Date post: | 13-Jul-2015 |
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How to write more interesting sentences of varied length and structure
› by avoiding some words and constructions
› by using pronouns correctly in good sentences reflexive pronouns
reciprocal pronouns
by using verbals infinitives
gerunds
participles
by using correct punctuation well comma use in restrictive/non-restrictive phrases
using the dash effectively
Which works better?
It was because she was often absent and
rarely did her homework that she failed.
She failed because she was often absent
and rarely did her homework.
There or this followed by a linking verb. Avoid this construction in a paper. There is a weak pronoun. There is not the subject – something else is. Find it, replace it, and be done with it.
e.g. --There is a place I like to go to get gelato when I am in Rome.
Both of these sentences are more effective:
--When I am in Rome, I like to get gelato at Guiseppi’s!
--Guiseppi’s in Rome has the very best gelato in the city.
The word not leads to wordiness. The English vocabulary is rich with negative words. Beware the cheapening of your words by using not.
Not happy – unhappy, distressed, Be exact. Not on time – late, tardy…
Not healthy – sick, ill, infirm…
Not allowed – refused
Not up for it – ill prepared, unprepared
Not to be trifled with – dangerous
Not able – unable
The reason is because… can always be replaced by because or some other suitable word. Beware of all the forms.
The reason I write is because I need money. – I write because I need money. (or I write to eat.)
John said the reason he is late is because his car doesn’t work well. – John is late because his car is unreliable. (or An unreliable car made John tardy).
The fact that… must always be revised –often omitted.
The fact that I’m here shows that I love the opera. – My presence shows my love for the opera.
It’s just the fact that I’m fed up with talking about taxes. – I hate talking about taxes.
I’d like to call your attention to the fact that I still haven’t been paid for my work. –
Let me remind you that I still haven’t been paid for my work.
Sin
gu
lar Myself
Yourself
Herself
Himself
ItselfP
lura
l Ourselves
Yourselves
themselves
IYouSheHeIt
WeYouThey
COMMON USES
1. We use reflexive pronouns when the subject
and object in a sentence are the same, as
in the following examples.
• The woman saw herself in the
mirror and smiled.
• If you don't know him, you should introduce
yourself.
2. In imperative sentences with reflexive
pronouns, use:
Yourself when the subject is singular.
Don`t push yourself so hard, Tom.
Yourselves when the subject is plural.
Don`t push yourselves so hard, guys.
3. Reflexive pronouns are also used to stress or emphasize a noun, in which case they are most often placed immediately after the noun, as in the following example sentences.
• Money itself can't buy happiness.
• The company president himself made the announcement.
4. The use of "by + reflexive pronoun"
signifies that the performer of the action
had no help, as in this example
sentence.
• She made the dress by herself.
However, "be + reflexive pronoun"
means to act or behave in an unusual
manner.
Just be yourself at your interview.
Use for two people
Each other
We
You
They
Indicatereciprocicalrelationship
Use for more than two people
One another
Examples of usage:
•Tom and Sara met each other at work.
•We all told one another about our jobs.
•Fred and Jane blamed each other Fred and Jane blamed themselves.
With a learning partner, choose the right reciprocal pronoun:
1. All of the members of the team have a lot of respect for (each other or one another).
2. Mary and John love (each other or one another)so much.
3. So many students arguing with (each other or one another) will never solve anything.
A verbal is a word formed from a verb but functioning as a different part of speech. We can use verbals to improve and clarify our writing.
Prince Valiant was dejected. He rode through the crowd with his head down.
The Prince rode to the castle.
A present participle is an –ing form of a verb.
Riding dejectedly through the crowd, Prince Valiant made his way to the castle.
Notice this says the same as the three sentences above, but the new sentence is much more effective. It says just what we want to say, but uses fewer, more interesting words to do so.
Junie was not very excited about school.
There weren’t very many things she cared
about at school.
There was one thing she wanted to learn
and that was to read.
Reading was one of the few things Junie
wanted to learn at school.
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION is included in the sentence without commas:
The boy in the red hat is my brother.
NON-ESSENTIAL INFORMATION requires commas:
That boy, the one in the red hat, is my brother.
Think of the commas surrounding non-essential information like handles—you can pick these phrases up and remove them from the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence.
