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Spice Up Your Writing

With The 10 SASSY SENTENCES

Sentence variety is necessary because it: • Makes your writing more interesting • Adds style to your writing • It will help develop your writing skills

1. Two-Adjective Beginnings • Tall, handsome lifeguards flirt wildly with the pretty girls. • Rickety and dilapidated, the old schoolhouse didn’t stand a chance in an earthquake.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with a two-adjective beginning: ! Students worked on their homework. ! Students were quiet. ! Students were diligent.

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Now you write a sentence with a two-adjective beginning about a clown. ______

2. “-ing” At The Beginning Or End • Running like the wind, Forrest Gump made national headline news. • Saving the best for last, Lisa finally ate her Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. • He trudged along the hot desert for days wishing he had brought more water. • Sandy gave the homeless man all the money she had hoping that her small act of kindness might bring him some comfort.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with an “-ing” at the beginning: ! Mr. Jacobs was dancing like a crazy person. ! He was really enjoying the Ke$ha concert.

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Combine these sentences to make a sentence with an “-ing” at the end: ! They hoped their undying enthusiasm would spark an impressive play. ! The coaches screamed at the basketball team.

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Now you write a sentence with an “-ing” at the beginning about a scary house. ______

Now you write a sentence with an “-ing” at the end about a sky diving. ______

3. “-ly” at the beginning • Cheerfully she answered the phone for her mother. • Slowly opening the door, the child tried not to wake his parent.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with an “-ly” at the beginning: ! The thief left the store. ! The thief had stolen goods. ! The thief was nervous.

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Now you write a sentence with an “-ly” at the beginning about a terrible flood. ______

4. Informative Interrupters • The fish, a slimy mass of flesh, felt the alligator’s teeth sink into him as he tried to swim away. • The child, face covered with chocolate doughnut, asked his mother if he could have some milk

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with an informative interrupter: ! The dog smelled awful. ! I caught the dog digging in the rancid garbage.

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Now you write a sentence with an informative interrupter about an ugly dog. ______

5. Balanced Sentences • He runs onto the baseball field, spins around second base, and looks back at the academy. • Choosing a Christmas tree, putting up Christmas lights, and baking Christmas cookies, are all included in my December traditions.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with a balanced sentence: ! I walked into the kitchen. ! I dug through the pantry. ! I ate everything that contained any chocolate.

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Now you write a sentence with a balanced sentence about holiday traditions. ______

6. Dependent Clauses • Because it rained, the garden party was postponed. • Since the road construction is complete, Jim can make it home in only ten minutes.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with a dependent clause: ! There was a lot of noise in the cafeteria during lunch. ! The noise gave me a headache.

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Now you write a sentence with a dependent clause about a sunset. ______7. Past Participle • Alarmed by the increase in meat prices, Judith has become a vegetarian. • Confused by the commotion, the child began to cry.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with a past participle. ! The term paper was revised and rewritten. ! It received an “A”.

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Now you write a sentence with a past participle about a roller coaster. ______

8. Use “with” at the beginning • With the upcoming Christmas festivities, our family was super busy making cookies and trimming the tree. • With a corncob pipe and a button nose, Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence using “with” at the beginning. ! Our schedule was extremely busy. ! Our class fell behind on the unit.

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Now you write a sentence using “with” at the beginning about a bad hair day. ______

9. Semicolon *Full sentence before it *Full sentence after it • The days were hot and dry; the nights were extremely cold.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with a semicolon. ! Call me tomorrow. ! I will give you my answer then.

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Now you write a sentence with a semicolon about a grinning lama. ______

10. Infinitive Phrase * Start the sentence with the word “To” *Then add a verb • To win over the tough class, the teacher offered candy for correct answers.

Combine these sentences to make a sentence with an infinitive phrase. ! Sara had to finish all of her homework. ! She began working on the bus and didn’t finish until bed time.

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Now you write a sentence with an infinitive phrase about a delicious dessert. ______

Write a “Tardy Tale” using at least eight of the ten sassy sentence types. Highlight your sassy sentences and label them in the margins. A “Tardy Tale” is a made-up story about why you were late for school. Be creative!

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