1. The basics of sentences
Think about the job that a word is doing in the sentence.
2. Nouns
• Names a person or thing, e.g.
The bird looked at the fruit.
The man stroked his dog.
• Test for a noun – you can put the, a or an in front of it.
• Nouns can usually be singular or plural – bird / birds
3. Nouns
• ‘Name it’ to create an effect and build the picture for the reader.
The bird looked at the fruit.
The vulture looked at the pineapple.
The man stroked his dog.
The politician stroked his rottweiler.
The teacher stroked his sausage dog.
4. Adjectives
• The job of the adjectives is to tell us more about the noun.
The yellow bird looked at the juicy fruit.
• They usually come before the noun but they can come after the noun.
The fruit was juicy.
The bird was yellow.
5. Adjectives
• Each adjective must earn its place – choose carefully:
The tired, weary, exhausted man ran.
The cold snow fell.
The shy giant loomed over the villagers.
• Do not use adjectives that mean the same thing.
• Don’t tell the reader what they already know.
• Each adjective needs to tell the reader something new worth
knowing.
6. Verbs
• Verbs usually name an action - something that happens.
• They are the engine of sentences.
The man went down the road.
• Choose verbs with care to create an effect and make the reader
wonder:
The man dashed down the road.
The man skipped down the road.
The man limped down the road.
7. Adverbs
• The main job of an adverb is to tell us more about verbs - about what
is happening.
The man walked slowly.
Adverbs can tell us how, when and where.
The man walked slowly.
That afternoon, the man walked.
Down the road, the man walked.
8. Adverbs
• Adverbs can move around in sentences to create different effects:
The man moved slowly.
Slowly, the man moved.
The man slowly moved.
• Choose with care or you end up like this…
• Hamsah said quietly, “No.”
9. Adverbs and Adjectives
• Adverbs and adjectives ADD to verbs and nouns
• They slightly change the meaning of the verb and noun.
• They modify – change – the meaning.
• Choose them with great care – they must earn their place.
10. Verbs and Nouns
• Verbs are the engine of sentences.
• Without a verb, you do not have a sentence – and nothing is going
on!
The tired cat two fish.
The tired cat ate two fish.
• Nouns (and pronouns) tell us what the sentence is about – cat/ fish.
