Elementary Composition · Part 2

Exercise 13.--Two ideas are sometimes stated as of equal importance (compound sentence), when one is really dependent upon the other (complex sentence).

EXAMPLE. "I was on my way to school yesterday morning, and I met my cousin Raymond."

To revise such a sentence as this, decide which clause contains the main idea, and make this the principal clause, putting the subordinate idea in a subordinate clause.

E.g. "As I was on my way to school yesterday morning, I met my cousin Raymond."

Reconstruct the following sentences, making them complex instead of compound:--

1. The sun was hot, and we rested in the shade.

2. We visited Stratford, and here Shakspere lived.

3. The poor man was bent with age, and he staggered under the heavy load.

4. The old woman lived in a little cottage, and it stood on the edge of the woods.

5. I was walking along the country roads, and I saw some wild strawberries.

6. The little boy carried a bundle, and it seemed very heavy.

7. The night was chilly, and we built a fire in the grate.

8. I wished to pass away the time, and I read a newspaper.

9. He was very ambitious, and he wished to become President.

10. She struck a match, and it burned with a feeble light.

3. Variety in the Use of Sentences:--All your sentences must be simple, or complex, or compound; but there is no reason why you should use one of the three kinds in preference to another. If you examine a passage which you think interesting, you will be quite likely to find that some sentences are simple, some complex, and some compound. The variety is pleasing. If all the sentences had been of one kind, the result would have been decidedly monotonous.

Pupils sometimes ask whether they should use long sentences or short sentences. This question is really answered in the preceding paragraph, for a simple sentence is usually shorter than a complex or a compound sentence. The fact is that what we like is variety. Until you are more experienced in composition, it will be well for you, in general, to use comparatively short sentences,--that is, sentences of not more than twenty-five or thirty words. You should feel at liberty, however, to follow your own taste in such matters, provided that your sentences are not regularly of about the same length and about the same form, so that your writing is lacking in variety.

Be particularly careful, moreover, to avoid the sentence which is so long as not to be easily understood, such as the following:--

I rose softly, slipped on my clothes, opened the door suddenly, and beheld one of the most beautiful little fairy groups that a painter could imagine, consisting of a boy and two girls, the eldest not more than six, and lovely as seraphs, who were going the rounds of the house, singing at every chamber door, until my sudden appearance frightened them into mute bashfulness, so that they remained for a moment playing on their lips with their fingers, and now and then stealing a shy glance from under their eyebrows, until, as if by one impulse, they scampered away, and as they turned an angle of the gallery, I heard them laughing in triumph at their escape.

See how much this passage is improved when the long sentence is broken up into shorter sentences:--

I rose softly, slipped on my clothes, opened the door suddenly, and beheld one of the most beautiful little fairy groups that a painter could imagine. It consisted of a boy and two girls, the eldest not more than six, and lovely as seraphs. They were going the rounds of the house, singing at every chamber door, but my sudden appearance frightened them into mute bashfulness. They remained for a moment playing on their lips with their fingers, and now and then stealing a shy glance from under their eyebrows, until, as if by one impulse, they scampered away, and as they turned an angle of the gallery, I heard them laughing in triumph at their escape.

Exercise 14.--I. Improve the following passage by combining some of the sentences, making larger complex or compound sentences:--

I explored an old cellar. I noticed a slight break in the wall. The neck of a bottle projected from it. I drew it from its resting place. It proved to be a quaint green glass bottle. It bore a label. The label read "Currant Wine, 1802." I smacked my lips.

I handed the bottle to my companion to open. He pulled the cork out with his teeth. We filled two tumblers. I thanked him. I raised the glass to my lips. I took a deep draught. Instantly I bounded to my feet. My bound would have done credit to an athlete. I made for the spring-house.

"Seems to me," remarked the old tenant of the house,--"seems to me that was horse liniment. I know the smell."

II. Improve the following passage by using a greater number of sentences:--

Once upon a time there were two princes who were twins and they lived in the pleasant vale of Argos, far away in Hellas, where they had fruitful meadows and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and great herds of horses and all that men could need to make them blest, and yet they were wretched, because they were jealous of each other, and from the moment they were born began to quarrel.

Exercise 15.--Improve the following by varying the length of your sentences, making some long and some short:--

A sleep fell upon the whole castle. The beautiful princess slept in her chamber. The king and the queen were in the great hall. They fell fast asleep. The horses slept in their stalls. The dogs slept in the yard. The pigeons slept on the roof. The very fire on the hearth slept like the rest. The meat on the spit ceased roasting. The wind ceased. Not a leaf fell from the trees about the castle.

Around about that place grew a hedge of thorns. At last the whole castle was hidden from view. Nothing could be seen but the vane on the roof.

Years after a king's son came into that country. He heard about the enchanted castle. He came near the hedge of thorns. It changed into a hedge of beautiful flowers. He passed through into the castle yard. He saw the horses and the hunting dogs lying asleep. On the roof, the pigeons were sitting with their heads under their wings. He entered the kitchen. The flies on the wall were asleep. The cook had her hand uplifted to strike the scullion. The kitchen maid had a fowl in her lap ready to pluck.

