CHAPTER 1

Chapter 1

INCHES

Theme: Oddities of Nature

You Wont Believe This!

Good grief, what do you think this is? Its actually a life-sized
goliath beetle that weighs about as much as a medium-sized
apple. Even though its a giant among insects, its made up of the
same parts as any other bug. Sentences are like bugs in that way.
They all have the same basic parts, no matter how long or short
and complex or simple they are.
Write Away: Phenomenal Phenomenon
There are many oddities in nature in addition to enormous bugs:
amazing storms, unusual land forms, and strange animal behavior.
Write a paragraph about the strangest natural phenomenon youve
ever experienced. Save your paragraph in your
Working Portfolio.

24

Diagnostic Test: What Do You Know?

Choose the letter of the term that correctly identifies each numbered part
of the passage.
Some of our planets oddest creatures live in the ocean. For example,
(1)

anglerfish attract prey with fleshy, quivery fishing poles protruding from
(2)

their heads. Sponges are another example of ocean oddities. Many people
(3)

call them plants, but sponges are actually animals that eat very small
(4)

plants and animals. Other ocean-dwelling animals, like lantern fish, have
special organs that give off light. Imagine if humans had such organs.
(5)

(6)

Then there are the nudibranchs, or sea slugs. They may sound ugly, but
(7)

(8)

sea slugs are some of the most beautifully colored and varied organisms
in the oceans. Scientists appreciate their variety and have given them
(9)

covering gave the orange-peel nudibranch its mouthful of a label.

(10)

1. A. complete predicate
B. simple predicate
C. compound verb
D. direct object

6. A. inverted sentence
B. declarative sentence
C. imperative sentence
D. interrogative sentence

2. A. indirect object
B. predicate nominative
C. direct object
D. objective complement

7. A. objective complement
B. direct object
C. compound subject
D. complete subject

3. A. predicate adjective
B. simple predicate
C. direct object
D. predicate nominative

8. A. predicate adjective
B. direct object
C. indirect object
D. objective complement

4. A. predicate nominative
B. objective complement
C. predicate adjective
D. indirect object

9. A. predicate nominative
B. compound verb
C. complete predicate
D. simple predicate

5. A. objective complement
B. direct object
C. indirect object
D. predicate nominative

10. A. simple subject

B. direct object
C. indirect object
D. predicate adjective

Parts of the Sentence 25

SENTENCE PARTS

names that match their appearance. For example, a bumpy orange

1 Heres the Idea

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete

thought. Every sentence can be divided into two partsthe
subject and the predicate.
The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest places on earth.
SUBJECT

PREDICATE

Some areas of the Atacama get rain only a few times a century.
SUBJECT

PREDICATE

CHAPTER 1

Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates

The most basic elements of a sentence are the simple subject
and the simple predicate, or verb. Neither one includes modifiers
but each may be made up of more than one word.

The simple subject tells who or what performs the action

in a sentence.
The slender Arctic tern migrates remarkable distances.
It may travel over 22,000 miles in the course of its yearly trek.

The simple predicate tells what the subject did or what

happened to the subject.
Many terns have flown from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic
Circle and back again.
They generally follow the same migratory route.
Heres How Finding Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates
To find the simple subject, ask Who or what is or does the action?
To find the simple predicate, ask What does the subject do? or
What happens to it?
One three-month-old tern from Nova Scotia migrated as far as
southern South Africa.
What did the action? tern
What did the subject do? migrated

26 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

Complete Subjects and Complete Predicates

The complete subject includes the simple subject and all the
words that modify it.
More tornadoes occur in the United States than anywhere else.
SIMPLE SUBJECT

The complete predicate includes all the words that tell what
the subject did or what happened to the subject.
Some tornadoes produce winds of over 250 miles per hour.
SIMPLE PREDICATE

A sentence fragment is a group of words that is only part of

a sentence. It may lack a subject, a predicate, or both.

