Types of sentences

1. Declarative: The king is sick. makes a statement; assertive

2. imperative: Cure the king. gives a command authoritative

3. interrogative. Is the king sick? asks a question. questioning

4. exclamatory: The king is dead; long live the king! -- makes an exclamation -- emotional

Sentence Structures

simple sentence: contains one subject and one verb: has only one main, complete thought

The cat bowed to her adoring audience.

compound sentence: contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinate conjunction (and, but, or) or by a semicolon; has two or more main, complete thoughts. Two or more simple sentences are joined, usually with or, but, or and.

The cat bowed to the audience, but she sang no encores.

complex sentence: has one simple sentence and one or more clauses. 1 IC + 1SC. These clauses are connected to the simple sentence with words like because, while, when, if, as, although, since, unless, after, so, which, who, and that.

After Judy bowed to the audience, Margaret sang an encore.

compound-complex sentence: a combination of the above contains two or more independent clauses and one or more subordinate clauses

Judy bowed while the audience applauded, but she sang no encores.

Loose sentence (also called a cumulative sentence): makes complete sense if brought to a close before the actual ending

Margaret snarled at Judy / that morning/after... hissing at her from afar.

Periodic sentence: makes sense only when the end of the sentence is reached

That morning, Margaret, after hissing at Judy from afar, snarled at Judy.

Balanced sentence: the phrases and clauses balance each other by virtue of their likeness of structure, meaning, or length

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters

The Cumulative or Loose Sentence

A cumulative or loose sentence is a type of parallel sentence which builds through parallel constructions (dependent phrases or clauses) after first including a main clause. Remember: in the cumulative sentence, the main clause (with the subject and verb) comes first.

Formula: Main clause + Parallel Dependent phrases or clauses

The brilliant assembly filed past us, the marshals with their batons and ceremonial red hats, the professors draped in their doctoral hoods, the graduates in somber black that contrasted with their jubilant mood.

Nothing could deflect that wall of water, sweeping away trees and boulders, engulfing streets and villages, churning and roaring like a creature in pain.

Then I saw that the child had died, never more to enjoy getting into trouble with his friends, never again to tell innocent lies to his parents, never to look with hopeful shyness at a girl he desires.

Cumulative sentences add parallel elements at the end. These sentences are especially effective for description, even if they use only a single detail at the end.

The student sat quietly, trembling at the thought of writing an essay. [using a single detail]

The hounds continued to bray—uncontrollably, maddeningly, horribly. [using multiple details]

Famous Cumulative Sentence

George was coming down in the telemark position, kneeling, one leg forward and bent, the other trailing, his sticks hanging like some insect’s thin legs, kicking up puffs of snow, and finally the whole kneeling, trailing figure coming around in a beautiful right curve, crouching, the legs shot forward and back, the body leaning out against the swing, the sticks accenting the curve like points of light all in a cloud of snow.

The Periodic Sentence

A periodic sentence is a type of parallel sentence which builds through three or more parallel constructions (dependent phrases or clauses) to a main clause.

Remember: in the periodic sentence, the main clause (with the subject and verb) comes last.

Formula= Parallel Dependent Clauses and Phrases + Main Clause

A periodic sentence (also called a period) is a sentence that is not grammatically complete until its end. Periodicity is accomplished by the use of parallel phrases or clauses at the opening or by the use of dependent clauses preceding the independent clause; that is, the kernel of thought contained in the subject/verb group appears at the end of a succession of modifiers: e.g., “That morning, after a turbulent flight and some exciting experiences, we finally reached Edmonton.” The periodic sentence has become much rarer in formal English writing over the past hundred years, and it has never been common in informal spoken English (outside of bad political speeches).

But if life hardly seems worth living, if liberty is used for subhuman purposes, if the pursuers of happiness know nothing about the nature of their quarry or the elementary techniques of hunting. these constitutional rights will not be very meaningful. (E. Warren)

The Balanced Sentence

A balanced sentence is a type of parallel sentence in which two parallel elements are set off against each other like equal weights on a scale. In reading the sentence aloud, one tends to pause between the balanced parts, each seeming equal. When writing a balanced sentence, be certain that both parts of the sentence have the clear parallels of form, that they appear parallel grammatically.

In a balanced sentence, the phrases or clauses balance each other by virtue of their likeness of structure, meaning, or length

George Bernard Shaw said of writers: The ambition of the novice is to acquire the Literary Language; the struggle of the adept is to get rid of it. [Each part of the sentence follows the same pattern: subject, verb, infinitive phrase.]

Content of a Balanced Sentence

Balanced sentences are particularly effective if you have an idea that has a contrast or antithesis. Balanced sentences can emphasize the contrast so that the rhetorical pattern reflects and supports the logical pattern.

No man has ever seen anything that Burne-Jones cannot paint, but many men have painted what Burne-Jones cannot see. (Shaw)

If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. (Kennedy)

It is not that today’s artists cannot paint, it is that today’s critics cannot see. (Rothko)

Some of the above examples illustrate not only balanced sentences but also a device called chiasmus/“antimetabole,” in which the order of words is reversed in one of the parallel structures to produce a clever effect. The following are examples of chiasmus/antimetabole:

1. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

2. You can take the gorilla out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the gorilla.

The Balanced Paragraph

One can also develop an entire paragraph by balance. This is particularly useful if you are developing a series of contrasts.

• I felt myself in rebellion against the Greek concept of justice. That concept excused Laius of attacking Oedipus, but condemned Oedipus for defending himself. It tolerated a king’s deliberate attempt to kill his baby son by piercing the infant’s feet and abandoning it on a mountain, but later branded the son’s unintentional killing of his father as murder. It held Oedipus responsible for his ignorance, but excused those who contributed to that ignorance. (Krutch)

Juxtaposition

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way …”

Parallel structure (parallelism)

refers to a grammatical or structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentence; it involves an arrangement of words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs so that elements of equal importance are equally developed and similarly phrased

He was walking, running and jumping for joy.

Repetition

a device in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more than once to enhance rhythm and create emphasis

“…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”

Rhetorical question

a question that expects no answer; it is used to draw attention to a point and is generally stronger than a direct statement

If Mr. Ferchoff is always fair, as you have said, why did he refuse to listen to Mrs. Baldwin’s arguments?

Rhetorical fragment

a sentence fragment used deliberately for a persuasive purpose or to create a desired effect

Something to consider.

Anaphora

the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses

“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.”

Asyndeton

the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence.

"Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it...dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That--that's about it." --Bubba in Forrest Gump, 1994

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." --Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well

Polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions in close succession (as in we have ships and men and money).

"And neither sun, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds." --Herodotus, Histories (unofficial creed of the United States Postal Service).

Chiasmus

"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man."--Frederick Douglass, 1845

Stichomythia

dialogue in which the endings and beginnings of each line echo each other, taking on a new meaning with each new line

“Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.

Mother, you have my father much offended.”

Zeugma

a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g., John and his license expired last week) or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (e.g., with weeping eyes and hearts ); the use of the verb that has two different meanings with objects