He mounted higher. He saw the whole court asleep. The king and the queen were asleep on their thrones. At last he came to the tower. He went up the winding stair. He opened the door. He entered the room of the princess.

He stooped and kissed the princess. She opened her eyes and looked kindly at him. She rose. They went forth together. Then the king and queen and whole court waked up. The horses rose and shook themselves. The hounds sprang up and wagged their tails. The pigeons flew into the field. The kitchen fire leaped up and cooked the meat. The cook gave the scullion a box on the ear. He roared out. The maid went on plucking the fowl.

The wedding of the prince and princess was celebrated with great splendor. They lived happily ever after.

4. Periodic Sentences.--We have now discussed sentences with regard to their grammatical structure and with regard to their length. There is one more way in which they may be looked at; that is, the degree to which the sense is suspended. This will require a little explanation.

In each of the following sentences two vertical lines are placed at the spot where the words first make complete sense.

1. Whenever he comes, he is warmly welcomed.||

2. He is warmly welcomed|| whenever he comes.

3. When Absalom died, David mourned.||

4. David mourned|| when Absalom died.

5. As the President passed, the soldiers saluted.||

6. The soldiers saluted|| as the President passed.

7. While there is life, there is hope.||

8. The sun shines|| on the just and the unjust.

9. The steam tug had long since let slip her hawsers,|| and gone panting away with a derisive scream.

10. The ship seemed quite proud|| of being left to take care of itself, and, with its huge white sails bulged out, strutted off like a vain turkey.

When the words in a sentence are so arranged that the sense is not immediately complete, the sense is said to be suspended. A sentence in which the sense is suspended until the end, or near the end, is called a periodic sentence. A sentence in which the sense is not suspended until the end, or near the end, is called a loose sentence.

A periodic sentence, unless it is long and clumsy, often stimulates the attention. You cannot understand it at all until you get near the close, and this very fact keeps your interest alive and leads your mind on.

In the following passage the sentences are periodic:--

In the midst of a garden grew a rosebush covered with roses. In one of them, the most beautiful of all, there dwelt an elf. So tiny was he that no human eye could see him. Behind every leaf in the rose he had a bedroom. Oh, what a fragrance there was in his rooms! The walls, which were made of the pale pink rose leaves, were very clear and bright. Flying from flower to flower, dancing on the wings of the butterflies, rejoicing in the warm sunshine, he led a peaceful and happy life.

Here is the same paragraph, so written that none of the sentences is periodic. Does not the paragraph seem a little flat?

A rosebush covered with roses grew in the midst of a garden. An elf dwelt in one of them, the most beautiful of all. No human eye could see him, he was so tiny. He had a bedroom behind every leaf in the rose. Oh, there was a great fragrance in his rooms! The walls were very clear and bright, and were made of the pale pink rose leaves. He led a peaceful and happy life, flying from flower to flower, dancing on the wings of the butterflies and rejoicing in the warm sunshine.

The point here, as in the other similar matters we have discussed, is that the mind likes variety in expression. You need not worry yourself by thinking much about the form of your sentences; but you should, if possible, get into the habit of varying them from time to time. Let them be sometimes short and sometimes long; sometimes simple, and sometimes complex or compound. And above all, when you are revising what you have written, try to make sure that in some cases the sense is sufficiently suspended to make your sentences interesting.

Exercise 16.--In the passage quoted on page 00, mark the place where the sense is complete in each simple or complex sentence. In compound sentences mark the place in each independent clause.

Exercise 17.--Construct periodic sentences by placing phrases before the following statements.

EXAMPLE. We idly floated. In among the lily pads we idly floated.

1. The child slept. 2. They eagerly searched. 3. The prisoner escaped. 4. We explored the creek. 5. The boys laughed. 6. The people rejoiced. 7. We despaired. 8. The girl fainted. 9. He blithely sang. 10. She succeeded. 11. He failed. 12. He received his diploma. 13. The soldiers retreated. 14. Mary turned.

Exercise 18.--Construct periodic sentences by placing dependent clauses before the following statements.

EXAMPLE. They immediately started. When they heard the signal-gun, they immediately started.

1. They landed. 2. I am happy. 3. We watched. 4. The coward fled. 5. The raven croaked. 6. The flag will float. 7. The child died. 8. The poor suffered. 9. Our president died. 10. The slaves were free. 11. We quietly left. 12. They fled. 13. She returned. 14. We received the message. 15. He encouraged us.

Exercise 19.--Construct periodic sentences by filling the blanks in the following with phrases or clauses.

1. ---- the village smithy stands. 2. ---- he runs. 3. ---- lay the little village. 4. ---- to grandmother's house we go. 5. The moonlight ---- flooded the room. 6. ---- there was a honeysuckle arbor. 7. ---- he reached home. 8. ---- yet I trust him. 9. ---- I will help you. 10. ---- Washington ---- took command. 11. ---- rode the six hundred. 12. ---- a youth ---- passed by. 13. A traveler ---- was found. 14. ---- he still grasped a banner. 15. The prisoner ---- made a confession.

Exercise 20.--Construct periodic sentences by filling in the blanks with phrases or clauses.