Fragment

Problem

Sentence

A much lower average

daily temperature than
most deserts.

The fragment
needs a subject
and a predicate.

The Atacama has a

much lower average
daily temperature than
most deserts.

Daytime temperatures
in the 60s typical even
in summer.

The fragment
needs a
predicate.

Daytime temperatures in
the 60s are typical even
in summer.

2 Why It Matters in Writing

Both subject and predicate are needed to make

the meaning of a sentence clear.

DRAFT

REVISION

Have you ever seen a

fish walking? One
example, the climbing
perch.Walks by using its
tail and the edges of its
gill covers as legs.A
rocking motion.

Have you ever seen

a fish walking? One
example is the climbing
perch. It walks by using its
tail and the edges of its gill
covers as legs. The
walk is actually a
rocking motion.

Add predicate.
Add subject.
Add subject and
predicate.

Parts of the Sentence 27

SENTENCE PARTS

Sentence or Fragment?

3 Practice and Apply

A. CONCEPT CHECK: Subjects and Predicates

Copy each sentence below. Draw a vertical line between the
complete subject and the complete predicate. Then underline
the simple subject once and the simple predicate twice.
Example: Some animals move in unexpected ways.
Answer: Some animals | move in unexpected ways.
Look, MaIm Flying!
1. No one thinks twice about flying birds, insects, or bats.
2. Flying lizards are an entirely different matter.
3. The Asian flying dragon has folds of skin stretched over
its ribs.
4. The animal can unfold this skin to form wings.
5. It soars from tree to tree on these outstretched wings.
6. Some squirrel species also have folds of skin between
their front and back legs.
7. Observers of flying squirrels have measured glides of
200 feet.
8. Certain fish fling themselves out of the sea with their
powerful tails.
9. They glide above the water surface on large, winglike fins.
10. North America has both flying squirrels and flying fish.

CHAPTER 1

For a SELF-CHECK and more practice, see the EXERCISE BANK, p. 294.

B. REVISING: Correcting Sentence Fragments

Revise the paragraph below, changing sentence fragments to
complete sentences.

Hold Your Breath!

Before 1995, the green iguana unknown on the Caribbean
island of Anguilla. In September 1995, two hurricanes the
Caribbean region. One month later, about 15 green iguanas
ashore at Anguilla. Had apparently traveled 200 miles from an
island in Guadeloupe.The lizards were probably perched in
their trees on the island when the hurricanes uprooted the
trees. Flung into the sea.Where they formed a natural raft.
Ocean currents must have carried them to their new home.

28 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

1 Heres the Idea

Every sentence must have a subject and a verb. Either or both of

these basic parts may be compound.

Compound Sentence Parts

Examples

Compound
subject

Two or more
subjects that
share a verb

The aurora borealis and the aurora

australis are two of natures great
light shows.

Compound
verb

Two or more
verbs or verb
phrases that
share the same
subject

The lights glimmer and ripple

across the night sky.

Compound
predicate

A compound
verb and all the
words that go
with each verb

A magnetic storm in the upper

atmosphere causes the lights and
creates their eerie, shifting patterns.

SENTENCE PARTS

Definition

Join compound subjects and verbs with a conjunction that makes

the relationship between the parts clear.

Use or or either . . . or to show a choice.

Use neither . . . nor to show a negative choice.
Use and to show a combination.

New Yorker Collection 1999 David Sipress

Parts of the Sentence 29

2 Why It Matters in Writing

Using compound sentence parts allows writers to combine several

ideas into one sentence.

In 1966, the 44,000-ton Michelangelo, an

Italian steamship carrying 775 passengers,
encountered a single massive wave in an
otherwise unremarkable sea. Her bow fell
into a trough and the wave stove in her
bow, flooded her wheelhouse, and killed a
crewman and two passengers.

The compound
verb combines
four actions in
one sentence.

