Sentences:Subject(noun)andpredicate(verband

objectdirectorindirect)

Adjectives

Verbs:staticanddynamic

Passive

Phrases:Agroupoftwoormorewordsthatforma
kernelofmeaning.Phrasescancontainnounsandverbs
buttheydon'thaveasubjectandapredicate.Theycan
helpgiveasentencedepth,detailandmovement,but
theycanalsocreateclutter.
Whendotheyenhancesentenceandwhendotheydragit
down?
First:differenttypeofphrasesworkingasaunit
withinthelargersentence.Aphrasecanfunctionasa
noun,verboranadjective.
Appositivephrases,whichallowsustotuckdetailinto
asentencewithouthavingtoaddawholenewone.
PrepositionalPhrases,aprepositionpairswithan
object.Oftenanoun,sometimeswithadjectives.The
entirephrasethenactsasanadjectiveoranadverbin
thelargersentence.
Foralongtime,Iwenttobedearly.
Syntacticallyprepositionalphrasemodifiesother
words,butstylisticallyitaddsnuanceandcontrols
cadence.
VerbalPhrases,wordclustersthatbeginwitha

particularformofaverbbutplayadifferentrolein
thesentence.
Agerundphraseactsasanoun:Readinginbedmakesme
sleepy.Thegerundphrase:Readinginbedactsasa
subject.
Aninfinitivephrase,whichbeginswithtoandthebase
formoftheverb,mightactasanoun:Tosleepduring
thedayisaluxury,oranadjective:Thisisthebed
tosleepinforagoodnap,oranadverb:Thisbedis
toocomfytoresistduringtheday.
ParticiplePhrase,Thetrickiestverbalphrasesbegin
withaparticiple,theformofaverbthatendsining
(presentparticiple)ored(pastparticiple)andthat
isusedinasentenceasanadjective.
ParallelPhrasesinalistflowlogically,helpreaders
followthedriftandoftenliftanideaintoeloquence.
...ofthepeople,bythepeopleandforthepeople...
Phraseplacedstrategicallycanflipastaccatoburst
intoalyricalsentence.

Sentencesinformaswellastouchus.Firstwecover
howsentencescanrenderideasasthereisnooneway
torenderthem.
Mastersofsentencesplaywithlengthandstyletomake
themdistinctive.
Short,longorlayered
Asubjectandapredicateisasimplesentence.

Apopularmusicaliscomingtobroadway.
Asentencecanbesimplewithoutbeingstark.Itcan
haveacompoundsubjectoracompoundpredicate.Itcan
containanynumberofphrases.
Anotherwaytoletsentencestostretchandsaymoreis
tojointhemtooneanother.Theeasiestwaytodothis
istouseacoordinationconjunctionlikeandorbut.
Whendonewewillcalltheindividualpartsclausesand
thewholeincludingtheconjunctionacompound
sentence.
Sometimeswewanttoexpressanideawithmore
complexitythansimpleandcompoundallow.Perhapswe
wanttodrawattentiontothecauseandeffector
expressarelationshipsintimeorexpressaparadox.
Insuchcaseswejointhetwoclauseswith
subordinatingconjunctionslikebecause,if,although
orwhen.Asthenameofthejoinersuggestsweare
puttingtheideasinahierarchy,subordinatingoneto
another.Theresultisacomplexsentence.Andthenof
coursewecancombinestylesintocomplexcompound
sentencewhichaddsmoretwistandturn.
Sofarwefocusedonhowmeaningmightdeterminethe
wayweexpressanidea.Wecanalsocraftthemnotjust
togetanideaacrossbutalsoconveyattitudeand
elicitemotion.Wearenowtalkingaboutsentencetone.
Simplesentencescanpackapunchordelivera
punchline.Combiningsimplerwithmorecomplexcangive
apassagerhythmandheightendrama.
HemingwayandCormacMcCarthyhaveareputationfor
shortsentencesasbothauthorsaregoodatparing
thingsdowntothebone.Andtheystringtheirstripped

downclausesintoexquisitefilaments(thinfibers)
producingparagraphs.Sometimesitisnotandsorbuts
thatholddisparateimagesinabalancebutuncommon
punctuation.
Sometimeswedon'tsomuchwantaseamlessflow,ora
drumofideaspunctuatedwithcommasandellipses,but
ratherhardpauses,urgenttwistsandhightension.
Thenwebringinsubordinateclauses.
Masteringtoneisamatterofstrippingyourideasto
theessence,thenplaywithallthesedevicestoshade
yourmeaning.

TheSoundofaSentence
Languagecanbeanadventure,ifwerememberthatwords
canmakeakindofmelody.Inwritingmusicisas
importantasmeaning.Infactmusiccandrivehomethe
meaningofwords.
Somedevicesthatallowustowritefortheear.With
assonanceandconsonancewerepeat,foreffecteither
vowelsounds(cleanneat)orconsonants(Dr.Seuss's
islandofSalamasond).Alliterationreferstothe
repetitionoftheinitialsoundofwordsinaphraseor
sentence(Hoorayfordiffendooferday).Rhymesetsup
anexactcorrespondencebetweenthefinalsyllablesof
thewords(thecatinthehat).WithOnomatopoeiawe
nameathingoractionbyimitatingthesounds
associatedwithit(zap,bam,boom,wham,woof).But
soundconveyssenseinseriouscontextstoo.Whether
splashofwater,sniffleofthecrybabyorsnickerofa
bully.Wordscanplaywithgravity(bump,dump,thump)

andlevity(float,flit).Averblikeflutterimplies
notjustactionbutlightness,speed,motionand
emotion.Metaphoricallyitcouldmeanbutterflies,eyes
andrelatedtraitssuchasbeauty,innocenceor
delicacy.Rhythmorcadencereferstobeat.Italso
involvesmeter(likeiambicpentameterofShakespeare)
andtiming(pauses,sayorfullstops).Inproserhythm
meanspatternsoflongsandshorts,insandouts,ups
anddowns.Sometimessimplerepetitionisusedasa
device.Singlewordsmightberepeatedforeffector
rhythmswithinclauses.Bothtearsandsweatare
salty,buttheyrenderadifferentresult.Tearswill
getyousympathy;sweatwillgetyouchange.Apoem
makesasoundwhenitisfinishedlikeaclickofalid
ofaperfectlymadeboxassaidbyYeats.Inprosetoo
meaningandmusic,wordsandsoundscombineto
establishthewritersvoice.

PointofView
Voice
Writingbeginswithclarity:findingtherightwords
anddecidewhattoleaveout.Thenshapeyour
sentences.Turnaphrase,playwithsound,listenfor
cadence.Thinkabouttoneandselectapointofview.
Themoreyouexploredifferentwaysofwriting
sentencesthemoreyouinhabitatextandhowtomake
itsoundlikeyou.