Grammar Clinic 1 Presented by Sophie Sunderland Learning Skills Associate www.studysmarter.uwa.edu.au study.smarter@uwa.edu.au
Aims: Start with a quick exercise Discuss difficulties Faulty parallelisms Sentence fragments Run on sentences Comma splices Apply your knowledge In this workshop we will be dealing with four aspects of sentence construction that are grey areas for many students. We ll cover more technical issues in Grammar Clinics 2 and 3. Stay tuned!! Remember that this is a workshop: not a lecture. You are expected and encouraged to ask questions, contribute to discussion and participate in activities.
The Theory: Grammar notes Points 1-4 below involve faulty grammar or punctuation; points 5-6 involve poor style. 1. Faulty parallelism: If you join items in a sentence that are similar or in a series, your reader will expect these items to share similar grammatical structures. Faulty parallelism occurs when items in a series, list or comparison don t share the same grammatical form. 2. Sentence fragments: Sentences need to include at least one independent clause, which contains a subject (a topic) and a predicate (a message), and which represents a complete thought. A sentence fragment occurs when sentence punctuation (capitalisation at the beginning and a full stop at the end) is used, but the thought is incomplete. The subject and/or predicate may be missing, or a conjunction (a word that joins two parts of a sentence) may be used, but the second part of the sentence is missing. 3. Run on sentences: When you include two or more independent clauses in the same sentence, you need to join them with a coordinating conjunction (and, but, yet, so, or, for, nor) or with a semicolon (;). Alternatively, you can break them into two or more sentences. A run on sentence occurs when you don t do join or punctuate them in these ways. 4. Comma splices: When you include two or more independent clauses in the same sentence, you need to join them with coordinating conjunctions or semicolons, or separate them into separate sentences. A comma splice occurs when you include two or more independent clauses in the same sentence, using only a comma to separate them. 5. Choppy sentences: To make your writing lively, vary sentence patterns and sentence length. Make some sentences long and others shorter. Make some simple (one independent clause only) and others compound (two or more independent clauses joined with coordinating conjunctions); some complex (two clauses or more clauses joined with subordinating conjunctions - like when, because, although - or relative pronouns like who, which, that) and others compound-complex (more than two clauses joined in different ways). Choppy sentences occur when you include a number of short, simple sentences all in a row. 6. Stringy sentences: When you write, make your writing dynamic by emphasising important ideas in independent clauses. Put those that are less important into dependent clauses (clauses that begin with subordinating conjunctions), and those that are very minor into phrases (groups of words that don t have a subject-predicate structure). Don t string one independent clause after another, after another, after another! If you do, your sentences will be stringy.
Appendix: Independent and Dependent Clauses A clause is a group of words with its own subject and verb. There are TWO TYPES: An independent clause is a complete sentence because it has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. A dependent clause is part of a sentence, so it cannot stand alone. 1 Dependent clause ----------------------- Independent Clause In the great fire of London in 1666, For a period of one year before an election, half of London was burnt down. all office-seekers in the Roman Empire were obliged to wear a white toga. 1 1 Rozakis, Laurie. English Grammar for the Utterly Confused. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
The Theory: Coordination and Subordination 2 Coordination Sometimes you want to show that two or more ideas are equally important in a sentence. In such cases, you re looking to coordinate. Sentence coordination links ideas of equal importance. This process gives your writing balance by bringing together related independent clauses. Coordination involves using the right word or mark of punctuation to show different relationships between ideas. There are 4 different ways to coordinate sentence parts: 1. Use a coordinating conjunction 2. Use a pair of correlating conjunctions 3. Use a semicolon 4. Use a semicolon and a conjunctive verb 1. Coordinating Conjunction Coordinating Conjunction Meaning Function and in addition to to link ideas but however to contrast ideas for as a result to show cause nor negative to reinforce negative or choice to show possibilities so therefore to show result 2 Rozakis, Laurie. English Grammar for the Utterly Confused. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. pp132-138.
yet however to show contrast / difference 2. Use a pair of correlative conjunctions. Link sentences with a correlative conjunction if you want to show a balance between two independent clauses. For example: either or not only but also neither nor both and Umm, what s an independent clause? An independent clause is a complete sentence because it has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. 3. Use a semicolon. Link independent clauses with a semicolon to show that the ideas are of equal importance. A cause is what happens; the effect is the result. The mechanic adjusted the carburettor; Tina s car now runs smoothly. 4. Use a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb.* consequently furthermore therefore nevertheless as a result for example however nonetheless in addition eg. I adore chilli; unfortunately, it doesn t adore me! * A semicolon and conjunctive adverb todether indicate different relationships, depending on the conjunctive adverb. The relationships are chiefly examples, continuation, and contrast.
Subordination Subordination is connecting two unequal but related clauses with a subordinating conjunction to form a complex sentence. Coordination shows the relationship among equal independent clauses; subordination, in contrast, shows the relationship between ideas of unequal rank. When you subordinate one part of a sentence to another, you make the dependent clause develop the main clause. Subordination helps you develop your ideas, trace relationships among ideas, and emphasize one idea over the other. Therefore, you will want to use subordination to give your writing (and speech!) greater logic, coherence, and unity. Follow these 4 steps: 1. First choose the idea or clause you think is the most important 2. Them make this you main clause by adding a subject or verb, if necessary. Make sure the main clause expresses a complete idea, too. 3. Choose the subordinating conjunction that best expresses the relationship between the main clause and the dependent clause. 4. Decide whether to place the main clause or the dependent clause first. Here are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions: Subordinating Conjunctions as, because whether, rather than, than even if, if, unless, provided that though, even though, although so, so that, in order that, that wherever, where since, until, when, while, after, before, once Relationship cause, reason choice condition contrast effect, result location time
Example: Not subordinated: It snowed all night. School was closed the following day. Subordinated: Because it snowed all night, school was closed the following day. Since it snowed all night, school was closed the following day. Summary: Coordinate when you want to link related independent clauses. Subordinate when you want to put the most important idea in the main clause.
More resources The following titles are available at the Study Smarter Resource area (Guild Village Second Floor). You can borrow books for up to two weeks: plenty of time to improve your grammar skills! Study Smarter Ref: BB 200 Cazort, Douglas. Under The Grammar Hammer: The 25 Most Important Grammar Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Los Angeles: Lowell House, 1997. Oshima, Alice and Ann Hogue. Writing Academic English. 4 th ed. New York: Pearson, 2006. Raimes, Ann. Grammar Troublespots: A Guide for Student Writers. 3 rd ed. New York: Cambridge UP, 2004. Rozakis, Laurie. English Grammar for the Utterly Confused. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. AND find useful survival guides here: http://www.studentservices.uwa.edu.au/ss/learning/study ing_smarter/library/survival_guides/building_blocks_survi val_guides