Breaking down complex sentences

1. Breaking down complex sentences • The writer spoke of acute body illness—of a mental disorder which oppressed him—and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best, and indeed only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady.

2. Breaking down complex sentences • Follow these steps: • Focus on the main idea. Find the subject and verb. • Cross out/eliminate modifying phrases that are not important to the main idea of the sentence. (Clue: usually these phrases are between commas and usually, in Edgar’s case, dashes). • Keep reading. A confusing sentence may be followed by one easier to understand.

3. Breaking down complex sentences • Your sentence should look similar to this: • The writer spoke of acute body illness—of a mental disorder which oppressed him—and of an earnest desire to see me, as his best, and indeed only personal friend, with a view of attempting, by the cheerfulness of my society, some alleviation of his malady.

4. Breaking down complex sentences • Rewritten it should look like this: • The writer spoke of acute body illness, and of an earnest desire to see me, with a view of attempting some alleviation of his malady. • Is this version easier to understand? If not….

5. Breaking down complex sentences • If you still have a problem comprehending the sentence, break it down further by eliminating describing words. For example, the sentence would now look like: • The writer spoke of acute body illness, and of an earnest desire to see me, with a view of attempting some alleviation of his malady.