5.8 Sentence Organisation
Sentence Organisation
In Section 6 of this program sentence level grammar has been dealt with. In referring to sentence organization, one means: simple, compound, complex and compound/complex sentences, and their arrangement, length and patterns. There are five possible structures/patterns of complex sentences available to the writer: the balanced, the periodic, the loose/cumulative, the hidden main idea and the convoluted.
- What is the balanced sentence? A sentence in which the writer balances or sets off ideas, one against the other.
- What is the periodic sentence? A sentence in which the writer builds up to a climax, leaving the main clause last in the sentence.
- What is the loose/cumulative sentence? A sentence in which the writer begins with the main clause and follows it with qualifications.
- What is the hidden main idea sentence? A sentence in which the writer places the main clause in the middle of the sentence.
- What is the convoluted sentence? A sentence in which the main clause begins the sentence and is split apart for the inclusion of a clause which explains the noun subject before the last part of the main clause is concluded.
Examples:
The young rajah was neither in bed nor [was he] on his bed. (Balanced sentence) He
was sitting in his armchair and a young lamb was standing by him shaking its
tail in feeding-lamb fashion as Dickon knelt giving it milk from its bottle.(Loose/cumulative
sentence) A squirrel was perched on Dickon’s bent back [and was] attentively
nibbling a nut. (Balanced sentence) The little girl from India was sitting
on a big footstool [and was] looking on. (Balanced sentence)
(Frances Hodgson Burnett: The
Secret Garden, p.177.)
In the above there are three balanced sentences and one cumulative. Why this usage? One needs to place the passage in context to understand what the style of sentences is achieving. In the story Mr Roach, the head gardener, has been summoned to Colin’s room. He had never seen Colin and never been into his room and truly believed all the strange tales that floated about concerning Colin’s state of health and lack of equanimity. He is ushered into the large, grand bedroom by the housekeeper, utterly surprised by the cawing of a crow and is faced by this unexpected, tranquil scene reflected in the three balanced sentences, a scene which no one in his right mind would have dreamed of. The cumulative sentence reflects all the strange details that Mr Roach had to take in: the invalid in the armchair, not his bed as expected, a young lamb from the fields contentedly feeding from a bottle, held by Dickon, the lad from one of the farms.