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COMFTF-13

Composition: First Things First


Sentence Combining

(1) The basic English sentence pattern consists of a subject and a verb or a subject verb and
object  such as “The baby sleeps” or “I see the baby.” These simple Subject Verb (SV) and
Subject Verb Object (SVO) patterns make up the lion’s share of the English sentence patterns.
(2) We could, I suppose, remain content with confining ourselves to these basic patterns
(sometimes called kernel sentences) or we could “grow up” linguistically, combining these basic
kernel sentences into larger units.
Suppose we had the following two kernel sentences:

(1) I swung the bat.


(2) I missed the ball.

(3) How would we combine these two basic kernel sentences into a larger more mature unit.
Some students short on grammatical skills might try to fuse these two sentences together without
any punctuation, creating a run-on or a fused sentence.
(4) This mistaken attempt would look like this: *I swung the bat I missed the ball.” Dr.
Maas would use his numerical symbol # 38, indicating that the student had produced a run-on or
a fused sentence.
(5) Some students might try the following technique: *I swung the bat, I missed the ball.
Dr. Maas would mark a # 11, indicating that the student had attempted to put two clauses or
sentences together with a comma or a comma splice. The comma used for connecting two
clauses is analogous to coupling two railroad cars together with wire or twine string, not a strong
enough connector.
(6) Some students may not feel the need to couple these two sentences together, letting them
stand alone as two independent sentences: I swung the bat. I missed the ball. A few short
sentences won’t hurt, but if the essay becomes full of them, Dr. Maas might write choppy or
primer style, indicating that the student ought to consider some form of combining.
(7) A few students might consider joining the two clauses by the coordinating conjunction
and or but, such as ,I swung the bat, but I missed the ball. Or perhaps, I swung the bat, but I
missed the ball. This method of combining we call coordination, joining like things with like
things by means of coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet and ; note that
semicolon (;) serves the same function as the conjunction and. Consequently, we shouldn’t use
the following: *I swung the bat; and I missed the ball. If you do, people will think you are
stuttering.
(8) Some students may regard one sentence as more significant than the other and will try to
subordinate (de-emphasize) the other clause, making it less important or emphatic.
Consequently the student will choose a subordinate conjunction such as after, although, as,
because, before, if, since, that unless, until, and a whole company of Wh- words such as
when, where, whether, which, while, who, whom, and whose. Consequently the student might
try the construction, Although I swung the bat, I missed the ball. Or he might use, Whenever I
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swung the bat, I missed the ball. In both combined sentences, he emphasizes the “missing the
ball” in the main clause and the other item “swinging the bat” in a subordinate clause.
(9) Students may also use the technique of using such things as participles (verbs converted
to adjectives by means of an ing ending , such as “ Swinging the bat, I missed the ball. Other
devices of modification could include appositives (words that are equivalent to or synonyms for
the words they describe or name) Dr. Leon Howard, Vice President of Academic Affairs,
delivered an address to the Rotary Club. Other devices include adjectives (single word
qualifiers) such as : The student was angry. The student tore his book. The angry student tore
his book. The single word qualifier allows the student to use a single word to replace a sentence.
(10) We have learned this far that basic kernel sentences may become combined or connected
together, using three basic methods: Coordination, Subordination, and Modification.
Hopefully, as you progress through this unit you will have the opportunity to use all three.
(11) One of the main purposes for using sentence combining is to eliminate needless words:
Dr. Maas uses the symbol # 58 for excessive wordiness. The main rule of thumb in sentence
combining tells us to say things in the most compact way possible. Think of the following
hierarchy:
Words

Phrases

CLAUSES

(12) Think of this pyramid as an ascending scale of desirability and crispness. If you can say
the same thing in a phrase instead of a clause you have made the writing more compact:

Instead of saying: “The man who was sitting in the bleachers caught the ball.”
You could say: “The man sitting in the bleachers caught the ball.”
Or perhaps: “The man in the bleachers caught the ball.”

If you can get rid of a phrase using a single word qualifier, so much the better.

Instead of saying: “The team that wore the uniforms which were purple and gold.”
You could say: “The team wore purple and gold uniforms.”

(13) Sentence combining we could compare to taking aluminum cans to the recycler. The
more you can compact and compress, the more you can cart in one vehicle, and the more you can
profit. Think of sentence combining in your essays as the same process: getting rid of excess air.

