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Sentence Combining #4: Composing With Basic Modifiers - Nervous Norman - Adjectives, Adverbs, an

Grammar & Composition

Sentence Combining #4: Nervous Norman
Combining Sentences With Adjectives, Adverbs, and Prepositional Phrases
By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide

TIP: To view this sentence-combining exercise without ads, click on the print icon near the top of the page. This exercise, adapted from a paragraph composed by a college freshman, will give you practice in building sentences with the basic modifiers 1 : adjectives 2 , adverbs 3 , and prepositional phrases 4 . Before you begin working on the exercise, you may find it helpful to review these pages: Introduction to Sentence Combining 5 Sentence Building With Adjectives and Adverbs 6 Sentence Building With Prepositional Phrases 7 Directions: Combine the sentences in each set below into a single clear sentence, eliminating any needless repetition. Practice rearranging the basic modifiers in each sentence until you find the combination that you think is most effective. As with any sentence-combining exercise, feel free either to combine sets (to create a longer sentence) or to make two or more sentences out of one set (to create shorter sentences). You may rearrange the sentences in any fashion that strikes you as appropriate and effective. After you have completed the exercise, compare your paragraph with the original version of "Nervous Norman." 8 Keep in mind that many combinations are possible, and in some cases you may prefer your own sentences to the original versions. Nervous Norman 1. Mr. Elmo Norman was the principal. He was the principal of the school. It was my elementary school.

2. He was the most nervous man I have ever met.

3. He was a short man. He was a pudgy man. He was always overdressed.

4. In fact, he didn't just wear his clothes. He hid inside them

5. His uniform consisted of a suit, a tie, a shirt, and shoes. The suit was pin-striped. The suit was neatly pressed. The tie was thin. The tie was black. The shirt was white. The shirt was starched. His shoes were oxfords. The oxfords were brown. The oxfords were brightly polished.

6. He had gray His hair was His hair was His hair was

hair. receding. always neat. always trimmed.

7. His His His His His

head was fat. head was wrinkled. head darted like a radar blip. head darted about on his neck. neck was flabby.

8. He paced the hallways.

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Sentence Combining #4: Composing With Basic Modifiers - Nervous Norman - Adjectives, Adverbs, an
The hallways were in the school.

9. He was in perpetual motion.[br[ He was always twitching. He was always fidgeting. He was always twiddling.

10. In the space of a minute he would do several things. He would wrinkle his nose. His nose was little. He would scratch his chin. His chin was plump. He would shrug his shoulders. He would straighten his tie. And he would glance at his watch.

11. He would never once look at the person he was with.

12. As he spoke, he would do several things. He spoke in a drawl. His drawl was lackadaisical. He would glance at the ceiling. He would inspect his knuckles. And he would check the floorboards. He checked for dust.

13. When the conversation was over, he would dash back. He dashed like a bunny. The bunny was frightened. He dashed into his office.

14. He was probably praying. He prayed that he could lock himself in his office forever.

15. For all I know he may be there today. He may still be there. He may be in his office. He may be hiding. After you have completed the exercise, compare your paragraph with the original version of "Nervous Norman." 9 Keep in mind that many combinations are possible, and in some cases you may prefer your own sentences to the original versions. Next Exercise: Sentence Combining #5: The San Francisco Earthquake 10
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