Some techniques for

COMBINING SENTENCES

prepared by:

R. Guraliuk Gladstone Secondary School

An Introduction to Sentence Combining Thisisyournewhandout.Thehandoutisonsentencecombining.Sentencecombiningisaveryimportantskill.Theskillwillhelpyouenhanceyourwrittenexpression.Youwillbecomeabetterwriter.Youwillincreaseyourunderstandingofhowsentencevarietyinfluencesstyle.Youwillsoonbecomeanexpertonthisskill.YourEnglishteacherwillbepleased.Sentencecombining,simplystated,isthestrategyofjoiningshortsentencesintolonger,morecomplexsentences.Asyouengageinsentence-combiningactivities,youwilllearnhowtovarysentencestructureinordertochangethemeaningandstyleofwhatyouwrite.Atamoretechnicallevel,sentencecombiningisconcernedwiththesystematicknowledgeofsyntacticpossibilitiesandallowswriterstosortthroughalternativesintheirheadsaswellasonpaperandtochoosethosewhicharemostapt.Thisnewhandoutonsentencecombining,averyimportantskillthatwillhelpenhanceyourwrittenexpression,willallowyou,whowillsoonbecomeanexpertandpleaseyourteacher,toincreaseyourunderstandingofhowsentencevarietyinfluencesstyle. Thefollowingtopicsandcombiningtechniqueswillbestudiedinthisunit:

• Verbalso gerundso participleso infinitives

• Phrases

o prepositionalo gerundo participleo infinitiveo absoluteo appositive

• Clauses(Independent&Dependent)

o adjectiveo adverbo noun

• SentenceCombiningexercisesandpractice

Verbals TheEnglishlanguagehasagroupofwordswhichresemblesverbsandareformedfromverbsbutareusedasotherpartsofspeech.(rememberpartsofspeechfromgrade8?)Thesewordsarecalledverbals.considerthefollowingsentences:

• Skiingisawintersport. (verb=is)

• Skiingcarefully,Iavoidedthetree. (verb=avoided)

• Wewanttoskithisweekend. (verb=want)Ineachoftheseexamples,wordsformedfromtheverbtoskimaylooklikeverbsbutareworkingasotherpartsofspeech.Types of VerbalsGerund:agerundlookslikeaverb,alwaysendsin‘ing’,andactsasanounAnouncanfunctionthefollowingways:

o subject: Skiingisfun.o objectoftransitiveverb: Helikesskiing.o objectofapreposition: Theequipmentforskiingisonthetable.o predicatenoun: Hishobbyisskiing.

Participle:aparticiplelookslikeaverbbutactsasanadjective(modifiesanoun/pronoun)

o Smiling,heacceptedhisaward.o Thebrokentoywasthrownaway.o Frightened,thechildcriedforhelp.

Infinitive:aninfinitiveismadeupoftherootofaverbplusthepreposition‘to’

o Helikestoplaybasketball;tobeornottobe.

Verbal worksheetUnderlinetheverbalsinthefollowingsentencesandidentifythetype:G,P,orI.1. Asmilingfaceisbetterthanadiscontentedone;tosmileisone

waytowinfriends.

2. ThemanbuyingtheticketisalocalmerchantgoingtoGastown.

3. Havingwrittenwithmorethanusualcare,Iwassurprisedwhen

myteachersaidmywritingwasillegible.

4. Asitfloweddownthegreyrockwall,theswiftlyflowingwater

seemedtohavelostitsliquidquality;itlookedlikeasmoothly

solidifiedpillarofgreen.

5. Findinganeedleinahaystackisasmuchfunaslisteningtoyour

teacherbabblingawayaboutverbals.

6. Thepolicearrestedhimforspeeding;togetawarningwaswhat

hehopedtoreceive.

7. TheCanuck’spassingandforecheckingaregood,butIdon’t

believetheywilleverbestrongenoughtowinStanley’scup.

8. Mr.Landnoticedthestudentwalkingalonedownthehallway;he

waslaughingoutloudandmakingstrangenoises.

