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Writing correct sentences
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In the language game of writing a text, sentences are the
building blocks that should include the right words or phrases
and are in turn included in the larger units of the paragraphs.
This section explores three ways of improving your skills at
writing correct sentences:
how to combine two or more short sentences with a view to concision and
purposefulness,
how to organise the various parts of the sentence,
and how to establish your perspective.
[ Integrating elements][Word order][Perspective]
Integrating elements
Juxtaposed sentences can often be combined into one
complex sentence, provided this contributes to making your
text easier to read.
Exercise 1:
Write ONE sentence incorporating information found in
the following juxtaposed statements. Think of which
words can be left out and find the appropriate linking
words. Relative pronouns are of course helpful, but
remember there are other possibilities, including
reducing a piece of information to an adjective.
N.B. Whenever you refer to something already
mentioned, the inclusive relative pronoun (in French
‘ce que’ or ‘ce qui’) is ‘WHICH’.
a. There is a house at the end of the
street. It stands on its own. The street was
bombed. It belongs to an elderly man. The
children call him Old Misery. ('The
Destructors')
b. Mrs Carnavon is a widow. Her son
died a few months earlier. Her son was
twentyfour. ('The Cold House')
c. Lou and Edward are feeling moody
in the car. Later Lou feels happier, partly
due to Josephine's influence. We know
very little about Josephine, who is said to
have 'a fanatical smile.' ('Look at all
Those Roses')
d. Laura feels concern for the lower
classes. She hears that a workman has
been killed in an accident. The workman is
a neighbour of theirs. She is appalled at
the idea of her family still having a garden
party. ('The Garden Party')
e. The narrator claims that he is not
mad. He behaves in a completely irrational
way. This is shown in his nightly vigils.
('The TellTale Heart')
f. Crystal Styan walks to the train stop
in the forest. She is in a hurry. Her
husband is coming back from town. She
wants to be in time to meet him. ('By the
River' at the very end of the webpage)
g. The rabbits feel threatened. They
want to go to a safer place. The other
animals shame them into staying next to
the wolves. ('The Rabbits Who Caused
All the Trouble')
As indicated above, one should beware
of going too far in cramming information
into one single sentence. The result may
be more puzzling than illuminating.
BAC1 students in English Literature MUST
click HERE to do this exercise interactively
and will have to enter their ULg "identifiant"
and "mot de passe" to access the page.
Others, whose work need not be monitored,
can click here.
Exercise 2 :
Disentangle (=separate elements that have become
joined in a confusing way) the following sentences.
a. In her poem called 'The Natural
History Museum' Clanchy compares the
dead creatures in their glass boxes and
children who watch them as well as the
hunters and the children's parents because
a similar process freezes them into
lifelessness
b. The narrator is beset by beggars
who tell him lies in order to engage his
sympathy and be given some of the money
which they think he can dispense with and
which he does indeed give them even
though he knows better. ('The Beggar on
the Dublin Bridge')
BAC1 students in English Literature MUST
click HERE to do this exercise interactively
and will have to enter their ULg "identifiant"
and "mot de passe" to access the page.
Others, whose work need not be monitored,
can click here.
Word order
The position of words in a sentence is either determined by
the grammar of the language or by the intention of the writer.
Word order determined by the writer’s intention, so
contributing to establish the perspective, is considered in the
third subsection. English is a hybrid and disturbingly fluid
language. While English usage has rules, very few (if any) do
not suffer exceptions. This also applies to word order in a
sentence: it can be subjected to all sorts of distortions. Let us
remember, though, that the standard word order in the active
voice is Subject Verb Direct Object Adjuncts, with time
adjunct at the end, and in the passive voice, Subject Verb
Agent Adjuncts, with time adjunct at the end.
Inversion: The only instances when the verb occurs before
its subject are
(1) in questions: How did you find out ? What was he
thinking about ? Why did they refuse to step on board ?
(2) when the sentence begins with a negative or restrictive
element : Only in the long run shall we perceive the
consequences of this irresponsible poisoning of our streams
and lakes. / Scarcely had she uttered those words that she
realised how stupid they were. / Not a single tree had the
storm left standing.
Note that in these cases the full verb still comes after the
subject since the form used before is an auxiliary.
The idea is that there should not be any intrusive element
between subject and verb, or between verb and object, or verb
and agent. When there is (for indeed in many cases there will
be) it should be with some definite purpose.
Exercise 3:
Rearrange the various parts of the following jumbled
sentences so that they read like correct English
sentences.
a. I will before addressing the
question a naturalist novel what
define first is
b. how she has realised are
regrets useless
c. had been taken on a sunny
summery river bank the decision long
before she was born by others
d. absurd running Ozzie thought
on the roof was as the night was closing
in how the behaviour of those suddenly
strange people down in the street
e. On O'Connell Bridge every day
sings the same beggar without a cap on
his head rain or shine
BAC1 students in English Literature MUST click HERE to
do this exercise interactively and will have to enter
their ULg "identifiant" and "mot de passe" to access the
page. Others, whose work need not be monitored, can
click here.
Exercise 4:
Rewrite the following sentences to make them
grammatical. MIND the order of the words!
a. *Laura is upset on all sorts of
occasions by how people are unhygienic.
('The Garden Party')
b. *Charlie sitting in the train both is
aggressive and unhappy. ('England
versus England')
c. *Laura felt shame and confusion
when walking down the lane about her
beautiful hat. ('The Garden Party')
BAC1 students in English Literature MUST
click HERE to do this exercise interactively
and will have to enter their ULg "identifiant"
and "mot de passe" to access the page.
Others, whose work need not be monitored,
can click here.
Perspective
The position in which words occur in a sentence
contributes to determine the perspective, and thus, for
instance, the relative importance of characters in a summary.
If you go back to exercise 1 a. the perspective is different if
you decide to have the house or the man as subject. Note that
telling an episode in the perspective of one of the characters
does not mean that you endorse that character’s position.
Exercise 5:
a. Write two or three sentences about the
episode when Laura wants the party to be
cancelled, first focusing on Laura, then
focusing on her sister Jose. Note the
difference in word order. (The Garden Party)
Suggested sentences for a:
(1) Laura feels that it would be indecent to carry on with the
party when one of their neighbours had just been killed. She is
amazed, and indeed indignant, at her sister’s heartlessness.
OR
Laura foolishly considers cancelling the party in spite of the
preparations that are afoot and the near impossibility of preventing
guests from arriving soon.
(2) Jose wonders at Laura’s utter lack of common sense. The
family has gone into huge expenses to set up a garden party, guests
are already on their way, and just because she has overheard some
tragic piece of news she wants them to cancel the party.
OR
Jose cannot understand Laura’s objections because she does not have
her sister’s capacity for human sympathy.
b. Same exercise about the moment when Mr
Gaines comments on the poem 'The White
Horses of the Sea' , focusing first on Mrs
Mason, the woman who wrote it , and then on
the Georgian poet.
c. Same exercise about the moment when Mr
Duffy and Mrs Sinico agree to break up their
relationship, focusing on Mrs Sirico first and
then on Mr Duffy.
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and/or print them out