Writing clear sentences

Highway To Success, Charles Dube
AFTER a couple of weeks identifying and learning the functions of the different parts of speech, it is now time to move on to writing clear sentences. Clear, smooth sentences are basic to any writer’s style. This week we focus on subject — verb agreement. Being able to find the right subject and verb helps you correct errors of subject — verb agreement. There are basic rules followed in order to avoid making mistakes in sentence construction.

Sentence construction — A sentence is a collection of words that convey sense or meaning and is formed according to the logic of grammar. Clear, short sentences are preferable and more effective than long, complex ones. The simplest sentence consists only of a noun, a naming word, and a verb or action word. Every sentence must be complete and must have a subject, a verb and a complete idea. The simplest sentence creates meaning with only a subject and a verb or verb phrase.

A good sentence is complete when it contains both a subject and verb. A complete sentence makes sense on its own. Every sentence mush have a subject, which usually appears at the beginning of the sentence. A subject may be a noun (person, place or thing) or a pronoun.

The basic rule is that a singular subject (John, he, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines) whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb. Examples: My brother or sister is leaving today. Neither James nor Janet is available. The verb in one or, either/or, or neither/nor sentences agrees with the noun or closest to it.

Examples: Neither the book nor the newspaper goes into that drawer. Neither the book nor the newspapers go into that drawer. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and. Examples of sentences: A car and a bicycle are my favourite means of transportation. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by words such as; along with, as well as, beside, etc.

Examples: The doctor, along with the village head, is arriving soon. Too much work as well as lack of rest is the cause of his ill-health. Parentheses are not part of the subject. Example: Naomi (and her trusted mate) was always welcome. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money when considered as a unit. Examples: Nine years is the maximum sentence for this offence. Eight kilometres is too far to cover in twenty minutes. Twenty dollars is a high fine to pay for such a minor offence. But twenty dollars (ie dollar bills) were found scattered on the floor.

Every sentence must have a subject. If the verb expresses action — like jump, sneeze, cough, bark or study, the subject is who or what does the verb. Examples: The thief jumped over the wall. Carol sneezes every time she has a cold. My neighbour’s dog barks whenever other dogs pass by. A preposition is a word used to show how a noun or a pronoun is related to some other word in the sentence.

The following are some commonly used prepositions: about, above, across, beside, besides, in, through, throughout, between, into, to, after, beyond, against, but (meaning except, of, near, underneath, among, by, off, until, around, on, unto, at, down, out, up, before, during, outside, upon, with, over, behind, below, for, past, within, beneath, from, since, without. The conjunction is a word used to join words or group of words.

Under conjunctions there are co-ordinating conjunctions. A co-ordinating conjunction connects words or groups of words that are used in the same way. Here are a few examples: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet. Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that join words or groups of words used in the same way. Examples: both . . . and, either . . . or, neither . . . nor.

Correct capitalisation is also important in coming up with well written sentences.

There are specific rules followed by writers to come up with correct capitalisation. Following such rules will help students communicate clearly. For example, capitalise the first word of every sentence: Read these instructions before you start writing. Capitalise the first word of a sentence following a colon. He bought the following items: clothes, books, and cutlery.

Capitalise the first word of a resolution following the word resolved.

Example: Resolved: The school has decided to offer practical subjects to all students. Capitalise the first word of a direct quotation. “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” Capitalise the first word of a statement or question inserted in a statement without question marks. Example: My question is, Will this suggestion work to solve this problem?

Clear knowledge of all these parts of speech covered in this column and others lead to better sentence construction.

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