1. Far away in the forest ----. 2. Out in the country ----. 3. A city that is set on a hill ----. 4. With a look of delighted surprise ----. 5. This young lad, hard as the world had knocked him about, ----. 6. Yet, through all his fun, ----. 7. Though they spake little ----. 8. Without any discussion, ----. 9. Looking about her uneasily, ----. 10. Late that night, as I sat up pondering over all that had happened, ----.

Exercise 21.--Rewrite the following sentences, making them periodic.

1. The night wind swept by with a desolate moan. 2. The old shutters swung to and fro, screaming upon their hinges. 3. The village preacher's modest mansion rose near yonder copse, where once the garden smiled. 4. The noble six hundred rode into the jaws of death. 5. A sound came from the land between the fitful gusts of wind. 6. The silvery rain comes aslant like a long line of spears brightly burnished. 7. The snow arrives, announced by all the trumpets of the sky. 8. Great burdocks grew from the wall down to the water, so high that little children could stand upright under the loftiest of them. 9. The loveliest children ran about on the roads, playing with the gay butterflies. 10. The clear sun shone warm on the first day of spring in a little court yard. 11. An old castle looms over the narrow road. 12. The ivy grows thickly over the crumbling red walls, leaf by leaf, up to the balcony, and a beautiful girl stands there. 13. She glances up the road as she bends over the balustrade. 14. The lighthouse of Inverkaldy stood on a little rocky island, quite a distance from the mainland. 15. He rowed across the water with a cheerful heart.

5. Bad Sentences.--Good sentences, then, are sentences that have some variety in form and in length, and, in particular, that are frequently periodic. You will soon learn to give to your writing the little touch of grace or beauty that comes in this way.

But what are bad sentences? What sorts of sentences should you try not to make? There are really only three kinds of sentences which are positively bad. The first is the "comma sentence."

6. The "Comma Sentence."--This name is sometimes given to sentences in which two or more independent clauses, not connected by conjunctions, are separated only by commas. You should guard carefully against this fault. If two independent clauses be placed in a single sentence, they should be connected by a conjunction or separated by a semicolon.

When independent clauses in the same sentence are connected by a conjunction, it is proper to use either a semicolon or comma. When they are not connected by a conjunction, only the semicolon can be used.

EXAMPLES. 1. It was late, and the moon shone brightly. 2. It was late; and the moon shone brightly. 3. It was late; the moon shone brightly. 4. It was late, the moon shone brightly. [Wrong.]

Note for the Teacher.--Occasionally, in a compound sentence, particularly when it consists of three or more short statements, commas are used instead of semicolons. But it seems best to encourage pupils to use the semicolon invariably. Insistence on this practice will greatly strengthen the pupil's grasp of the sentence and its structure.

Exercise 22.--Correct the following sentences:--

1. Everything has its time to flourish, everything passes away. 2. It was late at night, the moon shone through the windows. 3. We are in a rich, a happy house, all are cheerful and full of joy, 4. The door opened and the maid came in, they all stood still, not one stirred. 5. I was right, we were not of the smallest importance to her. 6. I'm glad they are gone, now we can be comfortable. 7. The frost had broken up, a soft plentiful rain had melted the snowdrifts. 8. The window was a grand advantage, out of it one could crawl on to the roof, and from the roof was the finest view in all Nortonbury. 9. It was one of my seasons of excessive pain, I found it difficult to think of anything but pain. 10. The stream lay so low as to be invisible from where we sat, you could only trace the line of its course by the small white sails.

Exercise 23.--Insert capitals and periods.

1. I left Salem House upon the morrow afternoon, I little thought then that I left it, never to return, we traveled very slowly all night, and did not get into Yarmouth before nine or ten o'clock in the morning, I looked out for Mr. Barkis, but he was not there; and instead of him a fat, merry-looking little old man in black, with rusty little bunches of ribbons at the knees of his breeches, came puffing up to the coach window, and said, "Master Copperfield?"

2. The conflict had raged for an hour, it grew more furious, from deck to deck the combatants rushed madly, fighting like demons, the Richard and her crew suffered terribly, yet they fought on, she had been pierced by several eighteen-pound balls below water, she leaked badly, but she would not surrender.

Exercise 24.--Construct ten compound sentences in which no connectives are used, and the clauses are separated by semicolons.

7. Sentences without Unity.--We put into a sentence thoughts that belong together. Indeed, a good sentence is a group of words representing thoughts that have a close relationship in the speaker's or writer's mind. A sentence thus constructed is said to have unity; that is, "one-ness." A sentence in which the words represent facts or thoughts that do not have such a relationship is said to lack unity.

EXAMPLES. 1. The owl, which is a nocturnal bird, has round, staring eyes, and superstitious people dislike to hear it hoot. [Two thoughts not closely related.]

2. Columbus was assisted by Queen Isabella of Spain, and sailing across the Atlantic Ocean with a fleet of three vessels, he discovered a new world. [Two thoughts not closely related.]

3. Columbus was assisted by Queen Isabella, who pawned her jewels and used the money thus procured in fitting out for him a fleet of three vessels. [Thoughts closely related.]