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Common Sentence Problems |
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Subordinating Ideas and Clauses |
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Put the most important information in the main clause A main clause, also called an independent clause, is a group of related words that makes a complete statement. Every sentence has at least one independent clause. The following sentence is an independent clause: A modifier is a word or group of words that adds meaning to another word or word group. Modifiers include adjectives and adverbs as well as various phrases and clauses that function as adjectives and adverbs. In the following sentence, the clause when the newborn child fell asleep, the adjectives new and their, and the adverb quietly are correctly used as modifiers: Many people of all ages enjoy soccer.
of a sentence. Use modifiers The new parents quietly left the bedroom when their child fell asleep.
for less important ideas.
The less-important ideas are subordinate to the most important idea. That is, they stand on a lower level than the main idea. You can show their subordinate rank by putting less-important ideas in dependent clauses A dependent clause, also called a subordinate clause, is a group of words with a subject and a verb that does not convey a complete thought. In the following sentence, the dependent clause before she made plans to go to the movies is used correctly: in the beginning, behind the house, before the stormJanice asked to borrow the car before she made plans to go to the movies.
, phrasesA phrase is a group of related words that does not make a complete statement.
The following groups of words are phrases (specifically, prepositional phrases):
Consider the ideas in the following sentences:
Belinda graduated in 2004.
She decided to do volunteer work for a year and then enter graduate school.
Which sentence has the more important idea of the two? Most people would say that it is the second. That sentence states Belinda’s plans. Now consider two ways of combining the ideas in a single sentence:
Belinda, who decided to do volunteer work for a year and then enter graduate school, graduated in 2004.Belinda, who graduated in 2004, decided to do volunteer work for a year and then enter graduate school.
The first sentence is weaker because it subordinates Belinda’s plans to the year of her graduation. The second is stronger because it makes her plans the main idea. The subordination in the second sentence is logical; the subordination in the first sentence is illogical.
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Click the sentence in which the important idea is the main idea. |
| No. This sentence subordinates the important idea. |
| Yes. This sentence makes the important idea the main idea. |
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