Understanding clauses

This checkpoint is more about the grammar than it is about writing expressively, but if you want a bit of a challenge, try to write a scene rather than four unrelated sentences. For example:

Danny grinned. With her jacket over one arm, she jumped over the fence to the strawberry fields. There, her friends were picking only the ripest fruits. By morning, they would have eaten a cartload of strawberries, fingers sticky with juice, ready with excuses for Danny's father, the strawberry farmer.

Just make sure you have at least one of each type of the clauses listed for the task. (Use the highlighters to check your work!)

• Write a couple of sentences about the inspiration image without thinking about grammar, then revise them to include the right number of clauses, modifiers and complements.
• Remember that complements are driven by the verbs, so think of the types of verbs that need extra detail to make sense: ate, went, sat, opened, declared...

1. A clause with no complements or modifiers.
2. A clause with no complements, but at least 1 modifier.
3. A clause with at least 1 complement, and at least 1 modifier.
4. A clause with at least 3 modifiers (with or without complements).