Sentence Structure

Sentence Structure English Language Arts

Simple Sentences • Successive short, simple sentences produce a choppy effect and indicate immaturity. • I want this. Not that. Right now.

Complex Sentences • Long, complex sentences slow the reader down and produce a ponderous style. • A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. • When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page. • When the students were studying, he fell asleep.

Compound Sentences • A series of compound sentences create a disjointed, rambling effect. • A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. ie: for, and, but, so... • I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English. • James played football, so Maria went shopping.

Loose Sentences • Occasional loose sentences create a conversational style. • At its simplest the loose sentence contains a main clause plus a subordinate construction. • I found a large hall, obviously a former garage, dimly lit, and packed with cots. • knew I had found a friend in the woman, who herself was a lonely soul, never having known the love of man or child.

Periodic Sentences • Periodic sentences create interest and add force to the passage, but too many detract from the simplicity and create a pompous style. • A long and frequently involved sentence, marked by suspended syntax, in which the sense is not completed until the final word. • Years and years ago, when I was a boy, when there were wolves in Wales, and birds the color of red-flannel petticoats whisked past the harp-shaped hills, when we sang and wallowed all night and day in caves that smelt like Sunday afternoons in damp front farmhouse parlours, and we chased, with the jawbones of deacons, the English and the bears, before the motor car, before the wheel, before the duchess-faced horse, when we rode the daft and happy hills bareback, it snowed and it snowed.

Balanced Sentences • Balanced sentences indicate a dignified tone, but when used excessively can create an artificial style. • A sentence with two clauses or phrases of fairly equal in length and strength for clarity. • The novel concentrates on character; the film intensifies the violence.

Interrogative Sentences • Interrogative sentences make conversation and dialogue sound more natural. • A sentence that asks a question. • What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on? • If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?

Use Variety • Sentences that always start the same way become monotonous. • I think • One should

Inverted Sentences • Sentences that vary the order of subject and predicate (syntactic structure) can make reading interesting. • Larry is here. • subject-verb-predicate. • The elderly man walked to his house. • subject predicate • With whip cream, he ate the strawberries. • He ate the strawberries with whip cream

Parallel Structures • Parallel structures, like balanced sentences, add dignity, but also add a rhythm to prose. • When a structure consists of two or more parts, those parts should be parallel (similar in form). • I love to dance, to read, and to watch movies. • Sue has trouble doing algebra, learning physics, and understanding grammar.

Sample Paragraph • Ken Dryden, in his essay “It’s Time to Think About Visors”, makes effective use of sentence structure to persuade his reader of his message that facial protection is needed in the NHL. Periodic sentences are used to attract curiosity, for example “The stick of Marion Hossa, the highly promising Senators’ left winger, had struck Berard in the face with its full force.” This sentence is effective because it makes the reader more interested in knowing what happens, as one does not really understand the sentence until the end. Also, simple sentences are used within this essay, for example, “Would most available visors have saved Berard’s eye? Not necessarily. Could a visor be designed that would have? Yes.” These short, simple sentences make it easier for the reader to understand the message. Finally, long, complex sentences are used as well in the essay. For example, “I have seen so many pucks and sticks come threateningly close, then, with the tiniest reflective twitch of a head, slam on the face’s protective armature of cheek bones, eyebrows, or nose.” Sentences like these add variety and make the reader slow down and visualize what is happening. As a result of sentence structure, this essay is effective in persuading the reader that facial protection is necessary at the NHL level.

Suggestions • Avoid using the word “like”, instead say “For example,” or consult your transition words sheet • Avoid saying “to show the reader his message”, instead say “to convey his message” • Avoid saying “us” and “we”, instead say “the reader” or “the audience” • Avoid saying “gives off a feeling of”, instead say • “communicates her…” • “demonstrates her…” • “conveys her…” • Take you and your OUT OF YOUR PARAGRAPH (any formal writing piece) • Avoid the word “good”, instead say “effective” or “appropriate” • Use the author’s full name or last name only, never first name only – alternate with pronouns he or she • You are not explaining the author’s point, you are explaining HOW the author managed to be so convincing • Point, proof, discuss

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Sentence Structure