Coordination

(14) The most basic combining technique we call coordination. When we want to couple
items of like or parallel significance together, we link them by coordination.
I like both work and play, leisure and activity.
(15) Coordination draws equal attention to two or more ideas:
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How to Coordinate:

(16) 1. Use a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, so, yet) to combine words
and phrases.

Joe burst through the line and forced Laettner to eat the ball.

Laettner cried out for mercy and threw himself at the referee’s feet.

(17) 2. Use a coordinating conjunction and a comma to coordinate independent clauses


(word groups that can stand alone as sentences)

Laettner was about to receive a technical, so he begged for mercy.


Laettner cried out for mercy, but the referee did not listen.

(18) 3. Use a semicolon to coordinate independent clauses (but be careful not to


overuse the semicolon and never use it with another and)

Laettner cried out for mercy; the referee did not listen.

I swung the bat; I missed the ball.

(19) The first combining pattern a child learns consists of basic coordinational patterns:

I took my fish pole, and I took Rover, and I took my Daddy, and I went fishing..

(20) Coordination brings like things together. When like grammatical units are brought
together, we suggest that the elements are Parallel. In Parallelism or parallel structure, nouns
must be coupled with nouns (bears, giraffes, and lions). Adjectives must be coupled with
adjectives (The day was cool, breezy, and damp.. Verbs must be coupled with verbs (We came
to fish, hunt, and swim). Verbals (nouns or adjectives derived from verbs) Sally enjoyed
singing, hiking, and dancing.
(21) Lack of parallelism (#30) on Dr. Maas’ chart comes from mixing the grammatical
elements:

*Today a secretary has to be attractive in appearance and a high intelligence

Today a secretary has to be attractive and intelligent.

The bad sentence combines an adjective and a noun, but the good sentence uses two
adjectives.
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* Alice enjoys sewing, cooking, skiing, and exciting dates.

Alice enjoys sewing, cooking, skiing, and dating.

In the bad sentence the writer combines three verbals and a noun, but in the good
sentence the writer uses all verbals.

(22) Sometimes elements which are grammatically parallel may not be logically parallel

*On the first day of class, we visited the Gym, the Cafeteria, the Dormitory, and
President Strickland.

Although all of the items coordinated are nouns, three identify buildings and one
identifies a person. We could improve the sentence by identifying four locations.

On the first day of class, we visited the gym, the cafeteria, the dorm, and the presidents
office (or President Strickland’s office.)

(23) We could summarize the requirements for coordination and parallelism as follows:

1. Coordinate elements must usually be in parallel grammatical form: Independent


clauses
with independent clauses, subjects with subjects, complements with complements,
verbs with verbs, adjectives with adjectives, etc.

2. Coordinate elements must appear in the proper order, usually in a series, with
appropriate punctuation

3. Coordinated elements may need to be joined with signal words (Coordinating


conjunctions - such as and, but, etc.)
4. Sometimes other signal words may also be needed, such as: of, the, in, if, who.

Subordination

(24) As a child matures, he learns that all things don’t have the same significance or
importance, but have to be put in levels of priority or importance. A photographer has to
compose his picture carefully, determining what is to be in the foreground and what is to be in
the background.

(25) To give unequal emphasis to two or more ideas, express the major idea in an
independent clause and place any minor ideas in phrases or subordinate clauses.
Subordinate clauses, which cannot stand alone, typically begin with one of the following words:
after, although, as, because, before, if, since, that, unless, until, when, whether, which, while,
who, whom, whose.
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Although Duke is favored to win the championship, they have choked before.

When Duke chokes, we will celebrate.

As Grandmother lost her sight, her hearing sharpened. Though her hearing
sharpened, Grandmother gradually lost her sight.

(26) You need to be careful which subordinating conjunction you use. They are not
interchangeable.

Although she was his wife, she stayed at the hotel.


Because she was his wife, she stayed at the hotel.
Before she was his wife, she stayed at the hotel.
Whenever she was his wife, she stayed at the hotel.

(27) We refer to sentences with the subordinate clause coming first as periodic sentences
because the tension is maintained until the final punctuation. If we put the main clause first and
follow it up by the subordinate clause, we have a loose sentence.

Periodic Sentences generally seem more emphatic.

After Thello entered the game, Texas College gained 20 points.


After the tornado appeared, the farmer lost his grain crop.

(28) Now notice the same sentences written in the loose format.

Texas College gained 20 points after Thello entered the game.


The farmer lost his grain crop after the tornado appeared.

