English World

Parallelism What the heck is that? All language has a rhythm to it. This rhythm is like a drum pattern in a song; when it is consistent, the listeners can feel the patterns that are created. When patterns don't match, it becomes a jarring sensation. When writing or speaking, it means the use the same pattern of words to balance the text. It gives the language melody and harmony, and helps organize what you are saying. And So . . .  When joining a series of phrases, clauses, or whatever, you must keep the same forms throughout, from the word level to the paragraph level. Past tense and past tense Prepositional phrase and prepositional phrase Noun and Noun Adverb clause and adverb clauses etc. Now let's look at some examples of what I mean. Words and Phrases The Gerund and infinitive Joe likes biking, walking, and hiking. or Joe likes to bike, walk, and hike ( also Joe likes to bike, to walk, and to hike.). Notice that the forms are all the s...

We have looked at compound sentences ; now to look at the makeup of a complex sentence . Complex Sentences A complex sentence is made up of one an independent clause with one or more dependent clauses. Dependent clauses start with connectors: as, since, because, although or perhaps with relative pronouns: who, which, that . After I had eaten dinner, I sat down and watched my favorite TV program. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow. What you think is true is not what I know is true. There are of course three different kinds of dependent clauses which make up complex sentences: adverb, adjective, and noun clauses. Which, before I continue, brings me to this point: Do I need to know all the grammar behind the dependent clauses in order to recognize and use dependent clauses? Gasp! Many books go into a lot of detail about the three types of clauses, constructing sentences, dissecting sentences, and so on.  Ultimately, although it ...