Postsecondary Home Technical  Support Contact  Us Product Information Site Map Search
 
Business English at Work, 2nd Edition
 
Student Resources
Chapter 3: Sentence Development

Chapter Summary
In Chapter 3 you will learn that a clearly written sentence is essential in business communication. To write a clear, concise sentence, you must connect the parts of speech in a way that makes sense. Making a statement, asking a question, giving a command or making a request, and expressing surprise are the different purposes for writing sentences.

Sentences consist of subjects, predicates, and objects. The subject in a sentence indicates who is speaking, who is spoken to, or who or what is spoken about. A subject is simple or compound and is frequently a noun or a pronoun. The predicate in a sentence indicates what the subject is doing or what the subject is. An object completes the verb in a sentence.

Different sentence formations make writing more interesting. These formations include simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences. Special care should be taken to avoid sentence fragments and run-on sentences.

Online Links

Retail Web sites

The Gap
http://www.gap.com

Nordstrom
http://www.nordstrom.com

Macys
http://www.macys.com

Wal-Mart
http://www.walmart.com

Kmart
http://www.bluelight.com/

Airlines Online

Southwest Airlines
http://www.southwest.com

American Airlines
http://www.aa.com

Alaska Airlines
http://www.alaskaair.com

Northwest Airlines
http://www.nwa.com

Delta Airlines
http://www.delta.com

Bonus Exercise

Objective: Identify simple and compound sentences and direct objects.

  1. Click on the links for several airlines above.
  2. Find the page that gives information about the company and print out the page.
  3. Working from the printout, choose the first paragraph. Underline the simple sentences once and the compound sentences twice.
  4. Write DO above any direct objects.
  5. Write a simple sentence about the airline. Underline the simple subject once and the simple predicate twice.

eFlashcards
Review chapter terms and definitions with eFlashcards.

Crossword Puzzle
Sharpen your knowledge of chapter terms and concepts with an interactive crossword.

Practice Test
Test your understanding of the chapter material with a self-scoring Practice Test.

The interactive activities above require the Macromedia Shockwave plug-in for your browser. If you do not have this feature, you can download it now.

Get Shockwave

Back to Top

The McGraw-Hill Companies
Copyright ©2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies.
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
 
Home