The doctor X is sick.
After dinner, I X raced for
the television.
Last night, in a downtown alley,
three pumpkins X arrested a group of yuppie
vampires.
What have
we learned. We know that simple does not always mean short. What, then, does it
mean? Let me ask you a question. Did you notice that each sentence contained
one large bold X? You did? Good for you! Have a cookie.
That X
marks the spot where the subject and the verb connected. If a sentence includes
only one subject - verb connection point, it is a simple sentence. Simple, eh?
Let's
examine a few more simple sentences:
The rats, cats, and spiders X
ran across the bed and into the bathroom.
The prospector and her friends X
sulked, shuffled, and sifted for three straight
days.
Yes, I
know the first sentence has three subjects. And I also realize that the second
sentence has two subjects and three verbs. Yet in both sentences there exists
but one connection point between the subject part of the sentence and the verb
part of the sentence. Thus, these are simple sentences.
People
sometimes sneer at simple sentences. They try not to use them. This is a pity
because simple sentences, used properly, can be very powerful. Later, we will
show you why.
I often tell students that a sentence lives or dies in the first four words. This is a bit of an exaggeration, but not so much so that you can safely ignore the warning. The real purpose of my mild hyperbole is to get you to pay attention to the way you write what you write, and since the basic unit of that writing is the sentence, that will be where we place our focus – for now!
The simple sentence is the easiest to write correctly, but it is likely the hardest to use well. As you already know, a simple sentence has a single subject – verb nexus:
Sentence 4 is a complex sentence. We’ll get back to that later. For now, notice that it has two nexus points. Therefore, it isn’t simple.
Way back in elementary school, many students decided that good sentences were long complex sentences – the longer the better! Add to this the other myth – big words are better than short ones – and you quickly discover why so much writing is so bad. It’s overly complicated and badly worded.
There are reasons why simple sentences are usually – but not always – short. They tend to state one or two ideas strongly. Used effectively in a paragraph, they can be very emphatic, especially if they are surrounded by longer sentences. Their relative brevity seems to force writers to pick the perfect words.
Another nice feature about simple sentences is they are relatively goof-proof. Writers tend to place the subject or subjects close to the front, and that is one of the best ways to avoid problems later on. And perhaps because they are working with a relatively short construction, writers also tend to use the real subject instead of one of the more common fakes: a person, everyone, one, you, and other words that will get a writer into trouble very quickly. We will talk about these troublesome subjects in greater depth later.
Occasionally, simple sentences can dominate a paragraph, but this requires a fairly skillful writer. It certainly requires a good “ear”. A paragraph composed entirely of simple sentences is heavily dependent on “tone” or “rhythm”.
Consider the following:
It had been a long dry day. The wind had sucked the life out of every living thing. The sun had baked the ground harder than concrete. Nothing moved. Even the bugs and the children were quiet. (37)
Each sentence is contributing a detail to a larger picture. The use of simple sentences also emphasizes the monotony of the scene. While this style is great in a descriptive paragraph, it would rarely be appropriate in a formal expository passage.
That said, here’s an example of a great paragraph written entirely with simple sentences. This could be the introduction to a fairly formal essay, or even the first seven sentences of a longer paragraph:
He writes, at most, 750 words a day. He writes and rewrites. He polishes and repolishes. He works in solitude. He works with agony. He works with sweat. And that is the only way to work at all. (38)
Still, the most common use of simple sentences is demonstrated in the following:
Sentences 1 and 5 are simple. Note the power achieved in sentence 1 and the lasting impact created by the simple structure, careful punctuation, and unusual word order of sentence 5. Sentence 4 is pretending to be a simple sentence, but in fact, the words, “It is” have been “ellipsed” – removed – from the beginning.
Have you
ever watched people who sit in their cars, picking their noses and nodding
their heads to the sound of the music from their radios? No? Try it. While you
watch, ask yourself which of the three separate actions is most important. To
the person watching, this may not be clear. Perhaps the music is the most
important idea. Perhaps the nose work is most crucial. Perhaps - and this is
the point I am making - each is equally important. With this in mind, examine
the following sentences:
She X played with the radio and
he X picked his nose.
She X will have to go to the
bank or the rats X will not get fed..
The thunder X thundered and
the rain X rained.
These
sentences are compound sentences, Each contains more than one subject - verb
connection, but there is a little more to it than that. Let's take out the
italicized words. By the way, they are called conjunctions. We are going to
replace the conjunctions with periods. What do we have now?
She X played with the radio. He X picked his nose.
She X will have togo to the bank. The rats X will not be fed.
The thunder X thundered. The rain X rained.
In each
case, we now have two simple sentences. We also have a mess. We have this mess
because the reader no longer knows how the two sentences are related. The
reader is confused. A confused reader is a nasty thing. In sentences 2 and 4,
the two actions/ideas seem to contradict each other. In sentence 1, we have no
idea whether the two actions are going on together or one after the other.
Sentence 3 just sounds dumb, and the sound of a sentence is important.
In other
words, these simple equally important sentences are more accurate and effective
if they are joined with conjunctions. When we join simple sentences in this
way, we have a compound sentence.
Let's make
this point using an analogy. Assume that you are in your room. Assume that you
have two feet. Now, get up and prepare to walk across your room. However,
before you do this, decide which of your two feet is more important. Assume
that you decide that the right foot rules. Finally, assume that whichever foot
rules should always be in front. Now, walk across your room while making sure
that the right foot is always in front of the left. I will wait while you do
this.