(29) I like to use the archery metaphor for the periodic sentence. Making the reader wait for
the main clause at the end is like creating tension by drawing back on the bow string. The
tension makes the arrow strike its target with more emphasis. Writing a loose sentence
resembles bowling through a cowyard. After the initial impact, the ball loses momentum as it
picks up qualifiers.

(30) Many Freshman essays don’t use Subordination as a technique very well. Some
educators have become annoyed at what they refer to as Primer English because it suggests a
schoolboy’s reader.
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Symptoms of Inadequate Subordination


( Dr. Maas’ symbol is #49)

(31) 1. Strings of short choppy sentences

Beechwood is a park. It is in my home town. It is a cool, shady park. I knew it as a


child. Then I went on many picnics there.

Now notice the same set of sentences properly subordinated:

(32) When (subordinating conjunction) I was a child, I went on many picnics to


Beechwood, a cool, shady park ( (appositive) in ( Preposition) my home town.

Notice that subordination combined five choppy clauses into one smooth
subordinated clause..

(33) 2. Excessive use of and and so to join sentences (or to begin sentences.)

*Louise was tired of listening to the concert and it was dark enough that her
grandmother couldn’t see her, and so she slipped out into the lobby.

(34) Notice how subordination gets rid of the excessive ands. One part of the sentence is
selected as the main clause as the other elements are subordinated to it.

Since (subordinating conjunction) Louise was tired of listening to the concert, she
slipped past her grandmother in (preposition) the dark, into (preposition) the lobby.

(35) Here is a particularly annoying example from a student essay:

The machine has keys and a tape of ribbon and the pressure on the keys makes them
rise and strike the ribbon and the ribbon strikes the paper and an imprint remains on the
paper and it is that of the key.

(36) Look at how subordination improves the example:

The machine has keys and a tape of carboned ribbon. When (subordinating
conjunction) the keys are struck, they rise, hitting (participle) the ribbon. The impact
carries the ribbon to the paper, leaving (participle) the imprint of (preposition) the key
on
(preposition) the paper.

(37) 3. Repeated use of This and That as subjects suggests another symptom of inadequate
subordination.
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(38) One of the most frequent signs of inadequate subordination is the repeated subject,
especially the word This needlessly, often vaguely carrying on as the subject of a new sentence.
Pronouns like This, It, That, and Which are often used colloquially, to refer to a general idea.

(39) Deciding what to subordinate in what patterns is one of the most complicated and
difficult tasks in writing.

(40) Compare the descriptions of the same phenomenon. It all depends on what you consider
and what you consider the ground.

There is a girl .
She is wearing a green hat.

The girl in the green hat. (The second clause is subordinated to the first clause by
means of a prepositional phrase. I have gotten rid of one clause.)

The girl wearing a green hat. (The second clause is subordinated to the first clause by
means of a participial phrase.)

The girl who wears a green hat. (The second sentence is subordinated to the first
sentence by means of a relative or wh clause.)

The green hat on the girl. (The first clause is subordinated to the second clause by means
of a prepositional phrase.)

The girl’s green hat. (The first clause is subordinated to the second clause by means of
the apostrophe - a whole clause is wiped out by one little punctuation.)

The green hat which the girl is wearing. (The first sentence is subordinated to the second
by means of a relative or wh clause.)

Notice that in all cases, the choice of subordination depended upon what one wanted to
emphasize as the figure and what one wanted to emphasize as the ground.

(41) At this point I’d like you all to perform a little exercise. On a blank sheet of paper, I’d
like you to rewrite the following paragraph, using the sentence combining techniques we have
use in this unit:
Aluminum is a metal. It is abundant. It has many uses. It comes from bauxite. Bauxite
is an ore. Bauxite looks like clay. Bauxite contains aluminum. It contains several other
substances. Workers extract these other substances from the bauxite. They grind the
bauxite. They put it in tanks. Pressure is in the tanks. The other substances form a mass.
They remove the mass. They use filters. A liquid remains. They put it through several
processes. It finally yields a chemical. The chemical is powdery. It is white. The
chemical is aluminum. It is a mixture. It contains aluminum. It contains oxygen.
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Workers separate the aluminum from the oxygen. They use electricity. They finally
produce a metal. The metal is light. It has a luster. The luster is bright.. The luster is
silver.
Roy O’Donnell, Ph.D., University of Georgia.

Sentence Combining Exercises

The Participle: The participle we define as an adjective made from a verb.