Where do the commas go?
I do not understand and I never will how to
ride a motorcycle.
Many people wonder and will always
wonder how Stonehenge was constructed.
You can recognize sentence modifiers
easily because they are phrases and
clauses that add something to the entire
sentence, but do not function as a
complete sentence by themselves.
As I said…
If I could…
Because of…
here’s how to decide!--locate the main subject and verb--If the phrase comes before the main SUBJECT and VERB, use a comma. Modifiers do not require a comma if they come after the main subject and verb.
Because I love to read, I will volunteer at
the library.
I will volunteer at the library because I love
to read.
Use commas to set off parenthetical
expressions.
• A parenthetical expression is a side remark
that adds information. By the way, for
example, however, I think, and to tell the truth are all common parenthetical
expressions.› Of course, I believe that your excuse is real.
› To tell you the truth, I have never told a lie in my life.
› I would, for example, always tell my parents the truth.
The platypus is the oddest mammal. It has a
duckbill instead of a nose. It has sensors
inside its duckbill. Those sensors allow it to
forage and hunt for food. The platypus has
spurs in its two hind legs. The male platypus
has poison in the spurs. Female platypus
lays eggs. The female platypus lactates
through her skin to feed her young.
Platypuses are ornery, territorial mammals.
› Notice anything?
All of the sentences are structured in the exact
same way: Subject, Verb, Object. Subject, Verb,
Object.
There is no rise or fall in the tension of the
language: the sentences don’t urge the reader
forward. They just seem to sit there on the page.
The paragraph drags on and on.
Although the common active voice sentence
structure is Subject Verb Object, a writer can use
phrases and clauses to create variety and
interest in their active writing.
Adjective clause: modifies a noun or
pronoun
› Usually introduced by a relative pronoun:
who / whom / that / which / whoever /
whomever.
The bear who was looking out his window began to
wonder about life in the wild.
That mustache, which is scraggly at best, looks like an eyebrow from here.
Adverbial clause: any clause that modifies a verb by expressing the cause, comparison, condition, manner, result or time of the verb. › Here are some signal words or phrases: as / as if /
rather than / although / even if / except that / if only / if / in case / where / wherever / so / after / unless / as soon as / before / since / until / till / whenever / still
As soon as your brother returns we can leave.
In case there is an emergency, I have left you my cell phone number
The active voice pattern is highlighted in green
Infinitive phrases can be adjectival and adverbial› Adjectival: Those mice are working together to hijack this
hayride!› Adverbial: Brian was doomed to look awkward for two more
weeks, or until his hair grows back.
Prepositional phrases can be adjectival and adverbial› Adjectival: Those girls in the next room are too loud.› Adverbial: The handsome cab rode past in a flash of white.
Notice how the italicized phrases—working as adjectives and adverbs—give the sentences extra information or action?
The platypus is the oddest animal. Even though it lays eggs it is still considered a mammal because it lactates through its skin to feed its young. Rather than a nose, it has a duckbill made of cartilage. Inside the duckbill is a cluster of sensors that allow the platypus to forage and hunt for food. Although both males and females have spurs on their hind legs, only the spurs on the male platypuses have poison inside. Ornery and territorial, male platypuses will fend off any intruders.
The platypus is the oddest mammal.
It has a duckbill instead of a nose. It
has sensors inside its duckbill. Those
sensors allow it to forage and hunt for
food. The platypus has spurs in its two
hind legs. The male platypus has
poison in the spurs. Female platypus
lays eggs. The female platypus
lactates through her skin to feed her
young. Platypuses are ornery,
territorial mammals.
With a few inversions—such as in the final sentence—and a few adjectives and adverbs, the same active voice paragraph comes alive. Suddenly the reader can see just how odd the platypus is to the writer!
› The writer has set up a pattern of contrasting the normal characteristics of a mammal with those of a platypus:
―instead of a nose it has a duckbill‖
―instead of a live birth, it lays eggs‖
Sandra loves to sing. She sings any time she
can. She is not a very good singer. Sandra
loves to dance. Sandra goes to school
across town. Sandra loves nature. She
loves to walk through the park on her way
to school. Sandra dances and sings on her
way to school.