9. Mr.Neuenjoyscookingandtoeatoneofhismealsisadelight.

10. Spokenwordsarenaturallykeptinmindwithmuchmore

difficultythanthoseonereads,butatrainedpersoncanretain

amazingamountsofconversation.

11. Waking,showering,anddressingarepreliminariestoeating

breakfast.

12. Guesswhat?Youhaveatesttowritenextdayonverbals.

Verbal Quiz Name:_____________________I: UnderlinetheGERUNDSinthefollowingsentencesandtellhoweachis used (subject–objectofverb-objectofpreposition-predicatenoun)Eg. Paintingcanbeveryenjoyable. subject1. Thegrade11swonforcollectingthemostChristmascans._____________________

2. Theirfavouritepastimeisreading._____________________

3. JohnandZacwerecongratulatedforwinning._____________________

4. Swimmingrequiresalotofenergy.____________________

5. Hisideaofrelaxingwasadayatthebeach._____________________

6. Wewerenearlysickfromlaughing.___________________

7. Thisclassenjoystalking.____________________II: UnderlinethePARTICIPLEineachsentenceanddrawanarrowtothenounor

pronounthatitmodifies.

8. Waving,Rudyfellofhisbike.

9. DidyoufindthestolenEnglishpaperyet?

10. Thedrowningfishgaspedforair.

11. Fascinatedbythenewtoy,thebabystoppedcrying.

III: UnderlinetheINFINITIVEinthefollowingsentences.

12. Thisquestioniseasytounderstand.

13. Todowellonthetestrequireshoursofstudy.

14. Onthewaytoschool,Idecidedtotakeashortcut.

Phrases APHRASEisagroupofrelatedwordsthathasnosubjectorpredicateandisusedasasinglepartofspeech.Phrasesareusuallyclassifiedasprepositional,gerund,participle,infinitive,absolute,orappositive.PrepositionalPhrase:consistsofapreposition,itsobject,andanymodifiersoftheobject.Prepositionalphrasesusuallyfunctionasadjectivesoradverbs. Heisamanofaction. Theplanearrivedontime. GerundPhrase:consistsofagerund,itsmodifiers,and/oritsobject.Gerundphrasesalwaysfunctionasnouns. Collectingstainedglasswasherhobby. ShehatedgoingtoschoolonSaturdays.ParticiplePhrase:consistsofaparticiple,itsmodifiers,and/oritsobject.Participlephrasesalwaysactasadjectives. Thedogrunningintheyardismine. Coveredwithice,theroadwasverydangerous.InfinitivePhrase:consistsofaninfinitive,itsmodifiers,and/oritsobject.Infinitivephrasesfunctionasnouns,adjectives,oradverbs. Iwantedtobuythatnewphone. Itisnowtimetogotobed.AbsolutePhrase:consistsofanounfollowedbyaparticiple.Theydonotmodifyanyindividualwordorwordgroup,butmodifytheentireremainderofthesentencetowhichtheybelong. Hisarmbadlybroken,wetookKentothehospital. Hershouldersslumped,hereyeslookingdown,Crystalslidintoherseat.AppositivePhrase:describesanounorpronoun.Inform,appositivesarenounornounequivalents. Mr.Land,ourprincipal,believesinhardwork. TheCanucks,thatfrustratinghockeyteam,justmightbebetterthisyear.

Exercise: Underline the phrases in the following sentences and identify the type of phrase. 1. Landinginagracefulmanner,thegymnastcompletedherroutine.

participlephrase

2. Makingaprofitwashisonlythought.

3. Hereyestiredfromreading,Denise,anavidreader,fellasleep.

4. TheProvince,notmyfavouritepaper,arrivedearlyinthemorning.

5. Themanwalkingthedogismygreatgrandfather.

6. Slippingonthefreshice,thesportscarcrashedintothenewbuilding.

7. Beingloyaltotheteamismoreimportantthangainingapprovalfrom

friends.

8. WatchingfootballonTVisafavouritesportofmillionsoffans.

9. Thetornadostruckthetown,rippingroofsfromhouses,tearingtreesfrom

theearth.

