Ellipsis

-In linguistics, ellipsis or elliptical construction refers to the omission from a clause of one or more words that would otherwise be required by the remaining elements

-the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction, as the omission of who are, while I am,  or while we are  from I like to interview people sitting down.

 

When to use ellipses

1. Use an ellipsis to show an omission, or leaving out, of a word or words in a quote. Use ellipses to shorten the quote without changing the meaning.

For example:

• "After school I went to her house, which was a few blocks away, and then came home."

Shorten the quote by replacing a few words with an ellipsis. Remember, the meaning of the quote should not change.

• "After school I went to her house … and then came home."

We removed the words "which was a few blocks away" and replaced them with an ellipsis without changing the meaning of the original quote.

2. Use an ellipsis to show a pause in a thought or to create suspense. (Suspense is when a reader is excited to know what is going to happen next.)

Examples:   

• She opened the door . . . and saw . . . a cake!
• I was thinking . . . maybe we should call home.

This use of ellipses is very common in informal (friendly) letters and emails.

3. Use an ellipsis to show a break, or trailing off, of a thought.

Examples:   

• I know I saw my keys somewhere . . .
• "I'm not sure what to do . . .," he said.
• I never thought . . .     

 

Complex Sentences

* A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. * A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which

• "He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow."
  (George Eliot, Adam Bede)



• "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away."
  (Henry David Thoreau)
•  
• "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others."(Winston Churchill)

Other Examples Of Complex Sentences

• The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
• When he handed his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page.
• The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error.
• The house which Abraham Lincoln was born in is still standing.
• The expert who examined this scroll said that it was more than one thousand years old.
• My friend invited me to a party but I do not want to go.
• Writing evolved when picture symbols changed to letters.
• As he was industrious, he came out successful.
• Although my friend invited me to a party, I do not want to go.
• Because the soup was too cold, I warmed it in the microwave.
• Consumers buy fewer goods when prices rise.
• The woman who called my mom sells cosmetics.
• The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.
• The town where I grew up is in the United States.
• Because it was expensive, we were not able to buy the necklace.
• The player, who ran the wrong way, misunderstood the signal.
• A boy who is diligent is sure to succeed in life.

CoMpOuNd SeNtEnCeS

* A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator.
* The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
* Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma
 I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak
Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping. 

The above three sentences are compound sentences.  Each sentence contains two independent clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it.

Another Examples:

• "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
  (George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949)



• "The drought had lasted now for ten million years, and the reign of the terrible lizards had long since ended."
  (Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968)  
• "Feasts must be solemn and rare, or else they cease to be feasts."
  (Aldous Huxley)

SENTENCE STRUCTURE: SIMPLE SENTENCE

Simple sentence is sentence with one independent clause.
#clause = subject + finite verb


Simple sentence can be divided into 4 types
1) statement
The shop close at 10 pm.

2) question
Do the shop close at 10 pm?

3) command
Shut the door!

4) exclamation
What a slow this train is!



Simple sentence contain 1 subject + 1 predicate

it has 5 pattern

 1) subject + verb
example: my head aches.



2) subject + verb + complement
we can add complement to the subject and verb
 example: Siti is a clever girl

# the subject in pattern 2 is always "be'' (such as am, is, are,was,were) or a verb related to "be" such as appear, become, look, seem ect.



3) subject + verb + direct object
example: My sister answered the telephone.



4)subject + verb + indirect object + direct object
 it has 3 categories

 i. verb that can be followed by "to"
eg: I give a boxes of chocolate to Ali.

 ii. verb that can be followed by "for"
eg: Nurul make some cookies for her friends. 

iii. verb without "to" and "for"





5) subject + verb + object + complement
example: They appointed him chairman. 


A simple sentence must have one subject - verb combination but the subject may be compound, ie have more than one element. We can see in these example:

Suraya and Fairos like ice-cream. (compound subject)

They worked hard and produced an excellent display. (compound verb)


#Simple sentences can only have only one subject-verb combination and commas are not used.

Below are some examples of the different combinations that you might find in simple sentences.

FINITE AND NON FINITE VERBS

FINITE VERBS

#Finite verb is a form of a verb that shows agreement with a subject and is marked for tense.

