Presenting the Sentence!

What Is a Sentence?
A sentence is a complete thought, and it has a capital letter at the beginning
and punctuation marks at the end . These are sentences:
My cat is sleeping on top of the refrigerator.

Do you want to 90 look at the dragon with me?

Now write a sentence of your own. Make sure it starts with a capital letter and
ends with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point. Is it a complete
thought? If not, what can you add to make it a complete thought?

You have learned that every sentence must have a capital letter at the beginning
and a period, question mark, or exclamation point at the end. Every sentence
must also be a complete thought.
Circle the sentences below.
1. all through the town
2. I hate broccoli!
3. Are you afraid of dragons?
4. I will hop on one foot for three days!
5. Are you under the bed?
6. I don't like
7. I saw Tiffany swimming by.
8. Can I cut your hair?
9. This cheese tastes
10. Let's go jump on the bed!

Now write three sentences of your own. End one with a period, one with a
question mark, and one with an exclamation point. Make sure that your
sentences are complete thoughts.
1.
2.
3.
Presenting the Sentence!

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Can You Find the Sentences?
A sentence is a group of words that tells us something or asks us a question. It
is always a complete thought. Each sentence is about someone or something.
Each sentence also tells us something about someone or something.
Example: John cooks dinner.
This is what the sentence tells us:
Who it is about: John

What John does: cooks dinner

There are only five complete sentences below. Can you find them? Remember,
sentences begin with capital letters, end with punctuation (a period, question
mark, or exclamation point), and contain a complete thought that tells us about
something or someone. Write the five sentences on the lines below.

Chris is making enchiladas! You don't know what

telling me a story. My dog went ice skating.

Stop that runaway bicycle! When I stop.

How about that one who when will you know?

Do you like cotton candy Kip is washing the dishes.

Give Jason A big, yellow house.

I like Mike! the wind

1. -----------------------------

2. -----------------------------

3. -----------------------------

4. -----------------------------

5. -----------------------------
Presenting the Sentence!

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Sentence Starters
Finish these sentences any way you like.

1. Maggie wants to ______________________

2. Do you ________________________

3. I wish I had ______________________

4. Have you ever _______________________

5. Watch out for the _____________________

Finish these sentences by filling in the blanks.

1. ____________________is a big, hairy monster!

2. Did you say that your _________________fell off?

3. _______ jumped into the spaghetti and then ________

4. __________ is trying to find ___________

5. A __________ is knocking on the __________

 Bigger and Better Sentences

Stop That Run-On Sentence!

You've learned that each sentence is a complete thought. Some sentences may
have too many thoughts and may not give you a chance to catch your breath.
What do you think of this sentence?

I was walking to school school is fun I really like it.

It's easy to see that there are too many thoughts there for one sentence. This is
called a "run-on sentence." It ought to read like this:

I was walking to school. School is fun. I really like it.

Here are some more run-on sentences. Put a line between the complete
thoughts in each sentence. It helps to say them out loud and listen for the
places where you pause to take a breath. The first two have been done for you.
1. My dog jumped over the fence/she ran away with a poodle.

2. When I got home from school, my little brother was wearing my hat/ I do not
like it when he does that/ he chews and drools on my hat/ he is teething.

3. My teacher is nice she smiles all day long.

4. I got some new goggles do you want to go swimming?

5. My brother is sick he has to take some nasty smelling medicine.

6. I have a hamster her name is Stella.

7. Pizza is my favorite food my sister works at Pizzaland.

8. Can I go over to Lan's house we're going to play space rockets it's a really
fun game you would like it do you want to come and watch us?

9. I got a new bicycle it is blue and white it goes really fast I like it a lot.

10. There is a snake in my classroom at school I like toads and frogs better my
friend Nathan prefers mice.
Bigger and Better Sentences

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Stop That Run-On Sentence! <cant.)
You have learned that each sentence is a complete thought and that a sentence
that runs on to the next thought is called a run-on sentence. Here is an example.
Run-on: Cake is my favorite dessert chocolate is my favorite -Flavor.
Correct: Cake is my favorite dessert. Chocolate is my favorite -Flavor.

Each of the following sentences is a run-on sentence. You can fix them by
making them into two sentences instead of one. The first two have been done
for you.
1. I want lots of stories tonight can you start with Cinderella?
I want lots of stories toni ht. Can you start with Cinderella?
g
2. Come over to my house we can have some ice cream.
Come over to my house. We can have some ice cream.
3. I got a new scooter wait until you see it!

