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COMBINING SENTENCES
We can combine two or more sentences into a
single sentence. We may do this because sentences are closely related in
meaning and belong together, and because it is boring to read a series of short
sentences that have a similar structure. (The preceding sentence, by the way,
is a combination of 4 sentences -- can you find them?) When we talk about
combining sentences, we will often use the word clause which is a
group of words containing a subject and a verb. So, we will say that the
sentence I know you and you know me. contains two clauses rather than
saying that it contains two sentences. A sentence that contains only one clause
is called a simple sentence.
There are a number of different ways to
combine sentences: punctuation coordination subordination reduction apposition
PUNCTUATION: Sentences can be combined by using special
punctuation marks. We know that a period [ . ] question
mark [ ? ] and exclamation point [ ! ]are
used at the end of a sentence, so they cannot be used for combining sentences.
We also know that a comma [ , ] is not strong enough to
connect 2 sentences. (If you use a comma to try to connect 2 sentences you will
have a type of run-on sentence called a comma splice, which is
not acceptable.)So what kinds of punctuation marks can be used to connect
sentences? There are 3 punctuation marks that are stronger than a comma but
weaker than a period, question mark, or exclamation point. These are
the dash [ -- ] colon [ : ]
and semi-colon [ ; ].
A dash is used to add more information about
some part of your sentence. It is rather informal and although you may see it
when you read, it is better to avoid this punctuation in your writing.
A colon is also used to add more information
and especially to give examples of something in the sentence. What follows a
colon may be a clause He is a great athlete: he plays soccer, baseball and
basketball. or a group of words that cannot stand by themselves He
plays many sports: soccer, baseball and basketball.
A semi-colon is used to connect clauses and
is the most important punctuation mark for combining sentences. It can be used
alone to connect clauses He's not heavy; he's my brother. It can also
be used to connect clauses together with special linking words such
as however, morover, therefore which grammar books
call conjunctive adverbs I think; therefore, I am. Remember, it
is the semi-colon and not the conjunctive adverb that connects the clauses.
Quotation marks [ " " ]
and parentheses [ ( ) ] are used
to insert one sentence inside of another sentence, but this is not really
sentence combination and will not be discussed here.
COORDINATION: Coordination is a way of adding sentences
together. In this type of sentence (grammar books call it a compound
sentence) the 2 or more sentences (clauses) which are combined are equal
partners. One clause is not more important than the other grammatically. Words
that connect clauses in this way are called coordinating conjunctions and
the most common ones are: and, or, but, so.
And is used to join clauses that contain
additional information I bought a ticket and I got on the bus.
Or is used to join clauses
that contain choices or alternatives Write me a letter or send an
e-mail message.
But is used to join clauses that contain
opposing ideas I arrived early but no one was there.
So is used to join clauses that contain
ideas of cause and effect The jacket didn't fit so I took it back to
the store.
SUBORDINATION: Subordination is a way of combining
sentences that makes one sentence more important than the other. One sentence
is under the other sentence (submeans under). Sentences that use subordination
(grammar books call them complex sentences) have a main clause or
independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses or dependent clauses).
One or more of when, although, if(called subordinating
conjunctions) or such words
as who, what, that (called relative pronouns).
Depending on its function, a subordinate clause can be classified as a:
noun clause -- a subordinate clause used like
a noun (it can be a subject or object) I don't know what you are
talking about
adjective clause a subordinate clause that
modifies or gives information about a noun I read the letter that
was on your desk
adverb clause a subordinate clause that
functions like an adverb I will call you after I get back from the
movie
REDUCTION: We can go one
step beyond reducing one of the sentences to a subordinate clause. We can
reduce it to less than clause. We can reduce it to a phrase (a group
of words without both a subject and verb). A sentence may be reduced to a:
participial phrase The boy, scared
by the movie, began to cry. The boy was scared by the movie. The boy began
to cry
gerund phrase Studying for the test increased
his confidence. He studied for the test. He felt confident
infinitive phrase She was
excited to see the movie star in the restaurant. She saw the
movie star in the restaurant. She was excited
prepositional phrase The
story in the newspaper was interesting. There was a story in
the newspaper. The story was interesting
APPOSITION: In
apposition, we take a word or phrase and place it in a parallel position to a
noun in the sentence. An appositive is like a
parenthetical statement surrounded not by parentheses but
by commas
Sara, the most serious student in the
class, always did her homework. Sara was the most serious student in the
class. Sara always did her homework.
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