CHAPTER 1

Sebastian Junger, The Perfect Storm

3 Practice and Apply

A. CONCEPT CHECK: Compound Sentence Parts

Write the compound subjects and compound verbs in the
following sentences.
Blame It on El Nio
1. The 19971998 El Nio ranked as the strongest in history and
took the blame for every odd weather event.
2. At various times El Nio either terrified or annoyed people.
3. Television comedians and other jokesters blamed El Nio for
every problem in peoples lives.
4. The warming effect of El Nio caused droughts and wildfires in
some places and brought floods and mud slides to others.
5. Exceptionally violent tornadoes and hurricanes struck the
United States and Latin America.
6. Hurricane Georges and Hurricane Mitch were especially
devastating.
7. The hurricanes killed thousands of people and destroyed
property worth billions of dollars.
8. Oceanographers and other scientists found El Nio fascinating.
9. Neither government officials nor ordinary people regretted El
Nios end though.
10. A related phenomenon, La Nia, followed El Nio and cooled
the Pacific Ocean waters.

For a SELF-CHECK and more practice, see the EXERCISE BANK, p. 294.
30 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

B. WRITING: Creating Sentences with Compound Parts

Write five sentences describing this picture of an ice storm
caused by El Nio. Choose a subject, a predicate, or both from
the list below for each sentence.
people and animals
warm mittens and
waterproof boots
glazed tree branches and
sagging telephone lines
cars or snowplows

glistened like a crystal necklace

and crackled like popping corn
cleared the paths and shoveled
the streets
trudged through the snow or
cross-country skied

neither streets nor sidewalks

enjoyed the break from the

routine or complained about the
inconvenience

neither businesses nor schools

either skidded or got stuck

snow and ice

blew and drifted

parents or children

SENTENCE PARTS
Parts of the Sentence 31

1 Heres the Idea

There are four types of sentences, each with a

specific function.

CHAPTER 1

Types of Sentences
Function

Example

Declarative

To state a fact, wish,

intent, or feeling

Severe thunderstorms
can cause some unusual
droppings from the sky.

Interrogative

To ask a question

Have you heard about

fish-falls in northern
Australia?

Imperative

To give a command,
request, or direction

(You) Read some

firsthand reports from
people with dead fish on
their roofs.

Exclamatory

To express strong feeling

How unnerving the

thump of fish bodies
must be!

As the chart shows, in most sentences the subject comes before

the verb. Common exceptions to this S-V order include inverted
sentences and sentences beginning with here or there.
Remember, the subject of imperative sentences is you, even
though it is not written or spoken.

Inverted Sentences
Inverted sentences are sentences in which the subject
follows the verb or comes in the middle of a verb phrase.
Inverted word order is used

in most interrogative sentences

Have any botanists in your area encountered
an insect-eating cobra lily?

to change the emphasis in declarative or exclamatory sentences

Within its long, slippery leaves lies a death
trap for careless bugs.

32 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

Sentences That Begin with Here or There

The words here and there almost never function as
subjects of sentences. In sentences that begin with these
words, the subject usually follows all or part of the verb.
There are several other carnivorous plants besides
the cobra lily.
Here are some examples: Venus flytraps, sundews,
and bladderworts.
To find the simple subject in a sentence beginning with here or
there, first find the verb. Then ask who or what performs that
action or has that state of being.
There are carnivorous plants growing throughout the world.
SENTENCE PARTS

Who or what are growing? plants

2 Why It Matters in Writing

A long series of declarative sentences can be boring to read.

Using different types of sentences allows writers to vary the
pace, tone, and mood of their message.

