Sentence-Openers

Which of the following are examples of SUBJECT-openers?

• Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were torture!

• In the hallway, we could hear the television.

• Shouting his sister's name, Dominic headed out the door.

• The Magna Carta was exactly that.

Which of the following are examples of PREPOSITIONAL-openers?

• Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were torture!

• In the hallway, we could hear the television.

• Shouting his sister's name, Dominic headed out the door.

• The Magna Carta was exactly that.

Which of the following are examples of ADVERBIAL-openers?

• On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the traffic was terrible!

• Here is my cat!

• Dominic headed out the door, shouting his sister's name.

• Silently and stealthily, I crept up the stairs.

Which of the following are examples of ADJECTIVAL-openers?

• Tired though she was, Angelica was resolved to finish the race.

• Startled almost out of her wits, Maya screamed and jumped out of her chair.

• Dominic headed out the door, shouting his sister's name.

• Silent and stealthy, I crept up the stairs.

Which of the following are examples of PAST-participial-openers?

• Resolved to finish the race, Angelica painfully climbed back on her bike.

• Screaming at the top of her lungs, Maya leapt out of her chair.

• Dominic headed out the door, shouting his sister's name.

• Surrounded by trees, Little Red Riding Hood lost her way.

Which of the following are examples of PRESENT-participial-openers?

• Bruised but undaunted, Brian gritted his teeth and pushed on.

• Screaming at the top of her lungs, Maya leapt out of her chair.

• Dominic headed out the door, shouting his sister's name.

• Swimming strongly, Will reached the other riverbank before his brother.

Which of the following are examples of COORDINATE- CONJUNCTION-openers?

• Swimming is her favourite sport.

• So there we were, just hanging around.

• Yet despite everything, I am resolved to finish writing my book this summer.

• But there's a problem: I can't sing!

Which of the following are examples of SUBORDINATE- CONJUNCTION-openers?

• Although swimming is her favourite sport, she rarely gets in the water.

• When you see your brother, please tell him I'm waiting downstairs.

• After Brett told me his secret, I had a very difficult time not telling anyone else.

• Everything I knew about swords came from reading books.

Which of the following are examples of SUBJECT-openers?

• Swimming is her favourite sport.

• No big ideas. No hopes. No dreams.

• Harry's first thought was of the Forbidden Forest.

• Without a word, we marched out of the room.

Answer explanation

Here 'swimming' is acting as a gerund, which means it's acting as a NOUN and is the subject of the sentence.

'No big ideas', etc. are three sentence fragments; they are not subjects as there are no verbs.

"Cooked to perfection, the casserole was so delicious " begins with a

• PAST-participial opener

• PRESENT-participial opener