Download Sentenced? Solving Common Sentence

Sentenced? Solving Common Sentence-Structure Problems
1. What’s in a sentence?
Subject:
 A main noun (thing/concept) is the heart of your subject. You can also
think of the subject as the main character or actor.
 Pronouns function as nouns (personal, reflexive/intensive, indefinite,
demonstrative, interrogative, relative, reciprocal)
 Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns (some pronouns can act as
adjectives; proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns)
 Adverbs modify adjectives and other adverbs (how, when, where, why,
to what extent?)
 Prepositions express relationships in space, time, or other senses
between words or phrases within a sentence.
Predicate:
 A verb or verb phrase is the heart of your predicate. This part of the
sentence tells us about the noun-character’s actions or state.
 Types of verbs include
o Main = the basic verb-word … write
o Auxiliary = bearing tense and mood … have written, would have
written
o Linking = to be, seem, feel, become, taste, smell (other “sense”
verbs)
o Transitive = the verb takes an object … have written a paper
o Intransitive = the verb doesn’t take or need an object … She writes
every day (this is an adverb phrase, not an object). Many verbs
can be either transitive or intransitive.
 Adverbs modify verbs as well as adjectives and other adverbs.
 Prepositions express relationships in space, time, or other senses
between words or phrases within a sentence.
2. What’s a complete sentence?
Anything containing a subject AND a predicate, however long or short. (Was
what I just said a complete sentence? Why or why not?)
Anything containing a subject AND a predicate, however long or short, is a
clause. Not all clauses are complete sentences. An independent clause is a
complete sentence; a dependent clause uses a conjunction relying on an
independent clause for completion.
A dependent clause is any subject + verb with a subordinating conjunction. There are numerous
subordinating conjunctions representing various kinds of logical relationships that demand
completion. Among the most common are because, if, since, unless, although, etc. For more,
see http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/course/speech/1_5b.htm#subordinating
3. What’s a logical sentence?
It uses coordinators and conjunctions logically:
Coordinators and conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses, aiding
coherence and expressing a variety of logical relationships for the reader.
 Coordinators create and reinforce relationships between equal ideas or
structures. They also convey balance and rhythm, which aids readability.
 Coordinating conjunctions show logical relationships between
independent clauses: for ex, addition, contrast, or consequence.
• There are only 7—FANBOYS! For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
• Did you know? It’s not wrong to start a sentence with
coordinating conjunctions, but they can convey an informal
tone that some academic readers find inappropriate.
 Correlative conjunctions come in pairs. They reinforce parallelism
and rhythm and enforce logical relationships.
• There are only 5! Both—and, not—only, either—or,
neither—nor, but—also (often, also is understood so it’s not
stated).
 Subordinators show a more complex variety of logical relationships than
coordinating conjunctions. Adding a subordinator to a clause always makes it
dependent.
 The most common subordinators include—because, if, unless,
since, although, while.
 Did you know? It’s never wrong to start a sentence with because
as long as you complete that dependent clause with an
independent clause.
 In the Appendix, you’ll find a complete list of subordinators with
descriptions of the kinds of logical relationships they signal.
 Conjunctive adverbs are amazing, moveable modifiers that convey a variety
of logical relationships. These relationships can govern a single sentence or
show connections between sentences. Academic writing uses conjunctive
adverbs extensively. In the Appendix, you’ll find a list of conjunctive adverbs
with descriptions of which logical relationships they signal.
It pays attention to parallelism:
Parallelism means that two ideas in a sentence are equal (they belong together)
and they’re expressed using the same grammatical form. Parallelism aids
readability; faulty parallelism destroys it! Correct use of coordination helps
guarantee parallelism.
How are you doing so far? Try
http://www.towson.edu/ows/modulePARALLELposttest.htm
4. What’s a cohesive sentence?
First, the subject and predicate are grammatically in agreement. Second, the
subject/main noun/character is performing a logical action (or experiencing a
logical state) that makes sense to the reader. Third, the main noun is fairly close
to the main verb—not separated by too much verbiage. Fourth, the sentence is
correctly coordinated and where appropriate, contains parallel structures.
Another strategy for achieving cohesion in sentences and paragraphs is the
“given/new contract.” “Given” or “old” information means something familiar to
your readers. This can be what they read in the sentence or two before the one
they’re now reading, or it can be apparent within the context of the sentence, or it
can be part of readers’ general knowledge of a topic. “New” information means
something readers haven’t encountered yet. It’s good stylistic practice to place
“given” information first in a sentence and “new” information second.
Using these strategies, you can construct quite long, complex sentences and still
maintain clarity and cohesion.
Here’s a checklist of cohesion strategies to use as part of your revision/editing
process:
 grammatical agreement
 logic
 distance between main noun and main verb
 coordination and parallelism
 placement of given/new information.
When working on sentence cohesion, avoid…
1. “Throat-clearing” (metadiscourse):
Before: And, therefore, politically speaking. . .
Revision: [Just introduce the topic]
Before: However, it is important in arriving at such a conclusion to
recognize. . .
Revision: [Turn “conclusion” into a character and express an action]
Before: We think it useful to provide a detailed illustration of. . .
Revision: [Turn the concept being illustrated into the main character and
express an action]
2. Too much “variety.” Don’t worry overmuch about whether consistent topic
strings will create monotony. Told to achieve more “variety,” writers may go
overboard on metadiscourse or else forget about placing “old info” near sentence
beginnings. The oft-given advice—“Make sure you vary your sentence
structures”—can backfire. The result is lack of coherence.
3. Unnecessary repetition. Avoid repeating the same subjects/topics using
exactly the same words each time. Still, err on the side of consistency in
expressing topics. Readers will appreciate this and will usually not find a
reasonable amount of repetition to be boring or monotonous.
4. Over-use of “This/There/It”. These constructions (expletives) make it hard for
readers to find characters and topics and to keep track of the overall “topic
string.” The solution is not to add metadiscourse but to revise the sentences so
that the topics are up-front.
Here’s a basic structural principle for reader-friendly sentences …1
SENTENCE BEGINNING has…
Topic/Character/Subject
Given (old) information
Short, simple, familiar structures
1
SENTENCE ENDING has…
Action/ Verb
New information
New, long, complex structures
Stress or climax
Material on this page is adapted from Joseph M. Williams and Ira B. Nadel, Style: 10 Lessons in Clarity
and Grace, Cdn ed. (Toronto: Pearson Longman, 2005).