When you start a sentence with a subordinate clause, Put the comma in when you hear the pause! That is a cute rhyme (don’t you think?)….but unless you know what a subordinate clause is (and prior to that, what a subordinator is), it will not do you much good to recite it. So this post will go back to what subordinators are first. Maybe you were taught that subordinators (words that make the part of the sentence that they are in be “subordinate” to the rest of the sentence) are called other things, like conjunctives or subordinate conjunctions. Some grammar handbooks do not even classify subordinators at all but call them whatever other class they fall under (i.e. the preposition before might always be called a preposition, even though it is a subordinator when it has a subject and verb following it). Regardless of what you were taught about subordinators, they are extremely important to good writing. Why? A subordinator is a word that falls at the beginning of a subordinate clause. A subordinate clause has the following characteristics: 1. Itis a group of words that begins with a subordinator and has a subject and verb following it. 2. It is subordinate to the rest of the sentence–that is, it is “less than” the real sentence. 3. It may not stand alone as it is not a real sentence. 4. It sounds as though something is missing when it is read--because something is (the real sentence!). 5. It may be joined with a complete sentence to create a complex sentence, but the subordinate clause may never stand alone. So….what are subordinators? Let’s start with the first six that we teach our youngest language arts students in our books: Since, when, though Because, if, although. Yeah, it’s a rhyme! Cute, huh? (I love teaching!) Anyway, for you older folks, we have a Subordinator-Check Sentence that most subordinators fit into. In a nutshell, if a word fits in the check sentence and the word is not an adverb, it is likely a subordinator: ________________________ the submarine went down, we could no longer see it. Since the submarine went down, we could no longer see it. When the submarine went down, we could no longer see it. Though the submarine went down, we could STILL see it. Because the submarine went down, we could no longer see it. If the submarine went down, we could no longer see it. Although the submarine went down, we could STILL see it. Okay, those are the first six. Here is a lengthy, but not exhaustive list of subordinators: -after (also a preposition when it just has an object following it) -although -as (also a preposition when it just has an object following it) -as if -as long as -as soon as -as though -because -because of (also a preposition when it just has an object following it) -before (also a preposition when it just has an object following it) -even -even if -even though -if -inasmuch as -in order that -lest -now (more commonly used as an adverb) -now since -now that -now when -once -provided -rather than -since -than (also a preposition when it just has an object following it) -that -though -til (also a preposition when it just has an object following it) -unless -until (also a preposition when it just has an object following it) -when -whenever -where -where ever -where as -whether -which -which ever -while -who -whoever -why In as much as the submarine went down, we could no longer see it. Until the submarine went down, we could STILL see it. Whilethe submarine went down, we could no longer see it. We will stop here and give you time to memorize these before we go on in a day or two working on punctuating sentences that begin with subordinate clauses. Just looking at the Subordinator-Check Sentence, though, you can probably deduce that the first rhyme in this post is accurate: a subordinate clause opener is followed by a comma. More later!
We talked about PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES when we did the letter P a while ago. Now we are going to move into S–SUBORDINATE CLAUSES.
We have talked at length about what a sentence contains:
C apital
A ll makes sense
V erb
E nd mark
S ubject
CAVES!
Again, most people have trouble witht the A one–All makes sense. When a “sentence” doesn’t make sense, it is often because it is not a sentence at all, but it is a phrase or a clause.
We are going to talk in detail about phrases and clauses in the upcoming weeks because we are going to talk a lot about sentence structure–openers, simple sentences, compound sentences, etc.
So…a little “phrase and clause” lesson is in order first:
1. Phrase–
a. Group of words
b. Group of words that is not a sentence
c. Group of words that is not a sentence and does not usually contain a subject and a verb (though may seem to have one or the other)
d. There are various types of phrases–the one that people are most familiar with is the prepositional phrase–begins with a preposition and ends with the object of the preposition: i. over the clouds ii. into the clouds iii. around the clouds iv. within the clouds v. under the clouds
2. Clause
a. Group of words
b. Group of words that might or might not be a sentence
c. Group of words that contains a subject and a verb
d. Two kinds of clauses
i. Independent clause–also called a sentence
ii. Dependent clause–also called a subordinate clause
Don’t despair! These are not as complicated as they sound! You write with them all the time–but I hope to help you recognize them and punctuate them correctly in sentences–over the next few weeks!
Sit and rise have I’s–and lie does too. “Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do. Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose When each one has an object after it to use.
Here we are at the end of our Wacky Word pair—lie and lay.
Remember these lie and lay tips:
Lie has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
I lie in bed at wide awake.
Yesterday I lay awake half the night.
Before that I had lain down when the cat jumped on me.
Lie means to stretch out in a flat position—anybody or anything can lie, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT laid)
She lies down with a headache every day.
The sun is lying low.
She has lain down for a nap.
Lay must have an object following it—something that it is being laid down.
Lay your book on the table.
He laid his money down.
She has laid the towels in the sun.
