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Some techniques for COMBINING SENTENCES prepared by: Ray Guraliuk Gladstone Secondary School An Introduction to Sentence Combining Thisisyournewhandout. Thehandoutisonsentencecombining. Sentencecombiningisaveryimportantskill. Theskillwillhelpyouenhanceyourwrittenexpression. Youwillbecomeabetterwriter. Youwillincreaseyourunderstandingofhowsentencevarietyinfluencesstyle. Youwillsoonbecomeanexpertonthisskill. YourEnglishteacherwillbepleased. Sentencecombining,simplystated,isthestrategyofjoiningshortsentencesinto longer,morecomplexsentences.Asyouengageinsentence-combiningactivities, youwilllearnhowtovarysentencestructureinordertochangethemeaningand styleofwhatyouwrite.Atamoretechnicallevel,sentencecombiningisconcerned withthesystematicknowledgeofsyntacticpossibilitiesandallowswriterstosort throughalternativesintheirheadsaswellasonpaperandtochoosethosewhich aremostapt. Thisnewhandoutonsentencecombining,averyimportantskillthatwillhelpenhance yourwrittenexpression,willallowyou,whowillsoonbecomeanexpertandplease yourteacher,toincreaseyourunderstandingofhowsentencevarietyinfluencesstyle. Thefollowingtopicsandcombiningtechniqueswillbestudiedinthisunit: • Verbals o gerunds o participles o infinitives • Phrases o prepositional o gerund o participle o infinitive o absolute o appositive • Clauses(Independent&Dependent) o adjective o adverb o noun • SentenceCombiningexercisesandpractice Verbals TheEnglishlanguagehasagroupofwordswhichresemblesverbsandareformed fromverbsbutareusedasotherpartsofspeech.(rememberpartsofspeechfrom grade8?)Thesewordsarecalledverbals. considerthefollowingsentences: • Skiingisawintersport. (verb=is) • Skiingcarefully,Iavoidedthetree. (verb=avoided) • Wewanttoskithisweekend. (verb=want) Ineachoftheseexamples,wordsformedfromtheverbtoskimaylooklikeverbs butareworkingasotherpartsofspeech. Types of Verbals Gerund:agerundlookslikeaverb,alwaysendsin‘ing’,andactsas anoun Anouncanfunctionthefollowingways: o subject: o objectoftransitiveverb: o objectofapreposition: o predicatenoun: Skiingisfun. Helikesskiing. Theequipmentforskiingisonthetable. Hishobbyisskiing. Participle:aparticiplelookslikeaverbbutactsasanadjective (modifiesanoun/pronoun) o o o Smiling,heacceptedhisaward. Thebrokentoywasthrownaway. Frightened,thechildcriedforhelp. Infinitive:aninfinitiveismadeupoftherootofaverbplusthe preposition‘to’ o Helikestoplaybasketball;tobeornottobe. Verbal worksheet Underlinetheverbalsinthefollowingsentencesandidentifythetype: G,P,orI. 1. Asmilingfaceisbetterthanadiscontentedone;tosmileisone waytowinfriends. 2. ThemanbuyingtheticketisalocalmerchantgoingtoGastown. 3. Havingwrittenwithmorethanusualcare,Iwassurprisedwhen myteachersaidmywritingwasillegible. 4. Asitfloweddownthegreyrockwall,theswiftlyflowingwater seemedtohavelostitsliquidquality;itlookedlikeasmoothly solidifiedpillarofgreen. 5. Findinganeedleinahaystackisasmuchfunaslisteningtoyour teacherbabblingawayaboutverbals. 6. Thepolicearrestedhimforspeeding;togetawarningwaswhat hehopedtoreceive. 7. TheCanuck’spassingandforecheckingaregood,butIdon’t believetheywilleverbestrongenoughtowinStanley’scup. 8. Mr.Landnoticedthestudentwalkingalonedownthehallway;he waslaughingoutloudandmakingstrangenoises. 