10. Seeingthattherainhadstopped,wegotoutofthecarandhelpedtheyoung

bearcub,hispawbadlyinjured.

Phrases Practice Test Name:________________Underlinethephrasesinthefollowingsentencesandidentifythetypeofphrase.1. Laughterisatranquilizerwithnosideeffects.Prepositional

2. Donotuseahatchettoremoveaflyfromyourfriend’sforehead.

3. Onceawakened,thoughtdoesnotagainslumber.

4. Thegreatenemyofclearlanguageisvaguenessandlackofprecision.

5. FatetriedtoconcealhimbynaminghimMr.Smith.

6. Bewareoffriendsbearinggifts.

7. Geniusistheabilitytoreducethecomplicatedtothesimple.

8. Ihavenoobjectiontoyouturninginwell-writtenessaysformetoassess.

9. Inspring,accordingtopoets,ayoungman’sdesireturnstothoughtsoflove.

10. Beingprettywellexhausted,Jayaskedtocomeoutofthegame.

11. Togetalongwithpeople,youmustlearntosharetheirinterests.

12. Havingreachedtheageofeighteen,Stevenhadnodesiretofallinloveagain.

13. Thetroublewithbeingpunctualisthatnobodyistheretoappreciateit.

14. Byaprivatedoor,goodthoughtsenterintoeveryindividual.

15. Amotionwasmadeatthemeeting,noothernamesbeingproposed.

ClausesACLAUSEisagroupofwordshavingasubjectandapredicateandformingapartofasentence.Therearetwomainkindsofclauses--Independent(orMain)--makessensebyitself,andDependent(orSubordinate)--doesnotmakesensebyitself.Subordinateclausesmustbejoinedtoindependentclauses.Therearethreetypesofsubordinateclauses.AdjectiveClauses:AdjectiveclausesmodifynounsorpronounsandusuallyanswerthequestionWhichone?Whatkindof?Theybeginwitharelativepronoun(who,which,that,whoever,whomever,whose). Thepeoplewhosawtherobberyarewillingtotestify.

ThenewPortMannBridge,whichcostalotofmoney,doessavetime.**Commarule**Whyaretherenocommasinthefirstexamplebuttwointhesecondexample?Hint:consideressentialand/ornon-essentialinformation.AdverbClauses:Adverbclausesmodifyverbs,adjectives,orotheradverbsandusuallyansweroneofthesequestionsWhen?Where?How?Underwhatconditions?Towhatdegree?Adverbclausesbeginwithasubordinateconjunction(because,after,before,since,as,if,eventhough,although,while,when,unless,…) Hewenthomeassoonashecould.

Althoughhewasquiteshort,SpudWebbplayedintheNBA.

Youmaynotpassthetestunlessyoustudyreallyhard.**Commarule**Ifyoubeginwithasubordinateconjunction,thereisacommaafterthedependentclause.Donotuseacommaifthesubordinateconjunctioncomesaftertheindependentclause.NounClauses:Nounclausesfunctionasnouns,thatis,assubjects,objects,orcomplements.Theyusuallybeginwithwho,what,that,whomever,where. Whoevergossipstoyouwillgossipofyou. Didyouseewheretheywent? Theywerepleasedwithwhattheyhadwon. Whocametothepartyisnoconcernofyours.

Exercise: Underline the dependent clauses and identify the type (adjective, adverb, noun)1. HegavemewhatIhadaskedfor.

2. Whereistheladywhomyoulove?

3. Sheadvisedallherteachersthatshewasintelligent.

4. Thestorewhereyoubuyflowersisownedbyhisfather.

5. Whentheleavesfall,therainbegins.

6. Telltheprincipalwhyyouarelateagain.

7. ThisprovesthatyoudounderstandwhatIamtryingtoteach.

8. Sinceshereceivedonly12%onhertest,shemightnotpass.

9. Hesingsasifhisvoiceishurtinghim.

10. Tellmewhatyoueat,andIwilltellyouwhatyouare.

11. Venicewouldbeafinecityifitwereonlydrained.

12. Thearrowthathasleftthebowneverreturns.

13. Themoviethatwesawcontainedmemorablescenes.

14. Wefoundalittlelakewherethefishingisgreat.

15. Whenyoufinishthisquestion,youarefinishedtheworksheet.

Clauses Practice Test Name:________________Underlinethedependentclausesinthefollowingandidentifythetype.1. Whatiswhisperedisheardallovertown.