#Always remember that if there is just one verb in a sentence, it is finite.

 Finite verbs are sometimes called tensed verbs.

  

These verbs are usually the main verb of a clause or sentence and can be changed according to the noun. They are used only in present and past tense. They can be indicative of passive or active voice and also of number (singular or plural).

Examples of finite verb
1)She walks home.  - Here we see that the finite verb is walks and the pronoun is 'she'. 
2)She walked home. - Here we can see how the verb changed/modified to change the tense of the sentence.
3)John said that he enjoyed reading.
4)Something you make yourself seems better than something you buy.


NON FINITE VERBS

#These verbs cannot be the main verb of a clause or sentence as they do not talk about the action that is being performed by the subject or noun.  

They do not indicate any tense, mood or gender. 

They are used as nouns, adverbs and adjectives. 

They are also used to form non-finite clauses which are simply dependent clauses that use non-finite verbs.

Example of non finite verbs 

1)He loves camping in the woods. - Here the non-finite verb is camping and it is used as a noun. These kind of non-finite verbs are called Gerunds.

2)I need to go to sleep. - Here the non- finite verb phrase is to sleep, it is acting as a noun. Non-finite verbs that use ‘to’ before them are called Infinitives.

3)The sleeping dog caused a delay. - The nonfinite verbs that have ‘-ing’ or ‘-ed’ as suffixes and cause the verb to come an adjective are called Participles.

 Lets try some exercises

Identify wheather it is finite or non finite verbs.

	Tense	Finite or Nonfinite?
David plays the piano	Present	Finite
My sister spoke French on holiday	Past	Finite
It took courage to continue after the accident	NONE -- the verb has the infinitive form	Nonfinite
Leaving home can be very traumatic	NONE -- the verb has the -ing form	Nonfinite
Leave immediately when you are asked to do so	NONE -- the verb has the -ed form	Nonfinite

 

OBJECT COMPLEMENT

OBJECT COMPLEMENT

-  An object complement is a noun, pronoun, or adjective which follows a direct object

   (DO) and renames it or tells what the direct object has become.

-  We know there is a difference between calling Mayor Williams and calling Williams 

    mayor or painting a red door and painting a door red.

-  Indirect object (IO) : for whom/ to whom the action is performed.

Examples :	Direct object	Object complement
To catch someone stealing.	someone	stealing
To paint the door purple.	the door	purple
We all consider her unworthy.	her	unworthy
I found the guard sleeping in the barn.	the guard	sleeping in the barn

                                                     

Examples :	Direct object	Indirect object
Joe give me an apple.	an apple	me
She sold Chris a new boat to sail down he river.	new boat	Chris
Jim built his granddaughter a sandcastle on the beach.	sandcastle	granddaughter
My mother writes me every week.	letter	me
He gives Sara the books.	book	Sara

Identify only  the direct object, and the indirect object in each sentence.

Example: Our teacher gave us some work to do.

Our teacher / direct object: _work_ / indirect object:  _us_ 

1. We sent a package to our relatives in Iowa.

2. He told his parents a lie.

3. Please hand me the remote control for the TV. (The subject is "you" in the imperative form)

4. Tina is making dinner for us.

5. Our boss is buying us dinner.

6. A movie on TV gave me the chills.

7. Wish me luck.

8. His grandmother sends him five dollars on his birthday every year.

9. They tried giving their baby some mashed peas.

10. John paid the bill for us.

Answers :

Answers :

1. We sent a package to our relatives in Iowa.

2. He told his parents a lie.

3. Please hand me the remote control for the TV. (The subject is "you" in the imperative form)

4. Tina is making dinner for us.

5. Our boss is buying us dinner.

6. A movie on TV gave me the chills.

7. Wish me luck.

8. His grandmother sends him five dollars on his birthday every year.

9. They tried giving their baby some mashed peas.

10. John paid the bill for us. 

Some other exercises :

