Advanced: Sentence types and complex meaning - Writelike

Advanced: Sentence types and complex meaning

We can layer supporting clauses into questions, commands, and even fragments to make complex meaning, just like we would for statements. How many clauses can you find in the snippets below? (Look for verb groups!)

"Tell me what you know."

"Tell me what you know."

"Tell me what you know."

"Tell me what you know."

"Tell me what you know."

"But can we not get the Nautilus off by emptying its reservoirs, that it may regain its equilibrium?"

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea(1870)

"But can we not get the Nautilus off by emptying its reservoirs, that it may regain its equilibrium?"

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea(1870)

"But can we not get the Nautilus off by emptying its reservoirs, that it may regain its equilibrium?"

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea(1870)

"But can we not get the Nautilus off by emptying its reservoirs, that it may regain its equilibrium?"

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea(1870)

"But can we not get the Nautilus off by emptying its reservoirs, that it may regain its equilibrium?"

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea(1870)

Dark red like the new gum leaf tips he'd seen on his first journey down to Ted's.

Beyond the Boundaries(1996)

Dark red like the new gum leaf tips he'd seen on his first journey down to Ted's.

Beyond the Boundaries(1996)

Dark red like the new gum leaf tips he'd seen on his first journey down to Ted's.

Beyond the Boundaries(1996)

Dark red like the new gum leaf tips he'd seen on his first journey down to Ted's.

Beyond the Boundaries(1996)

We haven't highlighted a "main clause" in that last snippet, because it doesn't have one!

It's missing both a subject and a verb group that relate to the description of the colour. What is "dark red"? What 'action' does the colour relate to? Is something just 'being' dark red? Is someone 'painting' something dark red? We need more context.

On the other hand, we have all the context we need to understand the supporting clause (describing the gum leaves). It's just dependent on the main... fragment.

Supporting clauses don't change the nature of the sentence as a whole. A statement with a supporting clause is still a statement, a question is still a question, a command is still a command, a fragment a fragment.

We're going to write our own complex statements, questions, commands, and fragments. To show how supporting clauses fit without changing the nature of the sentence, we're going to use the same supporting clause in each sentence.

If you haven't done the lesson on Complex Sentences, this exercise might be challenging. Just try your best to follow along.

I am sorry for eating all of the cookies.

Are you sorry for eating all of the cookies?

Apologise for eating all of the cookies!

They all looked so smug. Those kids just eating all of the cookies.

Writelike

I am sorry for eating all of the cookies.

Are you sorry for eating all of the cookies?

Apologise for eating all of the cookies!

They all looked so smug. Those kids just eating all of the cookies.

Writelike

I am sorry for eating all of the cookies.

Are you sorry for eating all of the cookies?

Apologise for eating all of the cookies!

They all looked so smug. Those kids just eating all of the cookies.

Writelike

The Alpha Centaurians didn’t realise how long it would take to fly to earth.

Do you have any idea how long it would take to fly to earth?

Find a way to reduce how long it would take to fly to earth.

They had to do it. Reduce how long it would take to fly to earth.

Writelike

The Alpha Centaurians didn’t realise how long it would take to fly to earth.

Do you have any idea how long it would take to fly to earth?

Find a way to reduce how long it would take to fly to earth.

They had to do it. Reduce how long it would take to fly to earth.

Writelike

The Alpha Centaurians didn’t realise how long it would take to fly to earth.

Do you have any idea how long it would take to fly to earth?

Find a way to reduce how long it would take to fly to earth.

They had to do it. Reduce how long it would take to fly to earth.

Writelike

To make it clear that the fragment is a fragment, we've added an extra sentence to the front of it to provide context in both of the examples.

Write your own sentences here. Do one of each (statement, question, command, and fragment) and keep the supporting clause the same!

Exclamations aren't made of clauses, so there aren't as many ways to embed more meaning into them. Because they're usually cried out in surprise, fear, anger, excitement, and so on, they also tend to be pretty short. That being said, it can happen. Here's an example:

Oh the folly of him going out by himself in that way!
(The Secret Commonwealth, Phillip Pullman, source)

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