HO Academy Writing 17-10-2009, handouts
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THE SENTENCE
Summary
1. A sentence is a group of words (and sometimes a single word)
that makes sense standing alone.
2. Some sentences are grammatically complete; others—called
fragments—are not.
3. Grammatical sentences must satisfy three criteria: they must (a)
be grammatically independent, (b) have a subject and a finite
verb, and (c) be properly constructed.
4. The parts of a sentence are subject, verb, object, and modifier.
5. These parts may be filled by single words or by functional word
groups.
6. Functional word groups act grammatically as though they were
one word. They include phrases and dependent clauses.
7. A phrase does not contain a subject-finite verb combination,
though it may have a subject and a nonfinite verb form, either
a participle or an infinitive.
8. There are several kinds of phrases—verb phrases, preposi-
tional, participial, gerundive, and infinitive.
9. Clauses may be independent or dependent. Only dependent
clauses act as functional word groups.
10. Dependent clauses are classified according to their grammati-
cal role as noun, adverbial, or adjectival clauses.
11. An absolute is more than a functional word group but less than
a sentence. It is related in idea but not in grammar to the rest
of the sentence in which it occurs.
12. Grammatical sentences come in three basic types—simple,
compound, and complex—plus a combination of the last two,
the compound-complex sentence.
20
The Well-Written Sentence:
(1) Concision
CHAPTER
Aside from being grammatical, a well-written sentence must
be clear and interesting. Clarity means that it says to the
reader what the writer intended to say; interesting, that it
reads well, attracting us by its economy, novelty, sound, and
rhythm. To a considerable degree these virtues are a matter
of diction, that is, of word choice; and in the section on dic-
tion we shall look at them again from that point of view. But
they also depend on sentence structure. In this chapter and
the next we consider how sentence structure in itself contrib-
utes to clarity and interest. It does so by aiming at concision,
emphasis, rhythm, and variety.
Concision is brevity relative to purpose. It is not to be con-
fused with absolute brevity. A sentence of seven words is
brief; but if the idea can be conveyed with equal clarity in
five, the sentence is not concise. On the other hand, a sentence
of fifty words is in no sense brief, but it is concise if the point
can be made in no fewer words. Observing a few general rules
of sentence construction will help you avoid certain kinds of
wordiness.
192
THE SENTENCE
> Do Not Waste the Main Elements
of the Sentence
(In these and all following examples, the deadwood—that is,
the unnecessary words—are italicized.)
WORDY
The
fact of
the war
had the effect of
causing many
changes.
CONCISE
The war caused many changes.
The main elements of a sentence are its subject, verb, and
object. They should convey the core of the thought. Suppose
we abstract subject, verb, and object from the sentences
above:
fact
had
effect
war
caused
changes
Clearly the revision—less than half the length of the origi-
nal—uses the main elements more efficiently: from "war
caused changes" a reader quickly grasps the nub of the idea.
But who could guess the writer's point from "fact had
effect"?
As you compose a sentence, then, get the essence of the
thought into the subject, verb, and object. Not doing so often
results from uncertainty about what your subject is. A sen-
tence that starts out on the wrong foot will stagger under a
load of excess verbiage as you struggle to get at what you
mean:
The first baseman wears a special leather glove that is designed for
easy scooping and long-range catching, while the catcher wears a
large glove that is heavily padded to protect him from fast pitches.
The subject of the first clause is "the first baseman"; of the
second, "the catcher." But these are the wrong subjects: the
writer is contrasting the gloves, not the players. If the true
(1) CONCISION
193
subject ("glove") is used, the sentence steps off properly and
moves along easily:
The first baseman's glove is designed for easy scooping and long-
range catching, while the catcher's is large and heavily padded to
protect him from fast pitches.
Awkward Anticipatory Construction
This is a special case of failing to use the main sentence ele-
ments effectively:
WORDY
This is the kind of golfer that
is called a hacker.
CONCISE
In an anticipatory sentence the notional subject—that is, what
the sentence is really about—is not the grammatical subject.
Instead it is introduced (or "anticipated") by a pronoun
(it,
this, that, these, those, there)
which functions as the gram-
matical subject. (The £/?ere-construction is different gram-
matically but for all practical purposes works the same way.)
