1.

Compound sentence: semicolon, no

conjunction
Use this pattern when you want to place
two closely related ideas in the same
sentence and dont want to use a comma
and a conjunction.

Hard work is only one side of the
equation; talent is the other.
Some people dream of being
something; others stay awake and are.
Variations:
S + V; connector, S + V (David worked
in a hot room; however, he enjoyed his
job.
S + V; S + V, conjunction S + V (It was
snowing outside, and in the building
Harold felt safe; he dreaded leaving his
shelter for the long, dangerous trip
home.)

2. Compound sentence with elliptical
construction
Use this pattern when you want to avoid
using the same verb again in the second
clause. A comma takes its place and
creates some style.

S + V + DO or PW; S, DO or PW

A red light means stop; a green light,
go.
Thought is the blossom; language, the
bud; action, the fruit.





3. Compound sentence with explanatory
statement

Use this pattern when you want the
second part of a sentence to explain the
first part.
General statement or idea: specific
statement or example. (Note the colon.)

George Patton accomplished the goal
assigned to him: he won battles.
Remember this mnemonic device for
the subject-linking verb-predicate
word construction: She likes very
pretty words.





4. A series without the usual conjunction
This pattern creates a definite rhythm
that the conjunction usually interrupts.
Making the items in the series parallel
adds to the rhythm.

He has again been trapped, caught,
humiliated.
Since unification in Berlin, walls have
come down, barriers have been
broken, bonds have been formed.
For a variation, use no commas but use a
conjunction between the items:

He could see the castle swathed in
gloom and fear and death.
I have never seen Larry angry or cross
or depressed.
5. A series of balanced pairs
This pattern creates a definite rhythm.
Use an even number of items and balance
these in pairs with a conjunction between
each pair. The items can appear
anywhere in the sentence.

Its amazing how lifeless elements like
stone and wood, nails and plaster, glass
and metal take on a soul after you turn
them into a house. Jane Porcino
The author knew the distinction between
liberals and conservatives, between
vampires and vixens, between
swashbucklers and the timid, between the
exploited and the victimized.




6. An introductory series of appositives
Put a dash after the series of nouns that
renames another noun in the sentence.

Vanity, greed, and corruptionwhich
negative trait is the novels source of
conflict?
Bull riding, camel races, bronc riding,
and ropingthese events mean
rodeo to many people.









7. An internal series of appositives or
modifiers
A series of appositives or modifiers, a
dramatic interruption in a sentence,
demands some very definite punctuation,
either a pair of dashes or parentheses.
Parentheses imply that the message is less
important than the same message when
set off by dashes. In fact, the information
in parentheses could even be omitted.

The necessary qualities for political
lifeguile, ruthlessness, and
garrulityhe learned by carefully
studying his fathers life.
The basic fencing moves (the advance,
the retreat, the lunge) demand careful
balance by both fencers.
Dozens of decorated casetasbright
red, plain white, or garish green
spring up along Calle Juan Carlos.
7a. A variation: a single appositive or a
pair
This is a normal appositive or appositive
phrase with a concentration on how to
punctuate it. A pair of dashes makes it
very dramatic, parentheses make it
almost a whisper, and a pair of commas
makes it inconspicuously ordinary.

A familiar smellfresh blood
assailed his jungle-trained nostrils.
His former wife (once a famous
Philadelphia model) now owns a well-
known boutique in the Bahamas.
The first man to walk on the moon,
Neil Armstrong, is a man whom the
world will never forget.



8. Dependent clauses in a pair or in a
series
This pattern has two or more dependent
or subordinate clauses with parallel
structure that begin or end the sentence.
Use this pattern for special places like at
the end of a paragraph to summarize the
points youve made or in structuring a
thesis statement.

Because it may seem difficult at first,
because it may sound awkward or
forced, because it often creates lengthy
sentences where the thought gets
lost, this pattern seems forbidding to
some writers.
Since he had little imagination and
since he displayed even less talent, he
wasnt hired for the job.
9. Repetition of a key term
Repeating a word exactly or repeating
some form of it can create a powerful
sentence. Use a comma or a dash to show
youre about to repeat.

We all inhabit a mysterious world
the inner world, the world of the mind.
Looking into the cottage, we saw great
splotches of blood smeared on the
walls, walls that only that morning
had rung with shouts of joy and
merriment.
Neither the warning in the tarot
cardsan ominous warning about the
dangers of air flightnor the one on
her Ouija board could deter Marsha
from volunteering.

9a. A variation: same word repeated in
parallel structure
Repeating a word used as the same part
of speech in several instances is good
technique.

The South Pacific island is an isolated
community, isolated from the values of
the West, isolated from the spiritual
heritage of the East.
They are against thingsagainst the
value of the present and against the
traditions of the past, against
materialism and against mysticism.
This government is of the people, by
the people, and for the people.
Heather is very chic, very classic, very
blas.

