SENTENCE STRUCTURES AND SENTENCE-BUILDING

KINDS OF SENTENCES: SIMPLE, COMPLEX, DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE

You have all met the Simple Sentence much further down the school. We will just remind you what it looks like. Here are some specimens:

I went into the town this morning.

Did you go into the town this morning?

Go into the town for me this morning, Aminah.

In each sentence we notice that there is only one main or finite verb. Thus there can only be one clause, and, because it stands alone, it must be a main clause.

A Simple Sentence is, therefore, one containing a main clause and no other.

If to the simple sentence we add a subordinate clause, we get the kind of sentence we have been all along analysing into clauses. E.g.:

Go into the town for me this morning, Aminah, because I want some meat.

It consists of a main clause plus a subordinate clause (here an adverb clause).

A sentence consisting of one main clause and one (or more) subordinate clause is called a Complex Sentence.

Sometimes, however, the clause added to the main clause may not be subordinate, but of equal rank or co-ordinate. E.g.:

I went into the town, and there I met Mrs. Leong.

Here there are two separate facts, neither of which is dependent on the other. The second could stand on its own as well as the former. It is merely co-ordinate with the former. Thus if the former is a main clause and the second of equal rank (co-ordinate), the second, too, must be a main clause. They are, therefore, two main clauses joined together by the conjunction “and”. We call this conjunction a co-ordinating conjunction, because it joins things of equal rank.

When two main clauses are joined together by a co-ordinating conjunction, we call the result a Double Sentence.

There are two other important co-ordinating conjunctions: “but” and “either … or”.

“But” suggests opposition, and so we call the co-ordinate clause it introduces adversative. E.g.:

I went into the town, but I did not meet Mrs. Leong.

“Either … or” suggest an alternative. So we call the co-ordinate clause introduced by the “or” of “either … or” alternative. E.g.:

Either you go into town, or we shall have no dinner.

Both examples are, of course, double sentences.

“And” suggests addition or accumulation. So we call the co-ordinate clause introduced by “and” cumulative.

Should we join three or more main clauses by co-ordinating conjunctions, we get still another kind of sentence. E.g.:

I went into the town and met Mrs. Leong, but I could not see Mrs. Majid anywhere.

Here we have a main clause, to which is joined by “and” a cumulative co-ordinate clause, to which is joined by “but” and adversative co-ordinate clause. We call this a Multiple Sentence.

A Multiple Sentence consists of three or more main clauses joined together by co-ordinating conjunctions.

Analyse the following sentences into clauses, and name the kind of sentence.

1. I thought that she would break a blood-vessel.

2. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.

3. Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall, thin and brown, and reminded one of a colt.

4. Her thick hair was her one beauty; but it was usually bundled into a net, to be out of the way.

5. O fat white woman whom nobody loves,

   Why do you walk through the fields in gloves?

6. Interior decoration today is governed by a sense of fitness.

7. Who caught the thief?

8. Who caught the thief we were tracking down?

9. Who caught the thief and who bound him?

10. Who caught and bound the thief?

11. Who caught and bound the thief, but then let him go?

12. Queen Elizabeth made some effort to restrict London’s growth, but it was entirely unrestricted in the eighteenth century; soon there was unspeakably foul congestion. (Supply one conjunction.)

SYNTHESIS OF SENTENCES

It is clear from what we have said above that Double and Multiple Sentences consist of series of Simple Sentences, somehow belonging together, joined by co-ordinating conjunctions to form a larger unity.

Thus this series of simple sentences:

I went into the town.

I met Mrs. Leong.

I could not see Mrs. Majid anywhere.

becomes this multiple sentence:

I went into the town and met Mrs. Leong, but could not see Mrs. Majid anywhere.

Similarly, simple sentences can be brought into a dependent relationship to form a complex sentence.

Thus this pair of sentences:

I met a man. The man was very fat.

can become this complex sentence:

I met a man who was very fat.

A. Use each of the following sets of simple sentences to form either a double or a multiple sentence. Make only necessary alterations of wording.

1. I don’t mind hard-boiled sweets. I quite like assorted liquorice. I am very partial to milk chocolate.

2. Make yourself useful. Go away.

3. You can go to the cinema. Don’t be home late.

4. I can appreciate Browning’s narrative poems. I dislike many of Wordsworth’s lyrical poems. I loathe Tennyson’s sentimental poetry.

5. The milkman ran hard. He couldn’t catch the cheeky urchin.

6. John leapt up. He rushed to the landing. The staircase was already well lit.

7. Mary rushed downstairs. She tugged open the front door. She fled down the street.

8. He was pulling our legs. He was tapping us for information. In any case, he needs watching carefully.

9. She went straight indoors. She went into the street. Later, she entered the house by the back door. In either case, her movements were suspicious. We shall have to investigate further.

10. He did not help the others. He did not look after himself. We are very annoyed with him. This is not the time for complaining.

B. use each of the following pairs of simple sentences to form a complex sentence, making any necessary alterations of wording.

1. He screamed. The dentist drilled his tooth.

2. He told me yesterday. I had been promoted.

3. I know the man. He is manager of that cinema.

4. She had an idea. She could not express it.

5. This is the boy. We saw him yesterday.

6. You made a promise. You must keep it.

7. Do you know the man? His house was bombed yesterday.

8. Kuala Kangsar was the town. He was educated there.

9. The day was ending. It made her sad.

The above is an excerpt from a book meant for Secondary 3 students in Malaysia and Singapore in the 1960s.

At that time, the object of the book was to provide pupils with a complete training in the use of English as a medium of expression and communication.

This is a part of the introduction:

“The South East Asian edition is adapted to meet the requirements of the English Language syllabuses of the Federation of Malaya and Singapore. We are sure this series will fulfil, in great measure, the requirements of schools in the South East Asian region that have a common background in the Malay literary heritage. The text has been Malayanised as far as possible to this end.

 The work on language structure covered in Books One and Two is developed much further in this book and special attention is paid to the analysis and synthesis of the sentence by clauses.”

It is pretty obvious that students were taught the analysis and synthesis of sentences to help them write clearly, correctly and confidently. Students were taught how to express their ideas and feelings in a logical and systematic manner. It was not a hotch-potch of activities based on fun then.

Students had a good understanding of Traditional Grammar to help them to analyse and synthesise sentences. In that manner, students were very confident to express their ideas and feelings in spoken and written English well. That power of expression was cultivated in school itself.

Can the same be said of Malaysian students today?

I was never taught sentence structures, analysis and synthesis of sentences in school as those items were never covered and are not covered in the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Approach.

The Malays, however, don’t teach and learn their language in a hotch-potch manner. Everything in the Malay language is presented in a logical and systematic manner through the study of grammar – Nahu or Tatabahasa - in primary and secondary schools. The Malays don’t teach and learn their language in a fun-filled way. When it comes to the teaching and learning of the Malay language, everything is done in a serious manner.

In fact, when it comes to the teaching and learning of any language, everything should be done in a logical, systematic and serious manner.

“The sentence is the basic unit of communication. Its function, then, is to communicate: with force and grace if possible, but with clarity and precision at least.”

When students are not taught sentence structures and sentence-building, how can they possibly write lengthy essays? When these same students join the workforce, how can they possibly write formal letters, memorandums, reports, resumes, e-mails, etc?

Therefore, Malaysian students must be taught sentence structures and sentence-building so that they can speak and write English in a proficient manner.