A verb like
is, are,
or
seems
links the notional subject to the
pronoun, and an adjectival phrase or clause, modifying the
notional subject, tells us what is being predicated about it:
This is the man who witnessed the accident.
There are many property owners who object to new schools.
Those are the people from Chicago.
Anticipatory constructions require more words than com-
parable direct statements. Sometimes the construction is le-
gitimized by emphasis or idiom; then the extra words are cer-
tainly not deadwood. But unless there is such a purpose, a
direct statement is preferable.
Seems
and its close relative
appears
are especially frequent in awkward anticipatory
This kind of golfer is called a hacker.
194
THE
SENTENCE
sentences. Some writers, whether excessively cautious or po-
lite, habitually hedge their bets, preferring a hesitant claim like
It seems that this professor did not prepare his lectures very well.
to the bolder assertion:
This professor did not prepare his lectures very well.
About any anticipatory construction, then, ask yourself
whether idiom or emphasis justifies it. Sometimes one or the
other will. Changing "It is true that we did not like the idea
at first" to "That we did not like the idea at first is true" saves
one word but results in a stiff sentence, too formal for many
occasions. Similarly, revising "This is the man who witnessed
the accident" to "This man witnessed the accident" deem-
phasizes the point, hardly an improvement */the writer wants
to make a strong statement. But sometimes you will find that
no such reason justifies an anticipatory construction. Then it
is simply wordy, and you ought to replace it with a more
direct statement.
t> Express Modifiers in the Fewest Possible
Words
WORDY
He acted
in an unnatural
way.
CONCISE
He acted unnaturally.
WORDY
The organization of a small business can be described
in a brief statement.
CONCISE
The organization of a small business can be briefly
described.
WORDY
She prefers wines
having
a
French origin.
CONCISE
She prefers French wines.
WORDY
American exploration was rapid considering the means
which the pioneers had available to them.
CONCISE
American exploration was rapid considering the means
available to the pioneers.
WORDY
The targets
that are supplied in skeet shooting
are discs
made of clay.
CONCISE
Skeet targets are clay discs.
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THE SENTENCE
Summary
1. A sentence is a group of words (and sometimes a single word)
that makes sense standing alone.
2. Some sentences are grammatically complete; others—called
fragments—are not.
3. Grammatical sentences must satisfy three criteria: they must (a)
be grammatically independent, (b) have a subject and a finite
verb, and (c) be properly constructed.
4. The parts of a sentence are subject, verb, object, and modifier.
5. These parts may be filled by single words or by functional word
groups.
6. Functional word groups act grammatically as though they were
one word. They include phrases and dependent clauses.
7. A phrase does not contain a subject-finite verb combination,
though it may have a subject and a nonfinite verb form, either
a participle or an infinitive.
8. There are several kinds of phrases—verb phrases, preposi-
tional, participial, gerundive, and infinitive.
9. Clauses may be independent or dependent. Only dependent
clauses act as functional word groups.
10. Dependent clauses are classified according to their grammati-
cal role as noun, adverbial, or adjectival clauses.
11. An absolute is more than a functional word group but less than
a sentence. It is related in idea but not in grammar to the rest
of the sentence in which it occurs.
12. Grammatical sentences come in three basic types—simple,
compound, and complex—plus a combination of the last two,
the compound-complex sentence.
20
The Well-Written Sentence:
(1) Concision
CHAPTER
Aside from being grammatical, a well-written sentence must
be clear and interesting. Clarity means that it says to the
reader what the writer intended to say; interesting, that it
reads well, attracting us by its economy, novelty, sound, and
rhythm. To a considerable degree these virtues are a matter
of diction, that is, of word choice; and in the section on dic-
tion we shall look at them again from that point of view. But
they also depend on sentence structure. In this chapter and
the next we consider how sentence structure in itself contrib-
utes to clarity and interest. It does so by aiming at concision,
emphasis, rhythm, and variety.
Concision is brevity relative to purpose. It is not to be con-
fused with absolute brevity. A sentence of seven words is
brief; but if the idea can be conveyed with equal clarity in
five, the sentence is not concise. On the other hand, a sentence
of fifty words is in no sense brief, but it is concise if the point
can be made in no fewer words. Observing a few general rules
of sentence construction will help you avoid certain kinds of
wordiness.
