheclauseandkindofverbsanditsobjectsifthey
haveinthefollowingsentences.
1) Vanessahasacar
S
Subj.Pred.
NPVP
Noun
VanessaV(T)OD
hasNP

Det.N
acar

2) Ihelpedmynephewwithhishomework
S

19

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

Subj.Pred.

NPVP
Pron
IV(DT)OIOD
helpedNPPP

Det.NPNP
mynephewwith
Det.N
hishomework
3) Luisaishappy
S
Subj.Pred.

NPVP

ProperN
LuisaV(LV)CS
is
A
happy

4) Rimabringsusfood
S

20

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

SubjPred

NPVP

V(DT)OIOD
Brings
PronN
usfood

BIBLIOGRAPHICREFERENCES

21

TheoreticalPracticalGuide

http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/
http://study.com/
https://learningnerd.wordpress.com/
http://www.englishgrammar.org/clausesexercise/

22