Objective: To identify the subject and the predicate of a sentence

Directions: Read each sentence and underline its subject and predicate.
Note that the basic element of a sentence is the ‘subject” and the “verb”.

Craving the Crawlies

1. Thais/ eat about 20 different varieties of insects.
2. The best selling or the Big Mac of the bug business/is by far the takkatan, or grasshopper.
3. Takkatans/ taste a little like shrimp, and they are always clean.
4. Many farmers and laborers/ migrated to Bangkok.
5. They/ brought with them their yearning for six- and eight-legged creatures.
6. Bangkok natives/ were introduced to the wonders of savory creepy-crawlies.
7. They/ liked what they tasted.
8. Now an insect wholesaler/ can supply more than 400 pushcart vendors and 30 or so restaurant owners.
9. He/ grosses about $1,000 a day and clears about $225.
10. The bug business/ seems to get bigger every year here in Thailand.

Objective: Identify the sentence pattern of sentences

The sentence pattern exercise is only designed to remind you that each time you start writing your sentences, you have to carefully look at its verb and the meaning. Your sentence may not be complete if you use the wrong sentence pattern.

Directions: Read and identify the sentence pattern of each sentence.

The World Food Problem

________ 1. Everyone must eat. (S VI)
________ 2. Some areas have plenty of food. (S VT O)
________ 3. In other places food is very scarce. (S Be SC)
________ 4. They don’t have enough food to go around.(S VT O)
________ 5. Food costs vary from place to place. (S VI)
________ 6. In some countries a person must spend almost all his wages for food for himself and his family. (S VT O)
________ 7. And then sometimes they must go without enough to eat. (S VI)
________ 8. In other places people spend less than ten percent of their income for food. (S VT O)
________ 9. Some places grow abundant crops. (S VT O)
________10. Many people appear overfed. (S Be SC)

Unit 1: Basic Sentences: Subjects and Predicates
Objective: To recognize ‘subject’ and ‘predicate’ as two basic components of sentences

Directions: Read the following sentences and identify the two major elements in each sentence.

1. Mountains/ dominate many landscapes, rising above the ocean and landforms around them. (S VT O)
2. Mountains/ can be classified as beautiful pieces of natural art, which keep the human in awe. (S VI)
3. But the eye/ fails to see the vicious devastating potential within some of these pieces of art. (S VT O)
4. Volcanoes/ are special kinds of mountains, in that they sustain the continuing primeval process that originally made the surface of the earth. (S Be SC)
5. Mount St. Helens/ looks the way most mountains look: smooth sides, pointed crest, and snow capped. (S LV SC)
6. It/ is a scene made for calendars and postcards, yet is still one of the most destructive volcanoes of all time. (S Be SC)

Directions: Change a given verb into a correct form that corresponds to the subject in each of the following sentences.
Keep in mind that the verb always agrees with its subject. Its form, therefore, changes to express the time of the action, and reflect the number of the subject who does the action.

1. Mount St. Helens (is) located in southwestern Washington, about 50 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon.
2. It (is) one of the several lofty volcanic peaks that (dominate) the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest. Note that one of …N (plural) takes a plural verb
3. Mount St. Helens and her Cascade Range sisters—Lassen, Shasta, Hood, Rainier, and Baker—(are) art of a chain of volcanoes stretching from northern California to southern British Columbia, which (is) one part of what geologists call the “Ring of Fire”.
4. This Ring of Fire (is) notorious zone that (produces) frequent, often destructive, earthquakes and volcanic activity.
5. The Cascade volcanoes (date back) more than one million years.
6. They (are) all relative newcomers to their surroundings.
7. Among the latecomers to this geographic scene (is) Mount St. Helens.
8. The entire visible part of the mountain (is built up) since 500 B.C.
9. Even in human terms, that (is) not very old; in geological terms, it (is) hardly a tick on the clock.
10. Though it (is) the youngest of the Cascades, some geologists (say) “she (is) more powerful than the elders that surround her”.

Source: Ploeger K. 2001. Simplified Essay Skills. pp. 119 Chicago: NTC

Unit 1: Basic Sentences: Simple Sentences and Complex Sentences
Objective: To understand the differences between simple and complex sentences

Directions: Study the following sentences and note how many subjects and predicates there are in each sentence.

A Decision

1. For a high school graduate, deciding whether to continue in school or go to work/ is a momentous decision. ( __1__s and _1__ p)
2. Before making a decision, the graduate must consider many things.
( _1___s and _2__ p)
In a simple sentence, there is one ‘s’ and one ‘p’. This sentence. However, consists of a reduced subordinate clause and a main clause. The subject ‘the graduate’ does two action: make a decision and consider…
3. First of all, finances can be a problem. ( __1__s and _1__ p)
4. In making the decision, the availability of jobs/ becomes a factor.
( __1__s and _1__ p)
5. If one/ decides to go on to college, the selection of a career/ is important.
( __2__s and _2__ p)
6. Next, one / should consider academic preparation and the time it may take to complete his education. ( __1__s and __1_ p)
7. After that, one must decide which college or university to attend.
( __1__s and __1_ p)
8. If necessary, passports and visas must be obtained. ( ____s and ___ p)
9. For all male students, military service might be a consideration in making a decision. ( __1__s and __1_ p)
10. Everything considered, the decision to continue in school or not is a difficult one. ( __2__s and __2_ p)
This sentence consists of a main clause and an absolute phrase. In an absolute phrase there is one subject and one non-finite verb (Ving or V3). The absolute phrase functions as a verb modification.

Objective: To develop basic concept of a complex sentence (main clause and subordinate clause, their relationship, connectors used)

Directions: Underline the word that shows the relationship of the main clause and subordinate clause.
Writing English

1. For many students, writing English is their hardest task.
2. Although they like to talk, they dislike writing. Note that with Even though…, we don’t use ‘but’ any more.
3. If they would learn the basic skills of writing, it wouldn’t be so hard.
4. First of all the student must recognize that speaking and writing are different arts.
5. As a starter, a student should learn the verb forms and their particular uses.
6. Along with this, a student needs to learn to substitute correct pronouns.
7. After that he should develop the ability to write simple sentences correctly.
8. If he can do this, it shouldn’t be any trouble to learn how to combine sentences.
9. After all the mechanics have been mastered, individual style can be developed.
10. In the end, good sentences make good paragraphs and well-written paragraphs become good essays.