Have you ever heard of a flower whose seeds

are carried and spread by elephants? Well, meet
the rafflesia. Found in the rain forests of Sumatra,
this unusual blossom is the worlds largest flower,
measuring three feet in diameter!
Elizabeth Tambor

INTERROGATIVE
SENTENCE
IMPERATIVE
SENTENCE
EXCLAMATORY
SENTENCE

Parts of the Sentence 33

3 Practice and Apply

A. CONCEPT CHECK: Subjects in Sentences

For each sentence below, identify the type (D, Int, Imp, or Ex) and
write the subject and the verb.
Really Big, Really Old Trees
1. Redwoods rank among the worlds largest living things.
2. One tree in Redwood National Park stands about 368
feet tall!
3. Spectacular redwoods also soar high above the forest floor
of Muir Woods National Monument.
4. To many people, there is nothing more awesome.
5. Think about the redwoods relative, the giant sequoia.
6. Do giant sequoias grow as tall as redwoods?
7. Giant sequoias have shorter but wider trunks than redwoods.
8. Both redwoods and giant sequoias can live to a ripe old age.
9. Do you want to see the worlds most massive tree?
10. Visit Sequoia National Park on your next vacation.
11. Here the General Sherman Tree has stood for more than
2,200 years!
12. There are few things in nature harmful to a giant sequoia or
a redwood.
13. Giant sequoias are protected by the U.S. government and
live largely undisturbed by humans.
14. Listen, though, to the unmistakable sounds of chain saws in
some redwood forests.
15. Should people harvest redwoods for their lumber?

CHAPTER 1

For a SELF-CHECK and more practice, see the EXERCISE BANK, p. 295.

Choose five sentences from Exercise A. Rewrite each sentence by

inverting the word order for emphasis.

B. REVISING: Using a Variety of Sentences

In your
Working Portfolio, find the paragraph you wrote for the
Write Away on page 24. Revise it to include several different
types of sentences. Use at least one inverted sentence or
sentence beginning with here or there.

34 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

1 Heres the Idea

A subject and a verb alone often cant convey the whole meaning
in a sentence. Many sentences require complements, words or
word groups that follow the verb and complete its meaning. There
are four types of complements: direct objects, objective
complements, indirect objects, and subject complements.

Direct and Indirect Objects

A direct object is a noun or pronoun that tells who or what
receives the action of a verb.
Nothing can escape a black hole.
Sentences with direct objects may also have indirect objects,
nouns or pronouns that tell to or for whom or what the action
of the verb is done.
The Hubble telescope showed scientists an enormous black hole.
INDIRECT OBJECT

DIRECT OBJECT

It offered them only a roundabout view, however.

INDIRECT OBJECT

DIRECT OBJECT

Indirect objects never follow prepositions. A phrase that begins

with to or for is a prepositional phrase, not an indirect object.
Pairs of orbiting stars gave the first clue to researchers.
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE

Pairs of orbiting stars gave researchers the first clue.

INDIRECT OBJECT

Objective Complements
An objective complement is a noun or adjective that follows the
direct object and identifies or describes it. Only certain verbs,
and their synonyms, can be followed by objective complements.

Verbs That Signal Objective Complements

appoint
call

choose
consider

elect
find

keep
make

name
think
Parts of the Sentence 35

SENTENCE PARTS

DIRECT OBJECT

Over 1,500 species of fish call the Great Barrier Reef home.
DIRECT OBJECT

OBJECTIVE
COMPLEMENTNOUN

Its colorful coral formations make the reef unique.

DIRECT OBJECT

OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT
ADJECTIVE

Subject Complements
A subject complement follows a linking verb and identifies
or describes the subject. Linking verbs include be and sense
verbs such as feel, seem, consider, smell, sound, and taste.
A subject complement may be either a predicate nominative
or a predicate adjective.
A predicate nominative is a noun used as a subject complement.
ME AS
SA

CHAPTER 1

The Amazon is a very wide riverover six miles in places.

PREDICATE NOMINATIVE

A predicate adjective is an adjective used as a subject complement.

D IFIES
MO

In places, neither bank is visible from the middle of the river.

PREDICATE ADJECTIVE

2 Why It Matters in Writing

Complements convey important information about the subject

and verb in a sentence. Notice how incomplete this passage
about tsunamis (waves generated by earthquakes) would be
without the details in the complements.