192
THE SENTENCE
> Do Not Waste the Main Elements
of the Sentence
(In these and all following examples, the deadwood—that is,
the unnecessary words—are italicized.)
WORDY
The
fact of
the war
had the effect of
causing many
changes.
CONCISE
The war caused many changes.
The main elements of a sentence are its subject, verb, and
object. They should convey the core of the thought. Suppose
we abstract subject, verb, and object from the sentences
above:
fact
had
effect
war
caused
changes
Clearly the revision—less than half the length of the origi-
nal—uses the main elements more efficiently: from "war
caused changes" a reader quickly grasps the nub of the idea.
But who could guess the writer's point from "fact had
effect"?
As you compose a sentence, then, get the essence of the
thought into the subject, verb, and object. Not doing so often
results from uncertainty about what your subject is. A sen-
tence that starts out on the wrong foot will stagger under a
load of excess verbiage as you struggle to get at what you
mean:
The first baseman wears a special leather glove that is designed for
easy scooping and long-range catching, while the catcher wears a
large glove that is heavily padded to protect him from fast pitches.
The subject of the first clause is "the first baseman"; of the
second, "the catcher." But these are the wrong subjects: the
writer is contrasting the gloves, not the players. If the true
(1) CONCISION
193
subject ("glove") is used, the sentence steps off properly and
moves along easily:
The first baseman's glove is designed for easy scooping and long-
range catching, while the catcher's is large and heavily padded to
protect him from fast pitches.
Awkward Anticipatory Construction
This is a special case of failing to use the main sentence ele-
ments effectively:
WORDY
This is the kind of golfer that
is called a hacker.
CONCISE
In an anticipatory sentence the notional subject—that is, what
the sentence is really about—is not the grammatical subject.
Instead it is introduced (or "anticipated") by a pronoun
(it,
this, that, these, those, there)
which functions as the gram-
matical subject. (The £/?ere-construction is different gram-
matically but for all practical purposes works the same way.)
A verb like
is, are,
or
seems
links the notional subject to the
pronoun, and an adjectival phrase or clause, modifying the
notional subject, tells us what is being predicated about it:
This is the man who witnessed the accident.
There are many property owners who object to new schools.
Those are the people from Chicago.
Anticipatory constructions require more words than com-
parable direct statements. Sometimes the construction is le-
gitimized by emphasis or idiom; then the extra words are cer-
tainly not deadwood. But unless there is such a purpose, a
direct statement is preferable.
Seems
and its close relative
appears
are especially frequent in awkward anticipatory
This kind of golfer is called a hacker.
194
THE
SENTENCE
sentences. Some writers, whether excessively cautious or po-
lite, habitually hedge their bets, preferring a hesitant claim like
It seems that this professor did not prepare his lectures very well.
to the bolder assertion:
This professor did not prepare his lectures very well.
About any anticipatory construction, then, ask yourself
whether idiom or emphasis justifies it. Sometimes one or the
other will. Changing "It is true that we did not like the idea
at first" to "That we did not like the idea at first is true" saves
one word but results in a stiff sentence, too formal for many
occasions. Similarly, revising "This is the man who witnessed
the accident" to "This man witnessed the accident" deem-
phasizes the point, hardly an improvement */the writer wants
to make a strong statement. But sometimes you will find that
no such reason justifies an anticipatory construction. Then it
is simply wordy, and you ought to replace it with a more
direct statement.
t> Express Modifiers in the Fewest Possible
Words
WORDY
He acted
in an unnatural
way.
CONCISE
He acted unnaturally.
WORDY
The organization of a small business can be described
in a brief statement.
CONCISE
The organization of a small business can be briefly
described.
WORDY
She prefers wines
having
a
French origin.
CONCISE
She prefers French wines.
WORDY
American exploration was rapid considering the means
which the pioneers had available to them.
CONCISE
American exploration was rapid considering the means
available to the pioneers.
WORDY
The targets
that are supplied in skeet shooting
are discs
made of clay.
CONCISE
Skeet targets are clay discs.
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