Combined Sentences

When two sentences with a similar subject or
predicate are joined, it is called a combined
sentence.

Two sentences may be combined when:
• the subject of the sentences is the same.
• the predicate of the sentences is the same.

Examples:
Anna jumped. Anna ran.

Anna jumped and ran.

Bear is my dog. He loves to play.

Bear, my dog, loves to play.

Anna jumped. Sam jumped.

Anna and Sam jumped.

Teach the Skill


10 minutes

¦
Write the subject The cat twice on the
board or chart paper. Ask volunteers to write
a predicate for each subject. Have students
tell which part of the sentence is the same.
Point out that the two sentences are about
a similar idea: the cat and what it did.
¦
Ask them to suggest a way the two
sentences could be combined. Write the new
sentence on the board. (For example: The cat
jumped down from the tree and ran into the
house.) Point out how the predicates of each
sentence were combined into one sentence
with a similar subject.
¦
Explain that combining sentences with
similar ideas helps to eliminate short, choppy
sentences, making the writing more fluent.
¦
Write the following sentences on the
board: Claire is my sister. She plays the piano.
Have students identify to whom the word
She refers (Claire). Ask them to identify which
idea is similar in both sentences (Claire, the
sister). Write the following combined sentence
on the board: Claire, my sister, plays the piano.
Point out that since the first sentence explains
who Claire is, this information is included in
the combined sentence.
¦
Write the following predicate twice on
the board or on chart paper: played at the park.
Ask volunteers to write a subject to create
complete sentences. Have students tell the
idea that is similar in each sentence: someone/
something played at the park. Ask them to
suggest a way the two sentences could be
combined. Write the new sentence on the
board. (For example: The child and dog played
at the park.)
Practice the Skill


10–15 minutes

¦
Write each following pair of sentences on
sentence strips: [Bucky is a dog. Bucky barks
loudly.] [Nick’s scooter is rolling down the hill.
Nick’s skateboard is rolling down the hill.] [The
team played well. They won the game.] [Tom is
in my class. Sara is in my class.] [The ball is red.
The bat is red.] [A Mustang is a kind of car.
A Fire-bird is a kind of car.]
¦
Place each pair of sentences around the
room. Divide students into groups. Give
each group six sentence strips. Have students
rotate to each pair of sentences, combine the
two sentences, and write the new sentence
on a blank sentence strip.
¦
After students have rotated to each pair
of sentences, have them share the combined
sentences they wrote on their sentence strips.
Discuss the subject, predicate, and subject-
verb agreement of each new sentence.

Apply the Skill

INSTRUCTIONS: Have students combine each pair of sentences to make a new sentence and write it on the line.
Ask them to underline the subject and circle the predicate in each sentence. Then have students write their own
combined sentence on the back of this worksheet.

1. The cup is blue. The cup is tall.


2. England is a country in Europe. Spain is a country in Europe.


3. Your grandmother is friendly. Your grandfather is friendly.


4. Tom is my brother. He is in college.


5. The band marched in the parade. The band played in the parade.


For more practice you can make up your sentences.