techniques of sentence combination

8/6/2019 Techniques of Sentence Combination

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Techniques of SENTENCE COMBINATION

DISCOURSE MARKERSinENGLISH SENTENCESChristine Bauer-Ramazani

DISCOURSE MARKERS are used to combine clauses or to connect sentence elements. Eachdiscourse marker indicates a particular meaning relationship between two or more

clauses.

Four types ofDISCOURSE MARKERS are used in combining English sentences:

1. COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS(see I. below),

2. CONNECTORS(adverbials, conjunctive adverbs; see II. below),

3. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (see III. a + b below),

4. PHRASE LINKERS (prepositions; or ADJ + PREP; see IV. below).

Sentences consist ofCOMPOUND and COMPLEX sentences:

COMPOUNDSENTENCES (see I. and

II. below)

1. using CONJUNCTIONS (coordinatingconjunctions, double conjunctions)

2. using CONNECTORS (adverbials, conjunctive

adverbs)

COMPLEX

SENTENCES(see III. a. and b. below)

3. using SUBORDINATORS (subordinatingconjunctions)

Prepositions or Adjective + Preposition combinations introduce PHRASES(see IV. below)

I. COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (coordconj.): informally known as the FANBOYSor BOYFANS

Conjunction Meaning Conjunction Meaning

F = for

A = andN = nor

REASON

ADDITION

NEGATIVE

ADDITION

B = but

O = or

Y = yetS = so

CONTRAST, CONCESSION

CHOICECONCESSION; unexpectedresult

RESULT, CONSEQUENCE

Coordinating conjunctions are discourse markers thatjoin two INDEPENDENT clauses, which

are set off by a comma.

independent clause 1 , coordconj independent clause

2 .

S + V S + V

EX.: We arrived late, so we waited in the hall.

(coordconj)


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II. CONNECTORS (Adverbials, conjunctive adverbs)

Connectors are discourse markers that alsojoin two INDEPENDENT clauses, but with

a semicolon (;) or a period (.). They can occur in three positions in a sentence: initial

(beginning) position, medial (middle) position, and final (end) position. Goodwriters/speakers use the position of discourse markers to give particular emphasis to theelement that immediately precedes the connector. They also make sure that they vary theposition of the discourse markers to avoid monotony. The punctuation is different,

depending on the position of the connector.A. INITIAL (BEGINNING) POSITION:The connector is positioned at the

beginning of the second clause.independent clause 1 ; connector, independent clause 2 .

S + V S + V

independent clause 1 . Connector, independent clause 2 .

S + V S + VEX.: We were late for the lecture; therefore, we waited in the hall.

We were late for the lecture. Therefore, we waited in the hall.

B. MEDIAL (MIDDLE) POSITION:The connector is positioned in the middle of the

second clause, usually between subject and verb. In this case, the subject is emphasized

and contrasted.

independent clause 1 ; S , connector, V + C .

EX.: George and Harry are best friends. George spends his free time

reading twentieth century American short stories; Harry, on the other

hand, is more interested in sports and physical exercise.

C. FINAL (END) POSITION:The connector is positioned at the end of the second

clause.independent clause 1 ; S + V + C , connector.

EX.: George spends his free time reading twentieth century American

short stories; Harry is more interested in sports and physical

exercise, on the other hand.

MEANING RELATIONSHIPS expressed by connectors:

1. RESULT /

REASON

2.

CONTRAST3. ADDITION 4. EMPHASIS

______;therefore, ____

______;however,

______

______; inaddition,

______

______; in fact, _______

; thus, ; in contrast, ; furthermore, ; as a matter of fact,

;consequently,

; on the otherhand,

; moreover, ; indeed,

; as a result, ; instead, ; besides,

; hence, ; rather, ; additionally,


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REASON:

_____; for thisreason,

________

5.

CONCESSION(unexpected

result)

6. TIME 7. SIMILARITY 8. NEGATIVECONDITION

______; however,

_____

_______ . First,

_______

______; similarly,

______

______;

otherwise, _____

; nevertheless, . Second,______; likewise,

______

; nonetheless, . Afterward,

; still, . After that,

. Later,

. Then / Next,

9.NEGATIVE

EMPHASIS

10. MAIN

IDEA

11.

EXAMPLE

12.

RESTATEMENT

13.

CONCLUSION

____; on the

contrary,____

On the

whole,For example,

____; in other

words, _______In conclusion,

In general, For instance,; that means

(that)To conclude,

Generally, To illustrate, In summary,

Generallyspeaking,

To summarize,

As we haveseen,

In short,

III. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (SUB)

Subordinating conjunctions are discourse markers thatjoin a dependent (subordinate)

clause to an independent (main) clause. There are two patterns (a. and b.) forpositioning the dependent clause and therefore two patterns of punctuation.

a. independent clause SUB dependent clause .

S + V S + V

OR

b. SUB + dependent clause , independent clause .

SUB + S + V , S + V

EX.: a. We waited in the hall because we arrived late for the lecture.

b. Because we arrived late for the lecture, we waited in the hall.


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NOTE: With because it is recommended to identify the REASON and the RESULT firstin order to avoid a mix-up (incorrect meaning relationship):

a. RESULT because + REASON .

b. Because + REASON , RESULT .

Again, the SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS are used to signal

different MEANING RELATIONSHIPS.

1. REASON/CAUSE 2. CONTRAST3. CONCESSION (unexpecte

d result)4. TIME

because , while although afte

since , whereas even though before

as(usually used with a

comma in front in Pattern

a.)

even if when

due to the fact that despite the fact that whilenow that (though) since

in spite of the fact that as

(often used with a comma in

front in Pattern a.)as soon as

until

by the timethat

whenever

the next time

5. PURPOSE 6. CONDITION/RESULT

7. SIMILARITY 8.DESCRIP

TION/IDENTIFICATION

(Relative Pronouns)

so that If..., (then) just as who

so...that whether (or not) whom

such...that when whose

such a...that In case that which

Provided that that

Unless

IV. PHRASE LINKERS (prepositions orADJ + PREP combinations)

Phrase linkers are transitions that are often used at the beginning of a sentence.

_____________________ . PHRASE LINKER (NP) , S + V + C .(item #1) (item #2)

1. CONTRAST 2.REASON 3. ADDITION

In contrast to _____,_____

Because of _____,_____

In addition to_____, _____


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different from due to

unlike as a result of

4.SIMILARITY

5.

CONCESSION(unexpected

result)

6. TIME

Similar to _____,

_____

Despite _____,

_____

Before / after

_____, _____

like in spite of until

since

during

EX.: Due to our late arrival at the lecture, we had to wait in the hall.

(NP)

In contrast to western societies, eastern societies stress the importance of community .

(item #1) (item #2)

Before the work ofSigmund Freud, psychology was not considered an academic

subject.(NP)

Practice using discourse markers:GrammarCheck -- Transitions (multiple choice), Connectors in Context (fill-in the blank)

Problems that occur with sentence combination:Comma splices, run-on sentences,

and fragments. Click the link for explanations, exercises, and self-study quizzes. More practicefrom Grammar-Quizzes.com: Fragments--Recognizing Complete vs.Incomplete Sentences,

Identifying a Dependent Clause, and Edit the Sentences.

2005 Christine Bauer-Ramazani,Saint Michael's College. Last updated: February 16, 2011

techniques of sentence combination

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