2. Whathistoryteachesusisthatwehaveneverlearnedanythingfromit.

3. Digawellbeforeyouarethirsty.

4. Whoevernameditneckingwasapoorjudgeofanatomy.

5. Ifyouarebornlucky,evenyourroosterwilllayeggs.

6. Shegavehimalookthatyoucouldhavepouredonawaffle.

7. Afraudisnotperfectunlessitispractisedonacleverperson.

8. Modernpovertyisnotthepovertythatwasexperiencedlongago.

9. Donotinsultthemotheralligatoruntilyouhavecrossedtheriver.

10. Whenpeopleaskhowyoufeel,Ialwaysfeelthattheymeansomethingelse.

11. Ifyoucontinuetowritepoetry,youjustmightfindlove.

12. Thepoem,whichwasnotverywellwritten,stillwassuccessful.

13. Whatmattersmostisthethoughtbehindthewords.

14. Thestronghelpthosewhocannothelpthemselves.

15. Youshouldnotbelatebecauseyouliveacrossthestreetfromtheschool.

Quiz on Verbals, Phrases, Clauses Name:_____________________I. Pleaseunderlinetheverbal(s)ineachsentenceandidentifythetype. Example:Mikedislikessweepingthefloorsinhishouse. gerund1. Thefallingleaveswereyellowandred.

2. Toavoidhurtingsomeone,weremovedthebrokentoy.

3. Actinginaplayishardwork.

4. BoredbytheirEnglishteacher,thestudentslefttheroom.II. Identifythetypeofphraseunderlinedineachsentence. Example:Pleasetakeapicturewithyournewcamera. prepositionalphrase5. Hereyestiredfromreading,Sarahfellasleep.

6. Selectedforthebasketballteam,Jenniferwasthrilled.

7. Theumpirestoppedtocleanhomeplate.

8. Lyinginthesuncanbeharmfultoyourskin.

9. Thequarterback,seeinganopening,scoredatouchdown.

10. Raj,thestarplayer,sunkthewinningbaskettowinthegame.

11. Hisheartbeatingquickly,hesummonedupthecouragetoaskherout.

...2

III. Underlinethedependentclauseineachsentenceandidentifyasbeing adjective,adverb,ornoun. Example:Thefiftypeoplewhowaitedinlinewererewardedwithgoodseats. adjectiveclause

12. Didyoudecidewhatexcuseyouweregoingtogiveforbeinglate?

13. Thistestismoredifficultthanthelastone.

14. Theshedwhichwefoundshelterinwassweetandcozy.

15. Wewillmeetwherevertheclassdecides.

16. TheteachercametotheconclusionthatFredwasnotfailing.

Sentence Combining (strategies and practice)Thereareanumberoftechniquesthatcanbeemployedwhencombiningshort,choppy,simplesentencesintomoremature,complexones.Somestrategiesaresimple:

• useco-ordination:Shelikestosing.Shelikestodance. Shelikestosinganddance.• useaseries(parallelism): Heiskind.Heiscreative.Heissmart. Heiskind,creative,andsmart.

Thefollowingexerciseswilltakeyouthroughsentencecombining,usingphrasesandclausesasastrategyforturningsimpleandrepetitivestructuresintoonesthathavebetterflow,rhythm,andmaturity.

samplequestion:

a) Thetheatrewascrowded.(adverbclause)b) ThetheatrewasplayingMacbeth.(adjectiveclause)c) Wefoundtwogoodseats.d) Theseatswereinthelowerbalcony.(prepositionalphrase)

followingthedirectionsineachbracket,wenowhave:

a) Eventhoughthetheatrewascrowded (adverbclause) which

b) ThetheatrewasplayingMacbeth (adjectiveclause)

c) Wefoundtwogoodseats(nodirections,therefore,mainsubject&predicate)

d) Theseatswereinthelowerbalcony (prepositionalphrase)Sampleanswer:Eventhoughthetheatre,whichwasplayingMacbeth,wascrowded,wefoundtwogoodseatsinthelowerbalcony.**atotalof3/3isgiventothissentenceasitfollowstheinstructionsandispunctuatedproperly.