9. Mr.Neuenjoyscookingandtoeatoneofhismealsisadelight. 10. Spokenwordsarenaturallykeptinmindwithmuchmore difficultythanthoseonereads,butatrainedpersoncanretain amazingamountsofconversation. 11. Waking,showering,anddressingarepreliminariestoeating breakfast. 12. Guesswhat?Youhaveatesttowritenextdayonverbals. Verbal Quiz Name:_____________________ I: Eg. 1. UnderlinetheGERUNDSinthefollowingsentencesandtellhoweachis used (subject–objectofverb-objectofpreposition-predicatenoun) Paintingcanbeveryenjoyable. subject Thegrade11swonforcollectingthemostChristmascans._____________________ 2. Theirfavouritepastimeisreading._____________________ 3. JohnandZacwerecongratulatedforwinning._____________________ 4. Swimmingrequiresalotofenergy.____________________ 5. Hisideaofrelaxingwasadayatthebeach._____________________ 6. Wewerenearlysickfromlaughing.___________________ 7. Thisclassenjoystalking.____________________ II: UnderlinethePARTICIPLEineachsentenceanddrawanarrowtothenounor pronounthatitmodifies. 8. Waving,Rudyfellofhisbike. 9. DidyoufindthestolenEnglishpaperyet? 10. Thedrowningfishgaspedforair. 11. Fascinatedbythenewtoy,thebabystoppedcrying. III: UnderlinetheINFINITIVEinthefollowingsentences. 12. Thisquestioniseasytounderstand. 13. Todowellonthetestrequireshoursofstudy. 14. Onthewaytoschool,Idecidedtotakeashortcut. Phrases APHRASEisagroupofrelatedwordsthathasnosubjectorpredicateandisusedas asinglepartofspeech.Phrasesareusuallyclassifiedasprepositional,gerund, participle,infinitive,absolute,orappositive. PrepositionalPhrase:consistsofapreposition,itsobject,andanymodifiersofthe object.Prepositionalphrasesusuallyfunctionasadjectivesoradverbs. Heisamanofaction. Theplanearrivedontime. GerundPhrase:consistsofagerund,itsmodifiers,and/oritsobject.Gerund phrasesalwaysfunctionasnouns. Collectingstainedglasswasherhobby. ShehatedgoingtoschoolonSaturdays. ParticiplePhrase:consistsofaparticiple,itsmodifiers,and/oritsobject.Participle phrasesalwaysactasadjectives. Thedogrunningintheyardismine. Coveredwithice,theroadwasverydangerous. InfinitivePhrase:consistsofaninfinitive,itsmodifiers,and/oritsobject.Infinitive phrasesfunctionasnouns,adjectives,oradverbs. Iwantedtobuythatnewphone. Itisnowtimetogotobed. AbsolutePhrase:consistsofanounfollowedbyaparticiple.Theydonotmodify anyindividualwordorwordgroup,butmodifytheentireremainderofthesentence towhichtheybelong. Hisarmbadlybroken,wetookKentothehospital. Hershouldersslumped,hereyeslookingdown,Crystalslidintoherseat. AppositivePhrase:describesanounorpronoun.Inform,appositivesarenounor nounequivalents. Mr.Land,ourprincipal,believesinhardwork. TheCanucks,thatfrustratinghockeyteam,justmightbebetterthisyear. Exercise: Underline the phrases in the following sentences and identify the type of phrase. 1. Landinginagracefulmanner,thegymnastcompletedherroutine. participlephrase 2. Makingaprofitwashisonlythought. 3. Hereyestiredfromreading,Denise,anavidreader,fellasleep. 4. TheProvince,notmyfavouritepaper,arrivedearlyinthemorning. 5. Themanwalkingthedogismygreatgrandfather. 6. Slippingonthefreshice,thesportscarcrashedintothenewbuilding. 7. Beingloyaltotheteamismoreimportantthangainingapprovalfrom friends. 