Sentence Patterns

Simple Sentence: (one independent clause):

Simple sentences give clarity, emphasis or variety to writing. For example: I had always dreamed of becoming a world-famous opera singer. I failed.

Compound sentence: two or more independent clauses joined usually by a conjunction (and, but for, or, nor, yet, either...or, neither...nor, not only...but [also], both...and). For example: Today I got up early and went for a walk.

Complex sentence: an independent clause combined with two or more dependent clauses (clauses with a subject and finite verb which cannot stand alone). For example: When I was eight I fell in love with the girl next door.

NB Do not put the main idea in the dependent (subordinate) clause.

When they had great hopes, the students began the course.XX

When they began the course, the students had great hopes. OK

Compound-complex sentence: one or more dependent clauses added to two or more independent clauses.

Snow had fallen and the road had become slippery, forcing us to stop to put on our chains.

Prepositional phrase: Putting the prepositional phrase at the beginning of the sentence gives emphasis to the words in the prepositional phrase.

In the opinion of many experts, nuclear power is simply too dangerous.

Verbal phrase:

Controlled for many years by his mother, Takeshi finally left home and moved to another town.

Absolute phrase: Modifies the entire idea in the main clause.

The Prime Minister, his popularity on the rise, decided to call a quick election.

Apposition: Is repeating a word or phrase that comes before in different terms.

The Queen of Great Britain, Elizabeth II, recently visited Japan.

Adjective cluster: Uses several parallel adjectives to add meaning to a sentence.

Shizuoka Prefectue, green, warm, and sunny, is a lovely place to live.

Adverb Cluster: Uses several parallel adverbs to add emphasis.

The ninja moved smoothly, silently, and quickly towards the house.

Emphatic word: Angrily, he stormed out of the house.

Parallelism: (See the page on Parallelism for further information and practice exercises)

Nouns: Radio and television are two of the twentieth century's most influential inventions.

Verbs: They have revolutionized communication and improved our knowledge of other parts of the world.

Adjectives: Immediate, visual, on-the-spot coverage of all sorts of news events is now commonplace.

Verbal phrases: Millions of viewers and listeners, working in factories and relaxing at home, rely on radio and television.

Prepositional phrases: Television has changed the course of politics, of education, and even of history.

Dependent Clauses: We can scarcely imagine a world where we could not listen to radio or where we could not watch television.

NB The parallel words or phrases must be grammatically parallel. Slogans like "Comfortable and Safety" are not parallel because comfortable is an adjective and safety is a noun.