9 Sentence Types08

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Sentence Types

Workshop 9

After the successful completion of this workshop you will be able to:

Construct a range of sentence types, including simple,compound and complex sentences.

Demonstrate your understanding of sentence types through theediting of short texts for sentence variety

www.jcu.edu.au/learningskills


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Workshop Nine: Using a Variety of Sentence Types

Sentence variety

A teacher who always teaches a class in the same way gets to be boring. Likewise, a

writer who uses the same kind of sentence over and over produces boring writing.

Using diverse sentence types adds interest and variety to writing. Writers achievevariety by using all three sentence types: simple, compound, and complex.

(Remember, a sentence needs a subject and a complete verb and must express a

complete thought)

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence has one independent clause and no dependent clauses:

The student yawned.

Although a simple sentence cannot have a dependent clause, it can have modifiers:

The tall student sitting in the back in my algebra class yawned loudly.

A simple sentence contains only one independent clause, but it can have more than

one subject or verb:

TWO SUBJECTS The student and his friend yawned.

TWO VERBS The student yawned and fell asleep.

A sentence with all these elements will be long, but it is still simple because it

contains only one independent clause:

The tall student sitting in the back in my algebra class and his friend

yawned loudly and fell asleep.

[Pssst..! Some handy reminders:

A clause contains a subject and a complete verb that has tense.

An independent clause can stand alone, as it expresses a complete thought.

A dependent clause must appear with an independent clause]


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Compound Sentences

A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating

conjunction:

Henry got a new job, so he has to move.

I have a lot of homework, but Im not going to study tonight.

Notice the difference between a simple sentence with a compound verb and a

compound sentence with two clauses:

SIMPLE My house guests returned from a long day of shopping and went

straight to bed.

COMPOUND My house guests returned home from a long day of shopping, andwe decided to stay at home instead of going out.

In the simple sentence, what is the subject of the second verb? Is it expressed or

understood? What is the subject of each verb in the compound sentence?

COMPOUND SENTENCES WITH COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Most compound sentences are formed with a coordinating conjunction: and, or, but,

so,for, nor,yet. The last three occur almost exclusively in writing, so they add a level

of formality:

Fred is quite good-looking,yethe doesnt think so.

(As a coordinating conjunction,yetis similar to butin meaning. Dont confuse

this use with its meaning inIm not ready yet.)

The students were unhappy with their professor,forhe often wasted their time inclass.

(Formeans because in this usage.)

Im not going to the party, nordo I plan to inform the hostess.

I didnt offer to show my drivers license to the police, nordid they ask for it.(Norcontinues the negative meaning from the previous clause. Word order after

noris inverted.)


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COMPLEX SENTENCES

A complex sentence has an independent clause with one or more dependent clauses

(independent clauses are in italics):

Since we got to the concert late, we had to make our way to our seats in the

dark.

We left class early so that we could attend a special lecture.

(The subordinatorso thatis different from the coordinating conjunctionso;so thatcommunicates purpose and usually occurs with can orcould.)

Her car is different from mine in that her sports car needs more expensive

repairs and more fuel.

Complex sentences should be punctuated like this:

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE dependent clause (no comma)

dependent clause, INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (comma)

Which examples above illustrate the first rule? The second one?

COMPARING COMPOUND AND COMPLEX SENTENCES

Combining ideas in compound and complex sentences is a good way to give interest,

variety, and coherence to writing. The use of these sentences adds coherence by

making clear the relationship between different ideas. Keep in mind, however, that

compound sentences differ from complex sentences in one important way: In a

compound sentence, both clauses have equal importance; in a complex sentence, the

independent clause is more important. Compare these sentences:

COMPOUND John was tired, but he finished his homework.

COMPLEX Although John was tired, he finished his homework.

In the first sentence, the writer is communicating that both clauses are equally

important. In the second sentence, the writer is saying that the subordinate clause

(John was tired) is less important than the independent clause (he finished his

homework).


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Long Rambling Sentences

Writing that has too many strings of independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions

can be tiresome and frustrating for the reader. These long rambling sentences leave the reader

out of breath and wondering which information is important. Long rambling sentences are

also perceived as informal because they duplicate spoken language. Compare these versionsof the same paragraph:

(1) I went home, but my roommate wasnt there, so I started to cook dinner, but myroommate came in and saw me trying to cook his favourite recipe, but I didnt really

know how to make it well, and he got really angry, so I stopped cooking, and he made

dinner for us, and then everything was all right.

(2) When I went home, my roommate wasnt there, so I started to cook dinner. Then,my roommate came in and saw me trying to cook his favourite recipe even though I

didnt know how to make it well. I stopped cooking because he got really angry. In the

end, he made dinner for us, and everything was all right.

The compound structure of version 1 is easier to write, perhaps, but not very satisfying to

read. Version 2 has more coherence and interest because the writer took the time to think and

make decisions about the importance of each clause and its relationship to the others.

Editing for Sentence Variety

Rewrite each long rambling sentence into several shorter, more coherent and interesting ones.

Use subordinators, transition words, and simple sentences to achieve variety in sentence type.

(1) Statistics is one of the most difficult classes, but most university students have totake it, so I recommend they take Professor Williamss statistics class because hes agood teacher, and hard-working students are rewarded, but lazy ones fail, so students

should make an honest effort to learn.

(2) I always got good grades in English before, but now my grades are low, but I workrather hard, so I think my teacher doesnt like me, or maybe I dont always do the

homework on time, but in the future I will try to be a better student, and I wont make

excuses for my bad grades, or perhaps I should talk to my teacher, and then Ill know

how to improve my grades.

(3) I think the food in my country is very good, and there is a big variety of things toeat, so a person doesnt get bored, but, of course, home-cooked food is better thanrestaurant food, so visitors shouldnt judge our cuisine by restaurants, but they should

try to visit a family, and they will probably enjoy the food.

(4) People need to get along, so its difficult to avoid telling white lies sometimes, butwe can all try to be truthful without hurting other peoples feelings, and that is difficult,

but if we try to be tactful and truthful, we can spare feelings without saying things

which are complete deceptions, so I think we should try to avoid white lies with

acquaintances as well as friends.

(from Smalzer, W. (1996) Write to be read, Cambridge: CUP)

9 Sentence Types08

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