8. WatchingfootballonTVisafavouritesportofmillionsoffans. 9. Thetornadostruckthetown,rippingroofsfromhouses,tearingtreesfrom theearth. 10. Seeingthattherainhadstopped,wegotoutofthecarandhelpedtheyoung bearcub,hispawbadlyinjured. Phrases Practice Test Name:________________ Underlinethephrasesinthefollowingsentencesandidentifythetypeofphrase. 1. Laughterisatranquilizerwithnosideeffects.Prepositional 2. Donotuseahatchettoremoveaflyfromyourfriend’sforehead. 3. Onceawakened,thoughtdoesnotagainslumber. 4. Thegreatenemyofclearlanguageisvaguenessandlackofprecision. 5. FatetriedtoconcealhimbynaminghimMr.Smith. 6. Bewareoffriendsbearinggifts. 7. Geniusistheabilitytoreducethecomplicatedtothesimple. 8. Ihavenoobjectiontoyouturninginwell-writtenessaysformetoassess. 9. Inspring,accordingtopoets,ayoungman’sdesireturnstothoughtsoflove. 10. Beingprettywellexhausted,Jayaskedtocomeoutofthegame. 11. Togetalongwithpeople,youmustlearntosharetheirinterests. 12. Havingreachedtheageofeighteen,Stevenhadnodesiretofallinloveagain. 13. Thetroublewithbeingpunctualisthatnobodyistheretoappreciateit. 14. Byaprivatedoor,goodthoughtsenterintoeveryindividual. 15. Amotionwasmadeatthemeeting,noothernamesbeingproposed. Clauses ACLAUSEisagroupofwordshavingasubjectandapredicateandformingapart ofasentence.Therearetwomainkindsofclauses--Independent(orMain)-- makessensebyitself,andDependent(orSubordinate)--doesnotmakesenseby itself.Subordinateclausesmustbejoinedtoindependentclauses.Therearethree typesofsubordinateclauses. AdjectiveClauses:Adjectiveclausesmodifynounsorpronounsandusually answerthequestionWhichone?Whatkindof?Theybeginwitharelativepronoun (who,which,that,whoever,whomever,whose). Thepeoplewhosawtherobberyarewillingtotestify. ThenewPortMannBridge,whichcostalotofmoney,doessavetime. **Commarule**Whyaretherenocommasinthefirstexamplebuttwointhe secondexample?Hint:consideressentialand/ornon-essentialinformation. AdverbClauses:Adverbclausesmodifyverbs,adjectives,orotheradverbsand usuallyansweroneofthesequestionsWhen?Where?How?Underwhat conditions?Towhatdegree?Adverbclausesbeginwithasubordinateconjunction (because,after,before,since,as,if,eventhough,although,while,when,unless,…) Hewenthomeassoonashecould. Althoughhewasquiteshort,SpudWebbplayedintheNBA. Youmaynotpassthetestunlessyoustudyreallyhard. **Commarule**Ifyoubeginwithasubordinateconjunction,thereisacomma afterthedependentclause.Donotuseacommaifthesubordinateconjunction comesaftertheindependentclause. NounClauses:Nounclausesfunctionasnouns,thatis,assubjects,objects,or complements.Theyusuallybeginwithwho,what,that,whomever,where. Whoevergossipstoyouwillgossipofyou. Didyouseewheretheywent? Theywerepleasedwithwhattheyhadwon. Whocametothepartyisnoconcernofyours. Exercise: Underline the dependent clauses and identify the type (adjective, adverb, noun) 1. HegavemewhatIhadaskedfor. 2. Whereistheladywhomyoulove? 3. Sheadvisedallherteachersthatshewasintelligent. 4. Thestorewhereyoubuyflowersisownedbyhisfather. 5. Whentheleavesfall,therainbegins. 6. Telltheprincipalwhyyouarelateagain. 7. ThisprovesthatyoudounderstandwhatIamtryingtoteach. 8. Sinceshereceivedonly12%onhertest,shemightnotpass. 9. Hesingsasifhisvoiceishurtinghim. 10. Tellmewhatyoueat,andIwilltellyouwhatyouare. 