A huge tsunami struck Hawaii in 1946. It

was that states worst-ever natural disaster.
The massive wave killed 159 people and did
some 25 million dollars worth of damage. A
tsunami caused by an earthquake off the
coast of Indonesia in 2004 was the most
destructive in recent history.

Michael Magada

36 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

DIRECT OBJECT
PREDICATE
NOMINATIVE

PREDICATE
ADJECTIVE

3 Practice and Apply

A. CONCEPT CHECK: Complements

Identify each italicized complement as a direct object (DO), an
indirect object (IO), an objective complement (OC), a predicate
nominative (PN), or a predicate adjective (PA).
Not Your Ordinary Rocks

1. The American West offers residents and tourists an abundance

of beautiful rock formations weirdly eroded.

2. For example, Bryce Canyon in Utah is popular among
sightseers and photographers.
3. Visitors find its multicolored formations unspeakably gorgeous.
4. Geologists call the oddly shaped rock columns hoodoos.
5. In visitors imaginations, some formations become
cathedrals or castles.
6. The federal government made Bryce Canyon a national park
in 1928.
7. The huge sandstone arches, windows, and towers of Utahs
Arches National Park also show humans the power of erosion.
8. Faced with such grandeur, park visitors feel small and humble.
9. Monument Valley in Utah and Arizona has been the site of
many Hollywood Westerns.
10. Moviemakers apparently consider Monument Valleys
towering sandstone formations symbolic of the Old West.

B. REVISING: Using Complements to Improve Writing

Revise the following student model, replacing vague or weak
complements with more precise ones from the list that follows it.

Ocean water is salty and lake water is freshright? Well,

Utahs Great Salt Lake is something else. The lake lies many
miles from any ocean, but its water is several times saltier
than ocean water! The resulting buoyancy can give people
something unexpected. No matter how hard they try, they
cannot stay under. The salty water keeps them up.

effortlessly afloat
even the strongest
swimmers and divers
the surprise of their lives

submerged for long

an exception to that
natural rule

Parts of the Sentence 37

SENTENCE PARTS

For a SELF-CHECK and more practice, see the EXERCISE BANK, p. 295.

1 Heres the Idea

Diagramming is a way of visually representing

the structure of a sentence. It can help you
understand how a sentence works by showing
relationships among the parts.
Watch me for
diagramming tips!

Simple Subjects and Verbs

The simple subject and the verb are written on one line and are
separated by a vertical line that crosses the main line.
Comets orbit.
Remember: A simple subject and a
verb can consist of more than one
word.

orbit

Comet Hale-Bopp has orbited.

Comet Hale-Bopp

has orbited

Compound Subjects and Compound Verbs

For a compound subject or verb, split the main line. Write the
conjunction on a dotted line connecting the split lines.
Comets and asteroids orbit.

Comets

asteroids

and

Compound
Subject

orbit

Some asteroids collide and break apart.

collide
Compound asteroids
Verb

and

CHAPTER 1

Comets

e
m
So

break
t
ar
ap

38 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

Put
adverbs
and adjectives
on slanted lines below
the words they modify.

A. CONCEPT CHECK: Subjects and Verbs

Diagram these sentences, using what you have learned.
1. Amateur astronomers stargaze.
2. Some comets travel quickly and glow brightly.
3. Asteroids and comets differ dramatically.

Direct and Indirect Objects

A direct object follows the verb on the same line. It is separated
by a vertical line that does not cross the main line.
Comets sometimes have ghostly white tails.

Comets

have

tails
te
hi
w

Scientists observe comets and record information.

comets

record

information

and

Scientists

observe

Write an indirect object below the verb on a horizontal line

connected to the verb with a slanted line.
Comet Hale-Bopp gave all observers a spectacular show.

