Punctuation and Grammar Focus Set 2
Punctuation and Grammar Focus Set 2 moves from the four sentence types by function, statement, question, command, exclamation, to sentence types by grammatical structure: simple, one main clause, compound, two or more main clauses joined by "and", "but" or "or", and complex, a main clause plus at least one subordinate clause. It also covers subject-verb agreement in trickier cases, collective nouns, indefinite pronouns and compound subjects, and the main verb tenses beyond simple past and present: the present perfect, past perfect and progressive forms.
Method
- Identify a main, independent, clause as a group of words that could stand alone as a complete sentence, and a subordinate, dependent, clause as one that cannot stand alone, even though it has a subject and a verb.
- Classify a sentence as simple, one main clause only, compound, two or more main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction such as "and", "but" or "or", or complex, one main clause plus at least one subordinate clause, often starting with "because", "although", "when" or "which".
- For subject-verb agreement, check whether the true subject is singular or plural: a collective noun such as "the team" or "the class" usually takes a singular verb in standard usage, "the team is winning", even though it refers to many people.
- For a compound subject joined by "and", such as "Tom and his sister", use a plural verb; for two singular subjects joined by "or" or "nor", such as "neither Tom nor his sister", use a singular verb, agreeing with the nearer subject.
- For indefinite pronouns such as "everyone", "somebody" and "nobody", use a singular verb, even though the pronoun refers to a group of people, "everybody is here", not "everybody are here".
- Learn the extra tenses beyond simple past and present: the present perfect, "has walked", an action linking the past to now, the past perfect, "had walked", an action completed before another past action, and the progressive forms, "is walking", "was walking", an action in progress.
Worked example
Identify the sentence type, simple, compound or complex, and correct the verb: "Although the whole team (has/have) trained hard all season, they lost the final."
- Identify the two clauses: "Although the whole team has/have trained hard all season", which starts with "although" and cannot stand alone, so it is subordinate, and "they lost the final", which can stand alone, so it is the main clause.
- Classify the sentence type: one main clause plus one subordinate clause makes this a complex sentence.
- Identify the subject of the verb in question: "the whole team", a collective noun.
- Recall the rule: a collective noun such as "team" usually takes a singular verb in standard usage.
- Final answer: complex sentence; the correct verb is "has": "Although the whole team has trained hard all season, they lost the final."
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1Classify this sentence as simple, compound or complex: "The dog barked loudly."Show answer
Answer: Simple (one main clause only).
Q2Classify this sentence as simple, compound or complex: "The rain stopped, but the wind grew stronger."Show answer
Answer: Compound (two main clauses joined by "but").
Q3Classify this sentence as simple, compound or complex: "When the bell rang, the pupils rushed outside."Show answer
Answer: Complex (a subordinate clause, "when the bell rang", plus a main clause).
Q4Choose the correct verb: "Everybody in the class (is/are) expected to hand in the form by Friday."Show answer
Answer: is
Q5Choose the correct verb: "Neither the teacher nor the pupils (was/were) aware of the fire alarm test."Show answer
Answer: were (it agrees with the nearer subject, "the pupils", which is plural).
Q6Identify the tense of the underlined verb: "By the time the bus arrived, Sam had already left."Show answer
Answer: Past perfect, "had left", showing an action completed before another past action, "the bus arrived".
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Read the sentence: "Although the choir has practised every week, several members were still nervous, and the conductor tried to reassure them before they went on stage." Identify the sentence type, simple, compound or complex, name one subordinate clause, and explain why "has" rather than "have" is correct after "the choir". (5 marks)
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Explain the difference between a main clause and a subordinate clause, giving an example of each from a sentence of your own. (3 marks)
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Free printable worksheet
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This topic is chapter 13 of 11+ English Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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