11. Venicewouldbeafinecityifitwereonlydrained. 12. Thearrowthathasleftthebowneverreturns. 13. Themoviethatwesawcontainedmemorablescenes. 14. Wefoundalittlelakewherethefishingisgreat. 15. Whenyoufinishthisquestion,youarefinishedtheworksheet. Clauses Practice Test Name:________________ Underlinethedependentclausesinthefollowingandidentifythetype. 1. Whatiswhisperedisheardallovertown. 2. Whathistoryteachesusisthatwehaveneverlearnedanythingfromit. 3. Digawellbeforeyouarethirsty. 4. Whoevernameditneckingwasapoorjudgeofanatomy. 5. Ifyouarebornlucky,evenyourroosterwilllayeggs. 6. Shegavehimalookthatyoucouldhavepouredonawaffle. 7. Afraudisnotperfectunlessitispractisedonacleverperson. 8. Modernpovertyisnotthepovertythatwasexperiencedlongago. 9. Donotinsultthemotheralligatoruntilyouhavecrossedtheriver. 10. Whenpeopleaskhowyoufeel,Ialwaysfeelthattheymeansomethingelse. 11. Ifyoucontinuetowritepoetry,youjustmightfindlove. 12. Thepoem,whichwasnotverywellwritten,stillwassuccessful. 13. Whatmattersmostisthethoughtbehindthewords. 14. Thestronghelpthosewhocannothelpthemselves. 15. Youshouldnotbelatebecauseyouliveacrossthestreetfromtheschool. Quiz on Verbals, Phrases, Clauses I. 1. Name:_____________________ Pleaseunderlinetheverbal(s)ineachsentenceandidentifythetype. Example:Mikedislikessweepingthefloorsinhishouse. gerund Thefallingleaveswereyellowandred. 2. Toavoidhurtingsomeone,weremovedthebrokentoy. 3. Actinginaplayishardwork. 4. BoredbytheirEnglishteacher,thestudentslefttheroom. II. 5. Identifythetypeofphraseunderlinedineachsentence. Example:Pleasetakeapicturewithyournewcamera. prepositionalphrase Hereyestiredfromreading,Sarahfellasleep. 6. Selectedforthebasketballteam,Jenniferwasthrilled. 7. Theumpirestoppedtocleanhomeplate. 8. Lyinginthesuncanbeharmfultoyourskin. 9. Thequarterback,seeinganopening,scoredatouchdown. 10. Raj,thestarplayer,sunkthewinningbaskettowinthegame. 11. Hisheartbeatingquickly,hesummonedupthecouragetoaskherout. ...2 III. Underlinethedependentclauseineachsentenceandidentifyasbeing adjective,adverb,ornoun. Example:Thefiftypeoplewhowaitedinlinewererewardedwithgoodseats. adjectiveclause 12. Didyoudecidewhatexcuseyouweregoingtogiveforbeinglate? 13. Thistestismoredifficultthanthelastone. 14. Theshedwhichwefoundshelterinwassweetandcozy. 15. Wewillmeetwherevertheclassdecides. 16. TheteachercametotheconclusionthatFredwasnotfailing. Sentence Combining (strategies and practice) Thereareanumberoftechniquesthatcanbeemployedwhencombiningshort, choppy,simplesentencesintomoremature,complexones.Somestrategiesare simple: • useco-ordination:Shelikestosing.Shelikestodance. Shelikestosinganddance. • useaseries(parallelism): Heiskind.Heiscreative.Heissmart. Heiskind,creative,andsmart. Thefollowingexerciseswilltakeyouthroughsentencecombining,usingphrases andclausesasastrategyforturningsimpleandrepetitivestructuresintoonesthat havebetterflow,rhythm,andmaturity. samplequestion: a) Thetheatrewascrowded.(adverbclause) b) ThetheatrewasplayingMacbeth.(adjectiveclause) c) Wefoundtwogoodseats. d) Theseatswereinthelowerbalcony.