Sentence Pattern Review

From The Art of Styling Sentences by Ann Longknife and K.D.

Sullivan

Pattern 1

• Compound Sentence: Semicolon, no conjunction (two short, related sentences now joined)

• S V ; S V.

– Some people dream of being something; others stay awake and are.

Variations 1A, 1B, & 1C

• Pattern 1A:– S V ; however, S V.

• She ate hamburgers everyday; however, she never seemed to gain weight.

• Pattern 1B:– S V; S V, and S V.– S V, but SV; S V.

• The shirt was the right color; it fit, and it was cheap.• Pattern 1C;

– S V; S V; S V.• I went to the fair; Joseph met me there; Larry couldn’t make

it.

Pattern 2

• Compound Sentence with Elliptical Construction (comma indicates the omitted verb)

• S V DO or SC; S , DO or SC.

– We like chocolate candies; Mike, gummy bears.

Pattern 3

• Compound Sentence with Explanatory Statement (independent clauses separated by a colon)

• General Statement (idea): specific statement (example).

• S V : S V.

– Remember Yogi Berra’s advice: it ain’t over till it’s over.

Pattern 4

• A Series without a Conjunction (a series in any place in the sentence)

• A, B, C

– The U.S. has a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

Variation 4A

• A or B or C. (in any place in the sentence)

• A and B and C. (in any place in the sentence)

– Looking down from the Empire State Building, Jeannie felt thrilled and amazed and scared.

Pattern 5

• A Series of Balanced Pairs

• A and B, C and D, E and F. (may be in any part of the sentence)

– Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Guinevere were all famous lovers in literature.

Appositive

• Definition: noun, pronoun, or phrase placed next to another noun or pronoun to identify, rename, or explain it– Her greatest attribute, charm, was not

enough.– Some villagers, the old-timers, prefer the dirt

roads.– Amethyst, a purple birthstone, is the gem for

February.– Eve wore high boots, the latest fad.

Pattern 6

• An Introductory Series of Appositives (with a dash and a summarizing subject)

• Appositive, appositive, appositive—summary word S V.

– Gluttony, lust, envy—which is the worst sin?

Pattern 7

• An Internal Series of Appositives or Modifiers (enclosed by a pair of dashes or parentheses)

• S —or ( appositive, appositive, appositive —or ) V.

– The basic writing skills (good vocabulary, knowledge of grammar, sense of style) can be learned by almost everyone.

Pattern 8

• Dependent Clauses in a Pair or in a Series (at beginning or end of sentence)

• If…, if…, if…, then S V.• When…, when…, when…, S V.• S V that…, that…., that…

– With no money and with no time, she had to refuse the vacation package.

Pattern 9

• Repetition of a key term (dash or comma before repetition)

• S V key term —or , repeated key term.

• Careful: the repetition should NOT be a clause

– She suddenly felt filled with joy—a joy she could not explain but that she gladly embraced.

Variation 9A

• Same word repeated in parallel structure

• S V repeated key word in same position of the sentence.

– He has known her for many years, before she went to college, before she was a star, before she won the Oscar.

– This government is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Pattern 10

• Emphatic Appositive at End, after a Colon

• S V word: the appositive (the second naming).

– Her luggage was filled with oddities: a small lamp, staplers, and darts.

Variation 10A

S V word — the appositive.

– There is a new drug dealer in town—the security guard.