Combining Sentences

Combining Sentences

• vary sentence length & structure

• create cohesion & conciseness

Basic Sentence Combining

The Himalayas are mountains in Asia. They are the tallest mountains in Asia. = The Himalayas are the tallest mountains in Asia.

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Jim hit a line drive to left field. He dashed to first base. = Jim hit a line drive to left field and dashed to first base.

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Marcy has blonde hair. Abby has blonde hair. = Marcy and Abby have blonde hair.

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The heavy rain flooded the highways. It washed out bridges. = The heavy rain flooded the highways and washed out bridges.

Basic Sentence Combining (continued)

The living room was chilly. The living room was empty. = The living room was empty and chilly. OR The empty living room was chilly.

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The new car was economical. The new car was beautiful. = The new car was economical and beautiful. OR The economical new car was beautiful.

Ryan entered the competition. His coach advised against it. =

Ryan entered the competition, but his coach advised against it.

Ryan entered the competition although his coach advised against it.

Ryan entered the competition; however, his coach advised against it.

Mark was late this morning. He missed the assembly. =

Mark was late this morning, so he missed the assembly.

Because Mark was late this morning, he missed the assembly.

Mark was running late this morning; therefore, he missed the assembly.

Conjunctions: joining words used to bring words and phrases together

• CON (with) JUNCT (together): conjunctions show the relationship between the joined words / phrases

• Conjunctions combine short sentences, creating a smoother writing style that is more concise and easier to read.

Examples:

Since it is raining, we can go to the skating rink or to the bowling alley.

We could not go to the beach because the weather was cold and rainy.

While Mom baked cookies, my siblings hung decorations, and Dad watched TV.

Multiple Choice

Choose the best conjunction to complete the sentence.

Albert trains for track after school ___ on Saturdays.

• but

• and

• yet

Multiple Choice

Choose the best conjunction to complete the sentence.

The store did not have canned peaches ___ mixed fruit.

• but

• so

• or

Multiple Choice

Choose the best conjunction to complete the sentence.

I could not go to the football game ___ I was sick.

• although

• because

• unless

Multiple Choice

Choose the best conjunction to complete the sentence.

Our team cannot go to the finals ___ we win the playoffs.

• although

• when

• unless

COORDINATING CONJUNCTION: connects words or groups of words

• Choose the FANBOYS word that best shows the relationship between the words/ sentences.

• Use a COMMA (,) plus a FANBOYS word to join two sentences.

Multiple Choice

Choose the best COORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete the sentence.

HINT: FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)

Alex and his brother forgot to take the shopping list to the grocery store, ___ they came home to get it.

• And

• But

• For

• So

• Yet

Multiple Choice

Choose the best COORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete the sentence.

HINT: FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)

The spider could not move fast, ___ it had only seven legs instead of eight.

• But

• For

• Or

• So

• Yet

Multiple Choice

Choose the best COORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete the sentence.

HINT: FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So)

Do you want to leave tomorrow, ___ would you prefer to wait until Tuesday?

• But

• For

• Or

• So

• Yet

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blanks

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION: joins two complete ideas by making one dependent on the other

• DEPENDENT (subordinate) CLAUSE: has a subject & a verb but cannot stand by itself as a sentence because it does not express a complete though

• INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: has a subject & a verb, expresses a complete thought, & it can stand by itself as a complete sentence

• Use a comma after the DEPENDENT CLAUSE if it comes before the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE. In most cases, do not use a comma when the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE comes first.

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

We did not go shopping last night ___ we were tired.

• after

• because

• until

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

___ intermission ended, the audience returned to their seats.

• although

• as

• if

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

___ Marcus moved to Tampa, he and I were best friends.

• as

• if

• until

• while

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

___ you can reach Stratford, Ontario, by plane, you might prefer taking the bus.

• although

• as

• before

• since

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

People can see two or even three performances in a day ___ they wish.

• after

• because

• if

• since

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

___ the wind can cause damage, windows should not be opened during a tornado.

• after

• if

• since

• while

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

Please take your stuff with you ___ you leave.

• although

• because

• since

• when

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

___ pumping my tire, I rode my bike for hours.

• although

• after

• because

• while

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

___ tornadoes can occur any time of day, most occur in the afternoon or early evening.

• as

• because

• since

• while

Multiple Choice

Choose the best SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION to complete this sentence.

HINT: AAAWWUBBIS (After, Although, As, When, While, Until, Because, Before, If, Since)

Complete your homework ___ playing outside.

• as

• before

• since

• until