(prepositionalphrase) followingthedirectionsineachbracket,wenowhave: a) Eventhoughthetheatrewascrowded (adverbclause) which b) ThetheatrewasplayingMacbeth (adjectiveclause) c) Wefoundtwogoodseats(nodirections,therefore,mainsubject&predicate) d) Theseatswereinthelowerbalcony (prepositionalphrase) Sampleanswer: Eventhoughthetheatre,whichwasplayingMacbeth,wascrowded,wefound twogoodseatsinthelowerbalcony. **atotalof3/3isgiventothissentenceasitfollowstheinstructionsandispunctuatedproperly. Nowit’syourturn.Followingthedirectionsprovided,pleasecombineintoonesentence.Youwillreceive onemarkforfollowingeachtechniqueproperly(forexample,#1isoutofthreemarks;#6outof5 marks).Youwillhaveahalfmarkdeductedforeachcommaerror,andafullmarkdeductedforany grammaticalerrorcreated.Beawareofmisplacedmodifiers,danglingmodifiers,faultyparallelismand run-onsentences.(arun-onsentenceisnotgoodandwillresultinaoneandahalfmarkdeduction.) 1. a) TiffanyfoundEnglishverydifficult.(adverbclause) b) Shehadnotpassedherlastninetests.(adjectiveclause) c) Shedecidedtoskipouttherestoftheyear. d) VivianandEmmaadvisedhertostaywithit.(adverbclause) a) Theadministrationcouldnotfindanysuspectsfortheprank. b) Theyhadbeenworkinghardonthecase.(adjectiveclause) c) TheprankwascommittedinE-Wing.(participlephrase) d) Itoccurredduringblock1-1.(prepositionalphrase) a) Johnwasnotagreatcook.(adverbclause) b) HepreparedaterrificJapanesedinner. c) Thedinnerwasforhisbestfriends.(prepositionalphrase) d) Hisfriendsbecameillthenextday.(adjectiveclause) a) Herlipswerepuckeredfromthesourtaste.(absolutephrase) b) Kimcontinuedtoeatthelime. c) Kimdidnotlikethelime.(adverbclause) a) Jameswatchedhisfavouritecartoondistractedly. b) Histhoughtswereonhisup-comingEnglishtest.(absolutephrase) c) Jameswasaconscientiousstudent.(appositive) 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. a) Lisawasagitatedbeyondendurance.(participlephrase) b) c) Shewasutterlyfrustrated.(participlephrase;joina&bwith coordinateconjunction) Lisaranaroundtheyard. d) Lisawasanavidgardener.(appositive) e) Shewaschasingtheneighbour’scat.(participlephrase) f) Thecathadjusteatenherspringdaffodils.(adverbclause) a) PaulisanewstudentatHappyrock.(appositive) b) Heneededadatebadly.(participlephrase) c) HewantedtoaskGertrudeoutonadate. d) Gertrudewastheprettiestgirlinthegrade.(appositive) e) Paulneverdidaskherout.(joinc&ewithacoordinateconjunction) f) Gertrudealreadyhadaboyfriend.(adverbclause) a) Hisbodywaszoomingdowntheice.(absolutephrase) b) Pavelshotthepuckandscoredagoal. c) Pavelwasthestarplayer.(appositive) d) Pavelwonthegamewithhisshot.(infinitivephrase) a) Mr.Guraliukyelledatthestudent.(adverbclause) b) Heisagentlepersonbynature.(appositive) c) Hefeltterriblefordays. d) Hehadneverdonesuchathingbefore.(adverbclause) Sentence Combining -- some more practice 1. 2. 3. a) Davidwaslonelyanddisillusioned.(adjectiveclause) b) Davidshuffledintothecafeteria. c) Hisshoulderswereslumped.(absolutephrase) d) David’slunchwasheavyinhishand.(absolutephrase) e) Hisgirlfriendhadjustdumpedhim.(adverbclause) a) Theinfantsleptpeacefully. b) Theinfant’snameisBilly.(appositive) c) Hisheadwasrestingonhisstuffedpuppy.(absolutephrase) d) Hispuppy’snameisMutsy.(appositive) e) HisparentswatchedTV.(adverbclause) f) TheywatchedTVintheotherroom.(prepositionalphrase) a) Mr.Steudelisatalentedwriter.(appositive) b) c) Hesubmittedhislatestcollectionofpoetry. d) HesubmittedhispoemstoCanadianLiterature.