Comet Hale-Bopp

gave

show
r
la
cu
ta
ec
sp

observers
l
al

B. CONCEPT CHECK: Direct and Indirect Objects

Diagram these sentences, using what you have learned.
1. Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered a new, faraway comet.
2. Reporters told the world the fantastic story.
3. The huge, bright comet met every expectation.
Parts of the Sentence 39

SENTENCE PARTS

tly
os
gh
es
im
et
m
so

To show a compound predicate with direct objects, split the line

and show both parts of the predicate on parallel lines.

Objective Complements
An objective complement is written on the main line after the direct
object and separated from it by a slanted line.
Astronomers often call comets dirty snowballs.

Astronomers

call

comets

snowballs
rty
di

n
te
of

Some ancient people considered comets evil.

people

comets

evil

t
en
ci
an

e
m
So

CHAPTER 1

considered

C. CONCEPT CHECK: Objective Complements

Diagram these sentences, using what you have learned.
1. Modern people find comets interesting.
2. Astronomers consider a comet strike possible.
3. This possibility makes comet location a priority.

Subject Complements
A subject complement is written on the main line after the verb
and separated from it by a slanted line.
A falling star is actually a luminous dust particle.

falling star

is

particle
st
du
s
ou
in
m
lu

ly
al
tu
ac

Predicate
Nominative

The name is deceptive.

name

is

deceptive

e
Th

Predicate
Adjective

The slanted line between a verb

and a complement does not cross
the main line because the
complement is part of the predicate.
40 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

D. CONCEPT CHECK: Subject Complements

Diagram these sentences, using what you have learned.
1. The correct name is meteor.
2. The sudden bright streak looks awesome.
3. Meteor showers are simply multiple meteors.

E. MIXED REVIEW: Diagramming

Diagram the following sentences. Pay special attention to the
sentence parts you have learned about.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Dont panic when you come up against a complicated sentence.

Just reach into your memory bank and pull out these two
diagramming patterns. Then find the subject and the predicate
of your sentence and insert them in the diagram. Finally, identify
and place modifiers and complements.
subject verb

direct object

ad
tiv

rb

jec

ve

ad

objective complement

indirect object

subject
and

linking
verb

subject
complement

subject

Parts of the Sentence 41

SENTENCE PARTS

7.
8.
9.
10.

A cloud may surround a comets icy nucleus.

This dusty, gaseous cloud is the coma.
Gas and dust may also give the comet a tail.
Asteroids are often quite large.
Astronomers consider asteroids minor planets.
Asteroids have struck the earth and have caused
major damage.
Astronomers give their fellow citizens a warning.
An asteroid or a comet could hit the earth again.
The results might be disastrous.
That prospect makes many people nervous.

Field Report
Imagine that you volunteered to present a report on a natural
oddity to your science club. You observed your subject carefully
and took lots of notes. Now you have to turn those notes into an
engaging, informative presentation. Youre going to need all the
skills you learned about sentence parts to turn your notes into
clear, complete sentences.
Look at this students draft of a report about a partial solar
eclipse, along with comments from a friend he asked to read it.
Who sh
ou
And not ldnt look?
look at
what?
CHAPTER 1

FIELD REPORT
not even
Shouldnt look during an eclipse
ht be
with sunglassesor your eyes mig
the sun
permanently damaged. To observe
white
indirectly, I found two pieces of stiff
and the
cardboardone for a projector
ty pin. Then
other for a screen. I took a safe
of the
I punched a pinhole in the center
projector cardboard.
my back to
The next day I went outside. With
left hand. At
the sun, I held the projector in my
in my right hand.
the same time, I held the screen
raised my left
Keeping my eyes on the screen, I
sunlight came
hand and moved it around until the
an image of
through the pinhole. I was told that
en. I was
the eclipse would form on the scre
shocked that it actually did. It
looked like a cookie with a bite
taken out of it. The bite got
bigger. The cookie got smaller.
There were noticeable
changes ever y minute.
42

n
A little choppy. Ca
sen
e
th
ine
mb
you co
?
ing
th
me
so
or
s
tence

Wher
e
At w did you go
hat t
?
ime?

are
All these sentences
w
Ho
.
ike
al
pretty much
?
ty
rie
va
about some

This must have been

ds
exciting, but it soun
n
Ca
pretty boring.
?
you give more details

Using Grammar in Writing

Compound
parts

Use compound parts to combine sentences and present

information more concisely. Just make sure those
compound parts are parallel, or in the same grammatical
structure or form.