10. Emphatic appositive at end, after a
colon
Saving an appositive until the end of the
sentence practically shouts for the
readers attention.

Airport thieves have a common
target: unwary travelers.
Anyone left abandoned on a desert
should avoid two dangers: cactus
needles and rattlesnakes.


10a. A variation: appositive after a dash
There isnt much difference here except
that after a dash there is a very short
appositive that demands more attention
than one after a colon.



11. Interrupting modifier between
subject and verb
The interrupting element can be a single
word, a pair of adjectives or adverbs, or a
phrase. Punctuationcommas, dashes,
or parenthesesdetermines how strong
an interruption you want.

A small drop of ink, falling like dew
upon a thought, can make millions
think.
Mule deer (once common throughout
North America) are now almost
extinct.
Students, tall or short, can play
tiddlywinks.


11a. A full sentence as interrupting
modifier
Use dashes to indicate the interruption is
important and parentheses to say it is not.

Although the young models were
standing on the rolling slopes wearing
their new $500 parkasthey were
pretending to know how to skinot
one of them dared to venture down the
giant slalom.








12. Introductory or concluding
participial phrases
If you dont know what participial
phrases are, consult your text.

Crisscrossing on the stage, the
spotlight followed the singer.
The man stood there, transfixed by its
bright glow.










13. A single modifier out of place for
emphasis
Adverbs, adjectives, and prepositional
phrases have their typical, normal
positions in a sentence, a place near the
word they modify. Moving them around
creates a nice style.

Later, the child was quiet (instead of
The child was quiet later.)
Frantic, the young mother rushed out
the door.







14. Prepositional phrase before the
subject and verb (or before the verb and
subject)
Moving the prepositional phrase away
from the word it modifies creates a new
style.

In all the forest, no creature stirred.
This can be augmented if the subject
comes after the verb, eliminating the need
for a comma.

Into the arena rushed the brave bulls.





15. Object or complement before subject
and verb
Place your direct object or predicate noun
first and subject and verb second.

His kind of sarcasm I do not like.
No enemy of metaphor is Amy Lowell.
Some sentence styles students learn
quickly.
15a. Complete inversion of normal
pattern
This pattern can be overused, but it does
add a heaping helping of variety.

Down the street and through the mist
stumbles the unfamiliar figure.
Even more significant have been the
criticisms about our society.
16. Paired constructions
Some words work in pairs. Fill in these
blanks after these correlative
conjunctions with words of the same
type. You can have independent
clausessubject and verbor any other
parts of speech. The goal is to make them
parallel and, consequently, powerful.
not only ________________, but
also_____________________
just as__________________, so
too______________________
the more________________, the more (or
less)___________________

Just as slavery divided North and
South, so too the Indian wars of the
nineteenth century divided East and
West.
The more I saw his films, the less I
liked his work.
16a. A paired construction for contrast
only
This is a this, not that pattern or a not
this but that construction that shows a
contrast, or difference. A colon makes
the contrast more emphatic and
dramatic; a comma, less so.

Genius, not stupidity, has limits.
The judge asked for acquittalnot
conviction.









17. A subordinate noun clause as the
subject or object or predicate noun
This is a sophisticated yet common
pattern in language. Remember, the
noun clause can begin with who, whom,
which, that, what, why, where, when, and
how. The brackets show the noun clauses
in the examples; dont use brackets in
your sentences.

[How he could fail] is a mystery to me.
(subject)
Juliet never realizes [why her decision
to drink the sleeping potion is
irrational]. (direct object)
He was [what he aspired to be].
(predicate noun)



18. Absolute construction (noun plus
participle) anywhere in a sentence
This is a noun plus a participle with no
grammatical connection to the sentence
except that it modifies the entire sentence,
not a single word. It can provide details
or explain a cause or condition.

His blanket torn, Linus cried on
Charlie Browns shoulder.
Teddy, his efforts failing, tried a new
approach to the calculus problem.
All things considered, the situation
seems favorable.





19. The short, simple sentence for relief
or dramatic effect
Use this pattern to encourage readers to
consider the ideas in several long
sentences, to summarize what you have
just said, or to provide a transition
between two ideas.

Days passed.
He was unbeatable.
Things change.








19a. A short question for dramatic effect
A short question can give the reader a
wake up call to pause and think.

What caused the change?
(interrogative pronoun and a verb)
Why not? (interrogative pronounno
verb)
You made an A on Mr. Rodens test?
(only the question mark and tone of
voice)








20. The deliberate fragment
The occasional intentional fragment can
be a good tool for style. If you use one,
make sure you indicate that it is
intentional.

A national hero.
Shameful nonsense.
No matter.
A dark, rainy night fit only for beagles
and their typewriters.