(prepositionalphr.) e) CanadianLiteratureisoneofmyfavouritejournals.(appositive) ThiscollectionconcernsthehabitatsoftheFraserRiver.(participle) Thefollowinghavenodirections.Combineanyeffectivewaytocreateone goodsentence. 4. Thedeersenseddanger. Thedeerlifteditshead. Itsearswerestiffandstraight. Itsbodywastense. Itwasreadytoexplodeintomotionattheslightestsound. 5. Theoldmadstumbledoutoftheshack. Theshackwasnearlyfallingover. Hewasafraillookingfellow. Thefellowhadwhitehairandwrinkledskin. Hestoodscowlingatus. Hischinwasthrustforward. Hiseyeswerebulging. Hereachedintohispocket. Theoldmanpulledouthisglasses. 6. Skytrainwasrunninglate. Shirleyfearedshewouldbelateforwork. Shefearedshewouldloseherjob. ShelovedherjobasanEnglishteacher. Shecaughtarideonahelicopter. ThehelicopterwasownedbyGlobalTV. Theywerefilmingforthesixo’clocknews. 7. 8. 9. TheGladstoneRoboticsteamiscompetingnextmonth. Theyarepastworldchampions. Withcarefulplanning,theyareeagertobeginthecompetition. Theywouldliketobethebestagain. Theweatherwashot. Theweatherwasdry. JoeDhillonheadedforasmallirrigationpond. Joeisafarmer. Atthepondhecrankedasmallmotor. Themotorspreadwatertohisfields. Thefieldswerefilledwithcorn. Thefieldswerefilledwithpotatoes. Itsnowedheavilylastnight. Skytrainwasnotworking. Busseswerelate. Thebusseswerejustpaintedwhite. Theycouldnotbeseenintheblizzard. Peoplebegantopanic. Somepeopleweredrivinginthesnow. Carswereslidingallovertheplace. Theroadswereicy. Theroadshadnotyetbeenplowed. Thereweremanyaccidents. Okay, so why is all this sentence combining stuff important? Assuggestedatthestartofthisunit,understandinghowsentencestructuresaffect theover-allimpactofapieceofwritingisimportant.Sentencecombining,then,isan effectivetechniquetodemonstratesentencelevelmaturity.Youngerwritersrely heavilyonshortsentences;moreexperienceswritersoftentakeintoaccountthe feelorflowoftheirwritingthroughthesyntaxemployed. ConsiderthefollowingpassagebasedonCarrieSnyder’sTheJulietStories,(anovelI recentlyfinishedreading): Because the girl is untidy, feet shod in dirty flip flops, hair tangled and straggling, her body neither fat nor thin, Juliet does not recognize her but there are many clues as to whom the girl is, so she stands. Juliet does not hesitate. She takes the girl by the hand and walks to the street’s edge. She waits for a break in traffic. They cross. Canyourecognizetheuseofanadverbclause,aseriesofabsolutephrasesand coordinationemployedinthefirstsentence?Whateffectiscreatedbytheuseof shorter,simplesentencestowardstheend? Asyoureadtheworksofothers,beawareofsentencestructures.Trytoimitate structuresyoufindeffective.Learnfromgoodwriters.Beawareofhowonewrites. Asyouwriteyourowncompositionsandstories,beawareofyourownsentence structures. Asyoudevelopyourabilitytocomposesentencesofvaryinglengths,beawareofthe commongrammaticalerrorsthatmaysurface.Incorrectlycombinedsentencesoften containone(ormore)ofthefollowingerrors: o misplacedmodifier o danglingmodifier o faultyparallelism o run-onsentence(commasplice) o commaerror Refertoyourpastclassworkconcerningthese(andother)grammaticalandusage errors.CheckouttheOn-lineWritingLab(Owl)atPurdueUniversityforfurther reviewifneeded.