Nowit’syourturn.Followingthedirectionsprovided,pleasecombineintoonesentence.Youwillreceiveonemarkforfollowingeachtechniqueproperly(forexample,#1isoutofthreemarks;#6outof5marks).Youwillhaveahalfmarkdeductedforeachcommaerror,andafullmarkdeductedforanygrammaticalerrorcreated.Beawareofmisplacedmodifiers,danglingmodifiers,faultyparallelismandrun-onsentences.(arun-onsentenceisnotgoodandwillresultinaoneandahalfmarkdeduction.)1. a) TiffanyfoundEnglishverydifficult.(adverbclause) b) Shehadnotpassedherlastninetests.(adjectiveclause) c) Shedecidedtoskipouttherestoftheyear. d) VivianandEmmaadvisedhertostaywithit.(adverbclause)2. a) Theadministrationcouldnotfindanysuspectsfortheprank. b) Theyhadbeenworkinghardonthecase.(adjectiveclause) c) TheprankwascommittedinE-Wing.(participlephrase) d) Itoccurredduringblock1-1.(prepositionalphrase)3. a) Johnwasnotagreatcook.(adverbclause) b) HepreparedaterrificJapanesedinner. c) Thedinnerwasforhisbestfriends.(prepositionalphrase) d) Hisfriendsbecameillthenextday.(adjectiveclause)4. a) Herlipswerepuckeredfromthesourtaste.(absolutephrase) b) Kimcontinuedtoeatthelime. c) Kimdidnotlikethelime.(adverbclause)5. a) Jameswatchedhisfavouritecartoondistractedly.

b) Histhoughtswerefocussedonhisup-comingEnglishtest.(absolute phrase)

c) Jameswasaconscientiousstudent.(appositive)

6. a) Lisawasagitatedbeyondendurance.(participlephrase) b) Shewasutterlyfrustrated.(participlephrase;joina&bwith coordinateconjunction) c) Lisaranaroundtheyard. d) Lisawasanavidgardener.(appositive) e) Shewaschasingtheneighbour’scat.(participlephrase) f) Thecathadjusteatenherspringdaffodils.(adverbclause)7. a) PaulisanewstudentatHappyrock.(appositive) b) Heneededadatebadly.(participlephrase) c) HewantedtoaskGertrudeoutonadate. d) Gertrudewastheprettiestgirlinthegrade.(appositive) e) Paulneverdidaskherout.(joinc&ewithacoordinateconjunction) f) Gertrudealreadyhadaboyfriend.(adverbclause)8. a) Hisbodywaszoomingdowntheice.(absolutephrase) b) Pavelshotthepuckandscoredagoal. c) Pavelwasthestarplayer.(appositive) d) Pavelwonthegamewithhisshot.(infinitivephrase)9. a) Mr.Guraliukyelledatthestudent.(adverbclause) b) Heisagentlepersonbynature.(appositive) c) Hefeltterriblefordays. d) Hehadneverdonesuchathingbefore.(adverbclause)

Sentence Combining -- some more practice1. a) Davidwaslonelyanddisillusioned.(adjectiveclause) b) Davidshuffledintothecafeteria. c) Hisshoulderswereslumped.(absolutephrase) d) David’slunchwasheavyinhishand.(absolutephrase) e) Hisgirlfriendhadjustdumpedhim.(adverbclause)2. a) Theinfantsleptpeacefully. b) Theinfant’snameisBilly.(appositive) c) Hisheadwasrestingonhisstuffedpuppy.(absolutephrase) d) Hispuppy’snameisMutsy.(appositive) e) HisparentswatchedTV.(adverbclause) f) TheywatchedTVintheotherroom.(prepositionalphrase)3. a) Mr.Steudelisatalentedwriter.(appositive) b) Hesubmittedhislatestcollectionofpoetry. c) ThiscollectionconcernsthehabitatsoftheFraserRiver.(participle) d) HesubmittedhispoemstoCanadianLiterature.(prepositionalphr.) e) CanadianLiteratureisoneofmyfavouritejournals.(appositive)

Thefollowinghavenodirections.Combineanyeffectivewaytocreateonegoodsentence.