Direct Objects and Subject Complements Worksheet pdf

Found at ebookbrowse.com

SUBJECT COMPLEMENT

SUBJECT COMPLEMENT

Phrase	Can’t stand alone Can function as N, V, adj., and adV  Incomplete E.g : Ali is hardworking.
Clause	Contains subject + predicate A form of simple sentence / part of the sentence Can stand alone E.g : Alia is a girl.
Sentence	Can stand on its own Contains   >  1 independent clause Doesn’t depend on another clause E.g : I am a doctor, and my wife is a lawyer.
Subject	Sentence = subject + predicate Come before the main verb (are,is,….) Determine the agreement (plural/singular) Always in a form of NP (can be substitute with the pronoun) E.g : Ali is a boy.
Complement	Something that completes (=) E.g : Ben is a policeman.         Ben = policeman
Determining factor	A subject complement is usually a noun or an adjective that follows a verb like to be (copula be) like ‘is, are, was, were’ and also linking verb like ‘to become, to appear, to smell, etc.

SUB. COMPLEMENT
FORMS OF SUB.COMPLEMENT	EXAMPLES
NP/ Pronoun	Ali is a boy. Edward is a gifted athlete. The strongest swimmer was he. Time is the great healer.
AP	I am fine. I feel good. George grew weary. All the passengers were Russians.
PP	The train was on time. The party was after midnight. Lucy was in the parlor. Douglas donate the books to the cause.
Careful of pseudo-linking	E.g : He smells the pizza. Lisa taste the spaghetti. *pseudo-linking shows the action (verb) *VP is not subject complement

TRY THIS

The linking verb links its subject to a word in the predicate. The word in the predicate, so linked, is called a

subject complement. The subject may be linked to a noun (sometimes called a predicate noun); to a pronoun

(sometimes called a predicate pronoun); or to an adjective (sometimes called a predicate adjective).

The dog is a mongrel. (predicate noun)

I am he. (predicate pronoun)

The roads are treacherous tonight. (predicate adjective)

Identifying Subject Complements. Underline the subject complement in each of the following sentences.

Look for the linking verb to help you find the subject complement.

Example: Cheddar cheese is orange.

John feels sick today.

1. The mongoose, introduced to Puerto Rico to kill poisonous snakes, has become the island’s most

     annoying predator.

2. Why are many of our folk heroes outlaws?

3. The chlorine in the pool smelled harsh.

4. This bread tastes moldy to me.

5. The hungry beggar felt too faint to hold out his cup.

6. The caged tiger gets especially restless during storms.

7. After my yoga exercises, I feel almost weightless.

8. Mahatma Gandhi always remained peaceful, despite his opponents’ most outrageous provocation.

9. One of a mail carrier’s occupational hazards is the overzealous watchdog.

10. Our captain’s last words to us sounded prophetic.

11. The sunflowers by the gate grow taller every day.

12. The class gift will be a new set of curtains for the auditorium stage.

13. The achievements and courage of Dr. Martin Luther King have become part of our American

       heritage.

14. A horse’s staggering gait can be a sign of swamp fever.

15. Her story rings true.

16. According to Dr. W. H. Sheldon’s classification of humans into physical types, the thin, slender-

      boned ectomorph is introspective.

17. Are you nervous about making the speech?

18. The dirigible is lighter than air.

19. Is his pulse normal?

20. The moon looked close enough to touch.

The answers :

1. The mongoose, introduced to Puerto Rico to kill poisonous snakes, has become the island’s most
     annoying predator.
2. Why are many of our folk heroes outlaws?
3. The chlorine in the pool smelled harsh.
4. This bread tastes moldy to me.
5. The hungry beggar felt too faint to hold out his cup.
6. The caged tiger gets especially restless during storms.
7. After my yoga exercises, I feel almost weightless.
8. Mahatma Gandhi always remained peaceful, despite his opponents’ most outrageous provocation.
9. One of a mail carrier’s occupational hazards is the overzealous watchdog.
10. Our captain’s last words to us sounded prophetic.
11. The sunflowers by the gate grow taller every day.
12. The class gift will be a new set of curtains for the auditorium stage.
13. The achievements and courage of Dr. Martin Luther King have become part of our American
       heritage.
14. A horse’s staggering gait can be a sign of swamp fever.
15. Her story rings true.
16. According to Dr. W. H. Sheldon’s classification of humans into physical types, the thin, slender-
     boned ectomorph is introspective.
17. Are you nervous about making the speech?
18. The dirigible is lighter than air.
19. Is his pulse normal?
20. The moon looked close enough to touch.