Now, three
things probably happened. First, if you followed instructions, you did not walk
across the room. You hopped, or, if you were feeling lazy, you shuffled.
Second, if anyone in your family heard or saw you do this, they now think you
are crazy, or crazier. Finally, you have learned that the two feet are equally
important.
This is
sometimes true of two separate but closely related ideas/actions. Therefore, as
you saw in the examples, writers will often use compound sentences. Sometimes,
they will join these sentences with commas or semi-colons.
His banners were raised; his hopes,
however, were not.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
This is called
parataxis but we are not going to let you do that yet. You are not old
enough. For now, when you create compound sentences, it is safer to rely on
those trusty conjunctions you've known and loved for so long: and, or, but,
neither ... nor, either ... or, not only ... but also. Isn't it nice to finally
know what those things are called?
Sit down!
Just because these are complex does not mean they are complicated. It's just
that the Gods of Grammar needed a name for this sentence pattern and decided
that they would be called complex. Do not question the GOGS. Let's examine a
few examples:
After the rain X had ended,
the trolls X came out to play.
If you X are driving to Wawa,
you X will likely run into a plague of locusts.
The Martians [who X arrived
on last night's shuttle ] X are now visiting the zoo.
We X are standing here in the
hail [ because our teacher X forgot the bus tickets.]
The idea [that the world X is
flat] X seems much more interesting than the alternative.
In each of
the above, we once again have two subject verb connection points. However, one
of the two actions/ideas is clearly more important than the other; it carries
the main idea. The writer has to let us know which is which. Writers do so by
making sure that the main idea could be a sentence on its own while the other
idea could not be so independent. If we separate the main idea from the other
idea, you will see what I mean:
After the rain X had ended (other
idea)
The trolls X came out to play. (the
main idea)
If you X are driving to Wawa (other
idea)
You X will likely run into a plague
of locusts. (the main idea)
Who X arrived on last night's
shuttle (other idea)
The Martians X are now visiting the
zoo. (the main idea)
We X are standing here in the hail. (the main idea)
because our teacher X forgot the bus
tickets (other idea)
That the world X is flat (other idea)
The idea X seems much more
interesting than the alternative. (main idea)
Get the
idea?
What do
you notice when you read the lines marked "other". You will notice
that although each contains a subject - verb connection, none of them is a
complete thought in itself. Each requires the addition of a main idea. The
"other" ideas are like a lost child in the middle of a mall,
screaming for its mommy or daddy to come and help it. And just like people
don't like screaming children, they don't like incomplete ideas pretending to
be sentences, which is what would have happened if we had put a period at the
end of any of the lines marked "other". What we need to do is find
the mommy or daddy idea and join it to the incomplete idea. When we do this, we
have created a complex sentence.
There are
many varieties of complex sentences. Once again, we will wait until you are a
little more mature before we show them to you.
If this
booklet were a mountain we were climbing, we would now be at the top. If it
were a tennis match, it would be taking place at Wimbledon. Isn't that amazing?
We've only done five pages and already you are working with the pros.
And even
this is easy! All a compound complex sentence requires is two main ideas and at
least one other idea that contains a subject - verb but which could not stand
on its own as a sentence.
The storm [that X had
threatened all day] X finally struck but the damage X
was minimal.
[If in the course of human events we X can find an example
[that we as a species X had acted with true compassion ] ], I X
would be forced to eat my words and a feeling of hope X would begin to compete with my cynicism.
The
underlined parts are main ideas. The parts in square brackets are the
"other" ideas. Again, let's separate them and you will be able to see
the difference.
That X had threatened all day
The storm X finally struck.
The damage X was minimal.
If, in the course of human events,we
X can find an example
That we, as a species, X had acted
with true compassion
I X would be forced to eat my words.
A feeling of hope X would begin to
compete with my cynicism..
As you can
see, each of the sentences has two main ideas and at least one other idea. When
we put them all together as we have, the result is a compound-complex sentence.
There! We
are done for now. Did that hurt? Of course not!
Read the following
paragraph. The sentences are numbered. Write out the numbers and indicate
whether the sentence following the number is simple, compound, complex, or
compound - complex:
1. We were
all hungry and the pizza was late. 2. Finally, just as we were about to eat the
goldfish, the doorbell rang. 3. It had arrived. 4. Hunger crazed hands pushed
money at the delivery boy. 5. Desperate feet rushed to the kitchen and crazed
fingers grabbed for napkins, plates, and forks. 6. Quickly we returned to the
living room where we had waited for so long and, reverently, we opened the box
that held our futures. 7. The smell of anchovies filled the room. 8. We sighed,
then we cried and then slowly, we died.
Identify
each of the following sentences as simple (S), compound (C), complex (X), or
compound-complex (CX):
1. The rain in Spain stays mainly on the
plain.
2. Although she knew that lying was wrong,
Salima also feared the consequences of the truth.
3. The rain persisted all day but the campers
spirits remained high.
4. Whenever the dogs bark twice and the cats
meow thrice, the Queen of England will fall and the King of France shall rise.
5. Into my nightmare came the Shadow!
6. Around them, thousands of elves and
several giraffes ate and drank until sunrise.
7. The school looked tough; the students
looked tougher.
8. After the referendum was over and the
results were in, the leaders of Quebec were clearly disappointed but the Prime
Minister of Canada was obviously relieved.
9. For some reason, people who want to know
what the weather will do sometimes listen to the forecasts.
10. You
may have noticed that the dependent group of words sometimes splits the main
idea.