Sentence
variety

Use different kinds of sentences for the various parts of

your field reportstraightforward declarative sentences
for the methods and materials section and more varied
descriptive sentences for the observations and results.

REVISED FIELD REPORT

SENTENCE PARTS

This is m
u
You shouldnt look at the sun during an eclipse
It feels ch better.
a
s
not even with sunglassesor your eyes might
seen the if Id
e
be permanently damaged. To observe the sun
myself. clipse
indirectly, I found two pieces of stiff white
cardboardone for a projector and the other
for a screen. I punched a pinhole in the center of the
projector cardboard with a safety pin.
The next day I went into my backyard about half an hour before
the eclipse was supposed to peak. With my back to the sun, I held
the projector in my left hand and the screen in my right hand.
Keeping my eyes on the screen, I moved the projector
until the sunlight came through the pinhole. There it wasan
image of the eclipse! There were noticeable changes in the
image with each passing minute. At first it looked like a
cookie with a bite taken out of it. The bite grew bigger
and bigger and the cookie smaller and smaller as
the shadow gobbled up the sun.

PRACTICE AND APPLY: Revising

Below is another passage from the students report on the solar
eclipse. Revise it, using the writing tips at the top of the page.
ROUGH DRAFT

In addition to watching my screen, paid attention to what

was happening around me.You might expect that day became,
but thats not what happened.The sky stayed blue, though it a
dark, grayish blue. Shadows seemed sharper than usual.At the
peak of the eclipse, the birds stopped. I realized I had goose
bumps. The dimness was eerie.The silence was eerie too.
43

Mixed Review
A. Subjects, Predicates, and Kinds of Sentences Read the passage below.
Then write the answers to the questions that follow.

CHAPTER 1

(1) Australias weird and rare creatures include the platypus and the
echidna, egg-laying mammals. (2) The platypuss furry body and wide, flat
tail might remind you of a beaver. (3) However, its broad, hairless snout
resembles the bill of a duck! (4) The spine-covered echidna uses its
slender sensitive snout and long sticky tongue to sniff out and to lick up
ants and termites. (5) Here is something really strange. (6) After an
echidna egg hatches, the young echidna lives in its mothers pouch for
several weeks before emerging.
(7) Tasmanian devils, another Australian oddity, scavenge for dead
animals and hunt live animals. (8) With great ease do they tear the flesh
and crunch the bones of their victims. (9) Why is this animal called a
devil? (10) Just look at its fierce face and listen to its shrill scream.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

What are the simple subject and the complete subject in sentence 1?
Is the subject in sentence 2 simple or compound?
What kind of sentence is sentence 3?
What are the simple and complete predicates in sentence 4?
What is the subject in sentence 5?
What kind of sentence is sentence 6?
What is the complete predicate in sentence 7?
What is the subject in sentence 8?
What kind of sentence is sentence 9, and what is its simple subject?
What are the simple subject and the compound verb in sentence 10?

B. Complements In the paragraph below, identify each underlined word as a

direct object (DO), an indirect object (IO), an objective complement (OC), a
predicate nominative (PN), or a predicate adjective (PA).

The idea of living fossils may seem (1) silly at first. Scientists
call (2) organisms living (3) fossils if they have existed for millions
of years without dying out or changing their form.The coelacanth
is probably the most famous living (4) fossil. In 1938, some South
African fishermen brought the (5) curator of a local museum an
unusual (6) fish.The curator, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, was
(7) curious about by the creature. It had hard, bony scales and
muscular, almost limblike fins. Soon one of Courtenay-Latimers
colleagues gave (8) her the stunning news.The fish was a
(9) coelacanth. Until that moment, experts had considered the
coelacanth (10) extinct for at least 65 million years.

