Art of Styling Sentences

Barron's Educational Series, Ann Longknife, K.D. Sullivan

• Publisher: Barrons Educational Services
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780764147838
• eBook ISBN: 9781438083353
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Creative Writing
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

A must-have for any student or aspiring writer, this book reviews the fundamentals of good sentence structure: Conventions of writing style change in subtle ways with passing years—a fact that prompts the need for periodic revisions of books like this one. The authors review the fundamentals of good sentence structure and then go on to describe twenty basic sentence patterns that encompass virtually every effective way of writing sentences in English. They also draw on passages by current prominent writers, using these examples to show how varying rhythm and sentence patterns can result in elegant writing styles that keep their readers interested. Exercises with answers and explanations appear throughout the text. Overflowing with practical and useful advice, this little gem will change the way people write.

CHAPTER 1

The Sentence

WHAT EXACTLY IS A SENTENCE?

Like sign language, smoke signals, or texting, the goal of a sentence is to send a message. A sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. However, a sentence can do more. It can contain variety, express emotion, and clarify ideas more fully than a brief message.

Sometimes, a sentence may be a single word:

Where? Fabulous! Hurry.

“Where?” and “Fabulous!” communicate a complete thought. “Hurry,” though, has an unspoken “you” as the subject.

Most sentences, however, have two parts: the subject, which is a noun or pronoun, and the verb. These two parts follow the basic pattern:

Let’s break up some very simple sentences into their two parts, using vertical lines to separate the different parts.

Make up your own examples, following the pattern above; box the subject and the verb, and put a pair of vertical lines (||) between these two basic sentence parts. You need only the S (subject) slot and the V (verb) slot.

To be more expressive, you can add some descriptive words (called modifiers) to the subject, the verb, or both. You still have two slots and need only one pair of vertical lines:

By combining the S slot and the V slot, you can construct the most common sentence patterns. Each sentence has a name that describes its purpose and what it does:

NAME		TASK
DECLARATIVE		A sentence may make a statement.
INTERROGATIVE		May it also ask a question?
IMPERATIVE		Use it to give an order.
EXCLAMATORY		What great emotion it can express!

The subject-verb combination will be the heart of each sentence you write. It will let you build an amazing variety of sentence patterns. Even long sentences may have only one pair of vertical lines.

When you add descriptive words, the sentences get longer. Some sentences have phrases—a group of words that have no subject-verb combination and usually act as a modifier. There are several kinds of phrases:

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE		begins with a preposition (in, on, at, under, and so on) (for example, in the park, on the table, over the door)
PARTICIPIAL PHRASE		begins with a present or past participle (for example, leading the pack, grown in the summer)
INFINITIVE PHRASE		begins with an infinitive (to plus the verb) (for example, to play tennis, to stop the project)

You might also expand a basic sentence with clauses—a group of words containing a subject-verb combination that can express a complete thought, but may not:

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE		makes a complete statement communicates an idea by itself (for example, John eats dinner)
DEPENDENT CLAUSE		modifies part of another clause does not communicate a complete thought may be a part of another clause (for example, when he comes home)

Independent clauses and dependent clauses can be combined to form various types of sentences. The most common types of sentences are:

SIMPLE		makes a single statement is an independent clause has only one subject-verb combination
COMPOUND		makes two or more statements has two or more independent clauses has two or more subject-verb combinations
COMPLEX		has an independent clause has one or more dependent clauses functioning as modifiers
COMPOUND COMPLEX		has two or more independent clauses has two or more subject-verb combinations has one or more dependent clauses functioning as modifiers

Sometimes there will be only one subject; sometimes there will be two or more subjects in the S slot but they will come before the || lines. The V, too, may have one or more verbs. As you analyze sentences, note that each subject-verb combination will require a new pair of vertical lines.

John and David || raced cars but drove safely.

NOTE: Throughout the book, one line indicates the subject; two lines indicate the verb.

Sentences can have something extra, but still have one pair of vertical lines. With transitive verbs (verbs that describe an action the subject performs) you need a direct object (DO). A DO receives the action of the verb and answers the questions “What?” or “Whom?”

EXAMPLES:

DO
Jason || lost this skateboard.
DO DO
Tamara || forgot her books but passed the test.

Certain verbs, listed below, are linking verbs and may have a subject complement—a noun, pronoun, or adjective—that renames or describes the subject:

Being verbs		am, are, is, was, were, be, being, been
Verbs of sensation		feel, taste, etc.
Other linking verbs		appear, become, seem

The following sentences illustrate the S-V combination with one or more subject complements.

SC
EXAMPLES: Athelets || are idols to many.
Rock concerts || may be _________________ or _________________,
_______________ or ________________, _______________ or ______________ .
(Try filling in the blanks above.)

You can add modifying words to almost any part of a sentence and its phrases. You can keep the single subject-verb combination or else expand your sentence to include several subject-verb combinations, all having modifiers. Mark main clauses by putting || between the S and the V in a main clause and | between the S and the V in dependent clauses; then put brackets around dependent clauses.

EXAMPLES:

Long or short sentences can sometimes effectively communicate the most difficult ideas in the word. (simple)

Sterling silver [that may cost $800 a place setting] and small kitchen appliances like can openers or toasters [that are considered too basic] are no longer popular wedding gifts. (complex)

Now let’s break a whole sentence into its parts. When making a mechanical analysis of any sentence, use the following labels to identify the various p...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Suggestions for the Instructor
• Suggestions for the Student
• 1 The Sentence
• 2 The Twenty Patterns
• 3 Sentences Grow
• 4 Figurative Language in Sentences
• 5 The Twenty Patterns—In Print
• Appendix