4. Thedeersenseddanger. Thedeerlifteditshead. Itsearswerestiffandstraight. Itsbodywastense. Itwasreadytoexplodeintomotionattheslightestsound.

5. Theoldmadstumbledoutoftheshack. Theshackwasnearlyfallingover. Hewasafraillookingfellow. Thefellowhadwhitehairandwrinkledskin. Hestoodscowlingatus. Hischinwasthrustforward. Hiseyeswerebulging. Hereachedintohispocket. Theoldmanpulledouthisglasses.6. Skytrainwasrunninglate. Shirleyfearedshewouldbelateforwork. Shefearedshewouldloseherjob. ShelovedherjobasanEnglishteacher. Shecaughtarideonahelicopter. ThehelicopterwasownedbyGlobalTV. Theywerefilmingforthesixo’clocknews.

7. TheGladstoneRoboticsteamiscompetingnextmonth. Theyarepastworldchampions. Withcarefulplanning,theyareeagertobeginthecompetition. Theywouldliketobethebestagain.8. Theweatherwashot. Theweatherwasdry. JoeDhillonheadedforasmallirrigationpond. Joeisafarmer. Atthepondhecrankedasmallmotor. Themotorspreadwatertohisfields. Thefieldswerefilledwithcorn. Thefieldswerefilledwithpotatoes.9. Itsnowedheavilylastnight. Skytrainwasnotworking. Busseswerelate. Thebusseswerejustpaintedwhite. Theycouldnotbeseenintheblizzard. Peoplebegantopanic. Somepeopleweredrivinginthesnow. Carswereslidingallovertheplace. Theroadswereicy. Theroadshadnotyetbeenplowed. Thereweremanyaccidents.

Okay, so why is all this sentence combining stuff important? Assuggestedatthestartofthisunit,understandinghowsentencestructuresaffecttheover-allimpactofapieceofwritingisimportant.Sentencecombining,then,isaneffectivetechniquetodemonstratesentencelevelmaturity.Youngerwritersrelyheavilyonshortsentences;moreexperienceswritersoftentakeintoaccountthefeelorflowoftheirwritingthroughthesyntaxemployed.ConsiderthefollowingpassagefromCarrieSnyder’sTheJulietStories:Because the girl is untidy, feet shod in dirty flip flops, hair tangled and straggling, her body neither fat nor thin, Juliet does not recognize her but there are many clues as to whom the girl is, so she stands. Juliet does not hesitate. She takes the girl by the hand and walks to the street’s edge. She waits for a break in traffic. They cross. Canyourecognizetheuseofanadverbclause,aseriesofabsolutephrasesandcoordinationemployedinthefirstsentence?Whateffectiscreatedbytheuseofshorter,simplesentencestowardstheend?Asyoureadtheworksofothers,beawareofsentencestructures.Trytoimitatestructuresyoufindeffective.Learnfromgoodwriters.Beawareofhowonewrites.Asyouwriteyourowncompositionsandstories,beawareofyourownsentencestructures.Asyoudevelopyourabilitytocomposesentencesofvaryinglengths,beawareofthecommongrammaticalerrorsthatmaysurface.Incorrectlycombinedsentencesoftencontainone(ormore)ofthefollowingerrors:

o misplacedmodifiero danglingmodifiero faultyparallelismo run-onsentence(commasplice)o commaerror

Refertoyourpastclassworkconcerningthese(andother)grammaticalandusageerrors.CheckouttheOn-lineWritingLab(Owl)atPurdueUniversityforfurtherreviewifneeded.