COMBINING SENTENCES
We can combine two or more sentences into a
single sentence. We may do this because sentences are closely related in
meaning and belong together, and because it is boring to read a series of short
sentences that have a similar structure. (The preceding sentence, by the way,
is a combination of 4 sentences -- can you find them?) When we talk about
combining sentences, we will often use the word clause which is a
group of words containing a subject and a verb. So, we will say that the
sentence I know you and you know me. contains two clauses rather than
saying that it contains two sentences. A sentence that contains only one clause
is called a simple sentence.
PUNCTUATION: Sentences can be combined by using special punctuation marks. We
know that a period [ . ] question
mark [ ? ] and exclamation point [ ! ] are used at the end of a sentence, so they
cannot be used for combining sentences. We also know that
a comma [ , ] is not strong enough to connect 2 sentences.
(If you use a comma to try to connect 2 sentences you will have a type
of run-on sentence called a comma splice, which is not
acceptable.)So what kinds of punctuation marks can be used to connect
sentences? There are 3 punctuation marks that are stronger than a comma but
weaker than a period, question mark, or exclamation point. These are
the dash [ -- ] colon [ : ]
and semi-colon [ ; ].
A dash is used to add more information about
some part of your sentence. It is rather informal and although you may see it
when you read, it is better to avoid this punctuation in your writing.
A colon is also used to add more information and
especially to give examples of something in the sentence. What follows a colon
may be a clause He is a great athlete: he plays soccer, baseball and
basketball. or a group of words that cannot stand by themselves He
plays many sports: soccer, baseball and basketball.
A semi-colon is used to connect clauses and is
the most important punctuation mark for combining sentences. It can be used
alone to connect clauses He's not heavy; he's my brother. It can also
be used to connect clauses together with special linking words such
as however, morover, therefore which grammar books
call conjunctive adverbs I think; therefore, I am. Remember, it
is the semi-colon and not the conjunctive adverb that connects the clauses.
Quotation marks [ " " ]
and parentheses [ ( ) ] are used to insert one sentence inside of
another sentence, but this is not really sentence combination and will not be
discussed here.
COORDINATION: Coordination is a way of adding sentences together. In this type
of sentence (grammar books call it a compound sentence) the 2 or more
sentences (clauses) which are combined are equal partners. One clause is not
more important than the other grammatically. Words that connect clauses in this
way are called coordinating conjunctions and the most common ones
are: and, or, but, so.
And is used to join clauses that contain additional
information I bought a ticket and I got
on the bus.
Or is used to join clauses
that contain choices or alternatives Write me a letter or send an e-mail message.
But is used to join clauses that contain opposing ideas I arrived early but no one was there.
So is used to join clauses that contain ideas of cause and
effect The jacket didn't fit so I
took it back to the store.
SUBORDINATION: Subordination is a way of combining sentences that makes one
sentence more important than the other. One sentence is under the other
sentence (submeans under). Sentences that use subordination (grammar books call
them complex sentences) have a main clause or independent clause and one
or more subordinate clauses or dependent clauses).
One or more of when, although, if(called subordinating
conjunctions) or such words as who, what, that (called relative
pronouns). Depending on its function, a subordinate clause can be classified as
a:
noun clause -- a subordinate clause used like a
noun (it can be a subject or object) I don't know what you are
talking about
adjective clause a subordinate clause that
modifies or gives information about a noun I read the letter that
was on your desk
adverb clause a subordinate clause that
functions like an adverb I will call you after I get back from the
movie
REDUCTION: We can
go one step beyond reducing one of the sentences to a subordinate clause. We
can reduce it to less than clause. We can reduce it to a phrase (a
group of words without both a subject and verb). A sentence may be reduced to a:
participial phrase The boy, scared
by the movie, began to cry. The boy was scared by the movie. The boy began
to cry
gerund phrase Studying for the test increased
his confidence. He studied for the test. He felt confident
infinitive phrase She was excited to see the movie
star in the restaurant. She saw the movie star in the restaurant. She
was excited
prepositional phrase The story in the newspaper was
interesting. There was a story in the newspaper. The story was interesting
APPOSITION: In apposition, we take a word or phrase and
place it in a parallel position to a noun in the sentence. An appositive is
like a
parenthetical statement surrounded not by parentheses but by commas
Sara, the most serious student in the
class, always did her homework. Sara was the most serious student in the
class. Sara always did her homework.