4. I don't want any soup it's too hot.

5. My baby brother ate my homework he was very hungry.

6. Carrie saw a monster in the park he was afraid of her.

7. My mom got new shoes I tried them on.

8. My cat scratched me do you have a cat?

9. Hector planted some flower seeds weeds grew instead of flowers.

10. Can you come to my birthday party we'll have lots of fun.
 Bigger and Better Sentences

Broken Sentences
You have learned that a sentence must be a complete thought. If it's not, it
isn't a sentence. It also doesn't make much sense.
Example:
How do you

My little brother
There is something missing in each of these examples. These are called
sentence fragments. They are just some pieces of sentences. When the
missing pieces are added, they will be complete sentences. What is missing
in the fragments above? Here are some ideas:
How do you [ do somefhin9]?

My little brother [ did somefhin9, said somefhin9, or is somefhin9].

When you think of these ideas, you can make them into complete
sentences:
How do you expecf me fo sleep wifh you snorin so loudly?
g
My little brother is an alien from fhe planef Zarkin.

Fill in the blanks below to make these fragments into complete sentences.

1. My best friend

2. I saw

3. ___________________ ate a bug this morning.

4. A big, scary

5. --------------------- fell into the trash can.

6. I ran out of the -----------------------

We don't want to

8. Tell me about -----------------------

Bigger and Better Sentences

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Broken Sentences (cant.)

You've learned a lot about sentences so far. Are you ready for a challenge?
There are five groups of words on this page. They all need some help. Some
are fragments and some are sentences. They all need capitals at the beginning
and punctuation at the ends (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation
point). Your job is to write the complete sentences with the correct capital letters
and punctuation. If the sentence is a fragment, you must use your imagination
to add the missing information.

1. tasha is in her bedroom

2. two stuffed animals

3. do you see the toys under the bed

4. my favorite game

5. look out for

 Bigger and Better Sentences

Which Is Which?
Can you tell the difference between a run-on sentence and a sentence
fragment? Just to remind you, here's a hint A run-on sentence is too much. A
sentence fragment is not enough.

For the word groups below, put an F for a fragment or an R for a run-on on the
line before the sentence. In the space below each group, write the sentences
as they should be written. Complete the sentence fragments, provide
punctuation, and break up the run-ans.

___ 1. Come on, let's

___2. My book is

___3. I stubbed my big toe it hurt a lot.

___4. A yellow airplane

___5. The story was funny I couldn't check it out of the library I forgot my
library card.
Polishing Your Sentences

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Capital Letters
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

ab c def 9 h ij k Im n o p q_ r s tu v w x y z

If you look up, you may see these letters in your classroom. You know these
letters very well and can probably still remember how to sing the alphabet song.
Without these letters, you would not be able to read your favorite book or write
a note to your best friend. Now it's time to learn when to use the uppercase, or
capital, letters, and when to use the lowercase letters. You use the uppercase
letters to capitalize. To capitalize, you begin a word with a capital, or uppercase,
letter. Here is a list of things you should always capitalize:

• The word "I" • The first word in a letter to a

When I get home I will eat lunch.
friend or relative
Dear Anna Dear Friends
• The first word in a sentence
Tell me a stor/
• The first letter of each word in
a business letter greeting
• The names of people and To Whom It May Concern:
places (proper nouns) Dear Students:
Jennifer Mexico
• The main words in titles of
• Words derived from proper books, movies, newspapers,
nouns (proper adjectives) television shows, plays,
German African
operas, musicals, or magazines
A Wrinkle in Time Newsweek
• Titles with people's names
(titles of position, rank, etc.) • School subjects if they are
Doctor Tracy Mrs. Hernandez languages or actual class titles
listed in a catalog
• Titles when used in place of a English Spanish
person's name Modern American Art
Did Coach cancel practice?
• Geographic locations when
• Days of the week and months they name specific areas
Monday July She comes from theNorth.

• Holidays
Fourth of July Halloween
Polishing Your Sentences

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How Does It End?
As you have been learning, each sentence you write must end with a
punctuation mark. A sentence may end with a period(.), a question mark(?), or
an exclamation point(!).

• A period comes at the end of a sentence that just tells something.

Examples:
I have a big dog. I live in a blue house.

• A question mark comes at the end of a sentence that asks a question.

Examples:
What is your name? Is your hair green?

• An exclamation point comes at the end of a sentence that contains a

strong feeling.
Examples:
Get down from there! I can't wait!

The following sentences need end marks. Think about what kind of punctuation
each sentence needs: a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point.
When you think you know, put the appropriate mark in the box at the end of
each sentence.

1 . My dog has spots I I

2. I hate lima beans -I -�I
3. Do you have a skateboard �I -�
4. I am writing a book I I
5. Who painted my toenails orange �I -�
6. My cat can sing I I
7. I'm sleepy �I -�
8. Have you ever visited the planet Teflor �I -�
9. T urn that radio down I I
10. I would like some more, please �I -�
#2498 How to Write a Sentence 18 © Teacher Created Resources, Inc.