WALT: analyse the structure of a sentence.
It’s all about the clause
Parts of a clause
There are dependent and independent clauses.
An independent clause forms a sentence on its own: You will definitely lose.
A dependent clause doesn’t make sense of its own: If you don’t try.
You will definitely lose if you don’t try.
Independent - makes sense on its own
Dependent - doesn’t make sense on its own
Highlight the independent clause red and the dependent clause yellow
You will not win, if you don’t try
If the ozone layer breaks down, the whole world will suffer.
Although I’m not the best, I really enjoy playing touch.
When Jenny comes over we always eat butter chicken.
Walking through the wood, he saw a fox that was following him.
Remember to ask does it make sense on its own?
Yes = independent
No = dependent
What can you tell us about the structure of the following sentences?
The boy crept silently into the bedroom. The boy is the subject and crept is the verb. The sentence contains one clause, it gives us some detail - we know how the boy is moving and where he is going.
Hone shook his head. Hone is the
Jennifer was walking through the alleyway when she heard a loud noise.
Extra for experts: Create a poster that explains what a clause is and share it on your blog!
Analyse the passage!
Wordsmith in action
Read this extract from Hogswatch by Terry Pratchett
It was the night before Hogswatch. All through the house . . .
. . . one creature stirred. It was a mouse.
And someone, in the face of all appropriateness, had baited a trap. Although, because it was the festive season, they’d used a piece of pork crackling. The smell of it had been driving the mouse mad all day but now, with no one about, it was prepared to risk it.
The mouse didn’t know it was a trap. Mice aren’t good at passing on information. Young mice aren’t taken up to famous trap sites and told, ‘This is where your Uncle Arthur passed away.’ All it knew was that, what the hey, here was something to eat. On a wooden board with some wire round it.
A brief scurry later and its jaw had closed on the rind.
Or, rather, passed through it.
The mouse looked around at what was now lying under the big spring, and thought, ‘Oops . . .’
Then its gaze went up to the black-clad figure that had faded into view by the wainscoting.
‘Squeak?’ it asked.
SQUEAK, said the Death of Rats.
And that was it, more or less.
What did you think of this text?
What did you notice about the author’s use of sentences? Are they clear? Are they all the same length?