The dog barks.


The dog bites. Barks, bites , and cries are all verbs.
The boy cries.
By adding the ending ing , we can turn the verbs into adjectives
called participles, enabling us to combine the three short
choppy sentences. Participles, and gerunds (which we will
study shortly) are called verbals because they are made from verbs. Participles are verbs turned
into adjectives, while gerunds are nouns made from verbs. Both use the ing ending.

The barking dog bit the crying boy.


Combine the two or more sentences into one sentence using at least one participle. For
extra practice, combine them again but in a different manner.

Example: John was standing by the road. John saw a car go by.
Standing by the road, John saw a car go by.

1. John forgot his promise. John went to the party without me.
2. John saw his sister. His sister was eating popcorn.
3. John watched the boys. The boys were playing soccer.
4. Cindy plays the piano in the afternoons. Cindy dreams about her boyfriend.
5. My boyfriend ate the whole cake. My mother saw my boyfriend.
6. They have no money. They can’t go to the movies.
7. John graduates next Thursday. John has finished his classes.
8. John heard the people in the street. The people in the street were singing.
9. We were really hungry. We made far too much food.
10. Grandmothers like to watch their children. The children open presents.
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The Relative Pronoun: Relative pronouns consists of a small group of noun substitutes
(including who, whom, whose, that, which, what, whoever, whomever, whichever, whatever)
used to introduce subordinate clauses.

In the following exercises, use the correct relative pronoun to join the sentences together.
Example: I know the boy. The boy stole the car.
I know the boy who stole the car.

1. I will clean my room. I made my room dirty yesterday.


2. They don’t like the rabbits. Rabbits eat the lettuce from the garden.
3. The crazy people all yelled at the moon. The crazy people live in the asylum.
4. Granny will drop the laundry. Granny was carrying the laundry to the washroom.
5. The shoes fit. You bought the shoes at the mall yesterday.
6. Follow the yellow brick road. The road leads to the magic castle.
7. The people live at the house. The people made pizza for dinner.
8. Gorgeous George spilled the beans. Gorgeous George didn’t get any dinner.
9. Bob came over to our house. Bob’s television is broken.
10. Landslides happen in the mountains. It rains a lot in the mountains.

The Gerund: the gerund is a verb turned into a noun, using the same ending ing as the other
verbal we studied, the participle: the verb turned into an adjective.

John eats hamburgers all day long


John enjoys life when he eats hamburgers.

Eating hamburgers all day long is John’s way of enjoying life.


John says eating is enjoying.

Combine the two or more sentences into one sentence using at least one gerund.

1. I am angry about it. John went to the party without me.


2. He said they would do something at the party. They were playing Go Fish at the party.
3. My uncle likes it. My uncle stays up late to watch old movies.
4. Grownups don’t like it. Children throw Jell-O in restaurants.
5. My boyfriend ate the whole cake. My mother was really mad at it.
6. They spent all their money. They will be poor.
7. John’s graduation is next Thursday. His mother is really happy about it.
8. Tommy found the key. It saved us a whole lot of trouble.
9. We didn’t eat the bananas. The bananas were old. We made a cake from bananas.
10. Grandmothers never mind it. Grandmothers buy presents for grandchildren.
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The Appositive: The appositive is a word or group of words renaming the subject.

Dr. Glenda Carter is the Executive Vice President.


Dr. Carter spoke to the Hallsville Rotary Club.

Exercises for Appositive


Combine the following pairs of sentences using the Appositive.

1. Gene Autry named his horse “Champion.” His horse was a Strawberry Roan.
2. The movie was produced by Alfred Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock was a masterful artist in
his own right.
3. The Pittsburgh symphony is a played a Rachmaninoff concert. It is a first class orchestra.
4. Kitty Russell gave Matt a knowing wink. She is the owner of the Longbranch.
5. Hillary Clinton threw a lamp at her cheating husband. She was the former first lady.
6. Richard Blackwell is the pastor of the Chapel C.M.E. Church. He graduated with high
distinction.
7. The rancher rode into Rimrock. He was a tall man with leathery skin.
8. Jay Leno made fun of Linda Tripp. He is a late night talk show host.
9. Rabbi Kahane was murdered by an Egyptian terrorist. Rabbi Kahane was the founder of
the J.D.L.
10. John Adams predicted a hail storm for Rusk. He is a meteorologist for Channel 56.

A preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence. In itself, a word like
"in" or "after" is rather meaningless and hard to define in mere words. A prepositional phrase
begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun.

Exercises for the Prepositional Phrase:

Combine the following pairs of sentences using the prepositional phrase.


The stop sign was behind the bushes.
The stop sign was hard to see.
The stop sign behind the bushes was hard to see.

1. There was a stain in the middle of the carpet. It was difficult to remove.
2. The spittoon was in the corner. It was filled to the brim.
3. The man was from Laramie. He had a scar on his forehead.
4. The student was in the cafeteria. He threw his burritos on the floor.
5. There was a legend of Superstitious Mountain. This legend scared away would-be
prospectors.
6. The bad guys were across the corral. They lit the barn on fire.
7. The stagecoach was out of Dodge City. It was four hours late.
8. The tumbleweed slammed into the buckboard. The buckboard was at the fork of the road.
9. The painting looked crooked. It was on the dining room wall.
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10. The camper found his way out of the woods by following the sun. He was without a
compass.

Exercises for the Subordinate Clause


The Subordinating Conjunction: The subordinating conjunction places one clause in a
dependent or less emphatic relationship.

I swung the bat.


I missed the ball.

When I swung the bat, I missed the ball.

Combine the following pairs of sentence using the subordinating conjunction.

1. The professor was preoccupied. The sneaky student stole the test.
2. The gunman had a two hour’s head start. He couldn’t outrun the posse.
3. The student studied for the exam. He still felt unprepared.
4. The blizzard raged. The renegades hid in the cave.
5. Dr. Maas ardently called for regular attendance. Several students decided to defy his
admonitions because of peer pressure and stupidity.
6. The stage had not arrived. The marshal had assumed a holdup had taken place.
7. John Adams forecast sunny skies. The clouds moved in with a vengeance.
8. The motorcyclist hit the patch of ice. He lost control and crashed into a guardrail.
9. The garrison slept. The apaches climbed over the wall.
10. Joan received the Wal-Mart scholarship. She was able to go back to college in the fall.
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Study Questions for


Composition: First Things First Sentence Combining

1. Identify two of the most basic sentence patterns of the English language. 01:01
2. What is another name for a “basic sentence pattern”? 01:02
3. How does a student mistakenly create a fused sentence or a run on? 01:04
4. How does a student mistakenly create a comma splice? 01:05
5. What analogy or metaphor does Dr. Maas use to indicate the inappropriateness of the
comma splice? 01:05
6. List the seven coordinating conjunctions. 01:07
7. What is the difference between coordination and subordination? 01:07, 08
8. Identify six subordinating conjunctions. 01:08
9. What is a participle? 02:09
10. How is it formed? 02:09
11. What is an appositive? 02:09
12. Give an example of an apposition. 02:09
13. Identify the three basic methods of sentence combining. 02:10
14. What is the main rule of thumb in sentence combining? 02:11
15. In what way can we think of the pyramid as an ascending scale of crispness or
desirability?
02:12
16. Explain the recycling metaphor as applied to sentence combining. 02:13
17. Explain the process of coordination. 02:14
18. For what kind of ideas can we use for coordination? 02:15
19. Explain the three methods we use to coordinate words, clauses and sentences.
03:16,17,18
20. Identify and illustrate the first combining pattern a child learns. 03:19
21. What does it mean when we say grammatical units are parallel? 03:20
22. How does a student mistakenly write something that has lack of parallelism? 03:21
23. Give an illustration of lack of parallelism. 03:21
24. Explain and illustrate how sentence elements can be grammatically parallel but not
logically parallel. 04:22
25. Summarize the four basic requirements for coordination and parallelism. 04:24
26. Why does the writer have to use subordination? 04:25
27. Why does the writer have to exercise care in his selection of a subordinating conjunction?
05:26
28. Explain the difference between a loose and periodic sentence. 05:27
29. Illustrate the difference between a loose and periodic sentence with an example. 05:28
30. Explain the archery and bowling metaphor as applied to periodic and loose sentence?
05:29
31. Explain and illustrate the style called Primer English. 05:30
32. Identify and illustrate the three symptoms of inadequate subordination. 06:31,33,37
33. Using two kernel sentences, combine them by means of a prepositional phrase. 07:40
34. Using two kernel sentences, combine them by means of a participial phrase. 07:40
35. Using two kernel sentences, combine them by means of a relative clause. 07:40
37. Using two kernel sentences, combine them by means of an appositive. 07:40
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