Jennifer Knauf

44 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

Mastery Test: What Did You Learn?

Choose the letter of the term that correctly identifies each numbered part
of the passage.
Volcanic eruptions are not true natural oddities. At any moment, nearly
(1)

two dozen eruptions shake the earths surface or explode unseen on the
(2)

ocean floor. However, the birth of a new volcano is extremely rare. In the
(3)

Western Hemisphere, such a birth last occurred in 1943.

On February 20 of that year, a Mexican farmer named Dionisio Pulido
(4)

discovered a long crack in the ground that had not been there the day
before. Soon, gray smoke and hot stones were coming out of the crack.
(5)

Here was a chance for geologists to witness a once-in-a-lifetime event.

(6)

The new volcano reached a height of about 500 feet within a week.

people much suffering. Ash and lava buried and destroyed their fields,
(7)

(8)

(9)

homes, and other buildings. In 1952, Paricutin suddenly became silent.

(10)

1. A. indirect object
B. objective complement
C. predicate nominative
D. simple subject

6. A. sentence fragment
B. imperative sentence
C. inverted sentence
D. interrogative sentence

2. A. simple subject
B. compound verb
C. direct object
D. objective complement

7. A. predicate nominative
B. indirect object
C. direct object
D. objective complement

3. A. indirect object
B. direct object
C. objective complement
D. predicate adjective

8. A. objective complement
B. indirect object
C. predicate nominative
D. direct object

4. A. declarative sentence
B. imperative sentence
C. inverted sentence
D. sentence fragment

9. A. complete subject and complete

predicate
B. simple subject and predicate
C. sentence fragment
D. compound subject and verb

5. A. direct object
B. predicate nominative
C. compound subject
D. subject complement

10. A. predicate adjective

B. predicate nominative
C. objective complement
D. indirect object

Parts of the Sentence 45

SENTENCE PARTS

Named Parcutin after a nearby village, the volcano brought the local

Complete Subject

Complete Predicate

The eruption of Krakatau in 1883 left more than 36,000 people dead.

CHAPTER 1

Simple Subject

Simple
Predicate

Inversion Version

noisrevnI

Use various types of sentence inversion

to vary the effect of your writing.

Direct Object

Objective
Complement

Version

Basic Sentence
Dark smoke was pouring out of the crater of the volcano.
Method

Inversion

Change into a
question.

Was dark smoke

pouring out of the
crater?

Asks a question

Begin with a
prepositional phrase.

Out of the crater of

the volcano was
pouring dark smoke.

Changes the
emphasis
of the sentence

Begin with here or

there.

There was dark smoke

pouring out of the
crater of the volcano.

Softens the impact

of the sentence

46 Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics

Effect

Sentence Styling Salon

Do

Why?

How?

Use compound

Combining related

The veil of volcanic dust dimmed

sentence parts.

parts makes your

the light of the sun. It also created

writing flow more

dramatic sunsets in North America

smoothly.

and Europe.

Use mostly

Here and there delay

There was a drop in the worlds

sentences beginning

readers getting to

temperature for several years

with words that

the point.

afterwards.

and

dropped

carry information,
here and there.

What an

that must have been!

The explosion was very loud. It

Use a variety of

Varied sentences

sentence types.

give your writing a

was heard 3,000 miles away. It

lively rhythm that

even set off huge ocean waves

pulls readers along.

that traveled all the way around

The blast

the globe.

The Bottom Line

Checklist for Parts of the Sentence
Have I . . .
made sure each sentence has
a subject and predicate?
used appropriate complements
to complete the meaning of a
sentence?

included a variety of sentence

structures?
inverted sentence order when
necessary or appropriate?

used compound sentence parts

to connect related ideas?

Parts of the Sentence 47

SENTENCE PARTS

rather than with