Worksheet 2a Using connectives - Smart Learning

Worksheet 2a Using connectives
Activity 1: Count the verbs in each of the following sentences. What do you notice?
1 2 3
He walked to the shops. She moves house tomorrow. Claire went to the party.
4 5 6
I go shopping on Saturdays. Morgan hates sleepovers. Peter loved tennis.
Activity 2: Join two simple sentences together using a connective. Choose one sentence from
the top, a connective from the middle, and another sentence from the bottom.
Join them together to create a long sentence, e.g. He always went on his Xbox if his
mum went out.
1. He always went on his Xbox.
3. Claire went to the party.
Choose one of
these sentences …
2. Peter always listens to The Killers.
4. I go on Facebook in the evening.
5. Morgan usually goes to the cinema. 6. I hang out at the skate park.
Add a subordinating connective ...
when
because
Choose another sentence …
a. It was her boyfriend’s birthday.
c. There Ther is a Zac Efron movie showing.
e. e. I have no time during the day.
b. It’s sunny.
if
d. His mum went went out. out.
f. They are his favourite band. band.
Masterclass 2: Building complex sentences
SMART ENGLISH PROGRESS IN AFs: WRITING AF5 © Smart Learning Ltd

Worksheet 2b Complex sentences
Activity 1: Extend sentences 1 to 10 below to make new, complex sentences.
1. I eat ice cream when …
2. I eat fruit because …
3. I eat peas if …
4. You listen to music when …
5. You listen to the radio if …
6. You listen to your teacher because …
7. Kate cried when …
8. Heidi laughed because …
9. James gets cross if …
10. I love the summer holidays because …
Activity 2: Write fi ve simple sentences below – don’t include a connective. Give your simple
sentences to a partner, who must choose a connective (when, because, if) for each
one to make complex sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Masterclass 2: Building complex sentences
SMART ENGLISH PROGRESS IN AFs: WRITING AF5 © Smart Learning Ltd

Worksheet 2c Glossary of grammatical terms
antithesis Something that is the direct opposite of something else,
e.g. pleasure and pain.
clause Part of a sentence that contains its own verb (and often the
subject and object), e.g. she looked at the boy.
complex sentence A sentence that has at least one main clause and one
subordinate (dependent) clause, e.g. She looked at the
boy because he was crying. Complex sentences often use
conjunctions between clauses or at the start of sentences,
e.g. although, before, because, since, until. Complex sentences
often use the pronouns who, which or that to add information,
e.g. The women who were shouting at the boy came closer.
compound sentence A sentence that has two or more main clauses joined by and,
but, or or, e.g. Catherine is a gymnast but Claire likes ballet.
connective A word or phrase that links sentences, clauses or phrases, e.g.
I like The Killers and Florence and the Machine.
embedded clause A clause that is placed within the main sentence, rather than
at the beginning or the end. It can be spotted if the main
clause seems broken up, e.g. The boy, who was only nine years
old, was an excellent violinist.
imperative The form of a verb used in commands, e.g. Come here!
main clause A clause that stands alone and makes sense on its own,
e.g. I walked to the shops.
modal verb A verb used to express the mood of another verb and to
express degrees of possibility, e.g. you must do your homework;
you could go to the party. The main modal verbs are can, could,
must, might, shall, should, would.
noun A word that names a person, place or thing, e.g. The book lay
on the table.
noun phrase A group of words that act as a noun, usually a series of
adjectives describing a noun, e.g. the cool blue water.
phrase A group of words that make sense within a clause or sentence
but cannot stand on their own, e.g. the old grey mare; speaking
slowly.
preposition A word that expresses the relationship between things,
e.g. dessert came after dinner; he sat on the bed.
prepositional phrase A phrase that contains a preposition and explains the
relationship between things, people or ideas, e.g. There is a
skate park behind the sports centre.
rhetorical question A question asked for impact and effect, which is not really a
request for information, e.g. Can this really go on?
simple sentence A sentence that has one main verb (one clause), e.g. Tom likes
football.
subordinate clause A clause that only makes sense with another clause,
e.g. She wouldn’t be able to go on the school trip unless she could
make some money.
subordinating
connective
A connective that makes one clause dependent on another,
e.g. Zac Efron is my favourite actor because he is really cute.
verb A word that tells us what someone or something is doing, e.g.
He kicked the ball.
verb phrase A group of words that express an action or state of being, e.g.
He might go to the football match if it doesn’t rain.
Masterclass 2: Building complex sentences
SMART ENGLISH PROGRESS IN AFs: WRITING AF5 © Smart Learning Ltd