Okay…the tenses for the three:
1. Lie
a. Base form: lie—Tomorrow I will lie down early. (Remember—no object; down is an adverb; early is an adverb here, not an object.
b. Past simple: lay—Yesterday I lay in the sun. (Tricky part: past tense of lie is lay; lay is also the present tense of lay—to lay something down!)
b. Past participle: lain—They have lain low ever since then.
d. Third person singular: lies—The dog just lies under the tree all day long.
e. Present participle/gerund: lying—The sun was lying on the horizon for so long today.
2. Lay
Base form: lay—I lay the kids’ clothes out every day. (Tricky: lay is the base form of lay (to put something down; it is also the past tense of lie—to stretch out by yourself or itself.)
Past simple: laid—Yesterday I laid the pink pants out for Jon.
Past participle: laid—Before the dog came in, I had already laid his bones out.
Third person singular: lays—He lays the book down every night at ten.
Present participle/gerund: laying—I am laying the swim suits out to dry.
Tricky Tricks to Help It Stick
Again, do sit/set first (all same base word for tenses of set!) or rise/raise (since many people get this pair correct even if they do not know sit/set and lie/lay very well).
Do rise/raise after sit/set or sit/set after rise/raise (saving lie/lay for last).
Memorize acronym/rhyme to cement the fact that all three with I’s are the ones that are done by someone or something (not to something).
When you get to lie and lay, to lie first all by itself until it is memorized. Then do lay. (I am starting to wait a week between the two with lots of practice on lie during that week before moving on to lay.)
I’m officially done with sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! Time to move on. I feel that I have risen to the occasion and am glad that I did not sit idly by and lay these tricky ones aside. Glad I did not let people lie in agony over these Wacky Words. I would like for all of us to set our grammar burdens aside and raise a toast in honor of sit/set; rise/raise; and lie/lay! J (Last time for a while, honest!)
Sit and rise have I’s–and lie does too. “Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do. Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose When each one has an object after it to use.
Fill in the blanks below with the correct forms/tenses of sit/set.
She _________ down and wept when she heard the news.
They _______ down.
They _______ the plants out.
They will be _______ the clothes out beforehand.
Yesterday, he ________ down to rest.
They will ________ the clothes out to dry.
He _________ down.
He is ____________ down.
They will be _________ the clothes out beforehand.
RAISE a toast! Use an object with RAISE….toast is the object.
Sit and rise have I’s–and lie does too. “Coz these are things that I, all by myself, can do. Set, raise, and lay are words that you choose When each one has an object after it to use.
I like to start with the simplest Wacky Word pair—RAISE AND RISE–though I have often thought sit/set was the easiest pair because all of the set forms are the same. However, raise and rise are less often misspoken or mis-written, so I have changed my thoughts on this.
Remember these RISE and RAISE tips:
Rise has an I—and I alone can do it (it is not done TO something else).
I RISE early.
Yesterday I ROSE early.*
Before that I had RISEN early.
*Just think I RISE early, and Rose ROSE early…
RISE means to head upward—anybody or anything can rise, as long as it does it by itself (i.e. it is NOT RAISED)
The sun ROSE early…all by itself.
I RISE before dawn (not really!).
They are RISING up in protest.
She has RISEN from that position one time.
They are RISING in honor of the king.
We have to wait for the bread to RISE.
RAISE does not have an I (first)—it is done TO something.
RAISE must have an object following it—something that it is being RAISED.
RAISE the flag..
Did he RAISE a toast?
They will not RAISE the drawbridge today.
She had some definite opinions to RAISE at the meeting.
The kids RAISED a raucous to get attention.
We RAISED our voices in protest.
How much money did we RAISE?
RAISE is the same base word for all of its tenses: RAISE, RAISE, RAISED, RAISING. That is why I recommend teaching this Wacky Word pair first (of the three), along with the fact that people do not usually say, “I rose my glass for a toast,” so it is more familiar, thus making it easier to learn (going from the known to the unknown, the familiar to the unfamiliar).
Okay…the tenses for the pair:
1, RISE
a. Base form: RISE—Today I RISE early. (Remember—no object; early is an adverb here, not an object.
b. Past simple: ROSE—Yesterday I ROSE early..
b. Past participle: RISEN—Before that, I had RISEN early.
d. Third person singular: RISES—He RISES early.
e. Present participle/gerund: RISING—I was RISING early.
2. RAISE
Base form: RAISE—Today I RAISE my voice in the meeting. (Object—voice)
Past simple: RAISED—Yesterday I RAISED my voice in the meeting.
Past participle: RAISED—Before that I HAD RAISED my voice in the meeting.
Third person singular: RAISES—She RAISES her voice in the meeting.
Present participle/gerund: RAISING—I am RAISING my voice in the meeting.
Besides the aforementioned “taking dictation” for a young writer (he dictates to you what he wants to write and you do the penning {or keying} for him), some simple organizational strategies can get the second through fifth grader off to a good writing start.
*Note: These tips assume that reading fluency of at least non-phonetically-controlled books (i.e. silent and oral reading without phonics instruction or coaching) has been accomplished–and that the student understands the basic components of a sentence.
Here are three ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES that we use in our textbooks. All three of these have the added advantage of really digging right in to the concept that a “paragraph is a unit of thought,” a crucial skill for all writers to develop.
