Scratching fleas, itched the itchy dog.

Meaning: The sentence describes a dog scratching itself because it is itchy due to fleas.

Choice of Words: Scratching means to rub or scrape with the nails. Fleas are small, wingless insects that live on the skin of animals and bite them. Itched means to feel an irritating sensation on the skin that makes you want to scratch. Itchy means causing an irritating sensation on the skin that makes you want to scratch.

Alternative Expressions

The dog scratched itself because it was itchy from fleas.

Meaning: This sentence means the same thing as the first sentence, but it is written in a more explicit way.

Choice of Words: **The dog** is a noun that refers to a specific animal. **Scratched** is the past tense of the verb **scratch**, which means to use your fingernails or something else to rub an itchy part of your body. **Itself** is a reflexive pronoun that refers back to the subject of the sentence, in this case, the dog. **Because** is a conjunction that introduces a reason or explanation. **It was itchy** is a verb phrase that means that the dog was experiencing an uncomfortable feeling on its skin that made it want to scratch. **From fleas** is a prepositional phrase that indicates the cause of the itching.

The fleas caused the dog to scratch itself because it was itchy.

Meaning: This sentence means the same thing as the first two sentences, but it emphasizes the role of the fleas in causing the dog to itch.

Choice of Words: **The fleas** is a noun phrase that refers to the small, wingless insects that can live on the skin of animals and cause itching. **Caused** is a verb that means to make something happen. **The dog** is a noun that refers to a specific animal. **To scratch itself** is an infinitive phrase that describes the action of using your fingernails or something else to rub an itchy part of your body. **Because** is a conjunction that introduces a reason or explanation. **It was itchy** is a verb phrase that means that the dog was experiencing an uncomfortable feeling on its skin that made it want to scratch.

Related Expressions