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(单词翻译)
Grammar Girl here.
Today’s topic is the complex-compound sentence.
Guest writer Sal Glynn writes:
Most writers worth their fingertip calluses begin as avid1 readers. We read books, magazines, and websites indiscriminately until we start to notice the writing itself and marvel2 at the many forms a sentence can take. The complex-compound sentence, spinning in the whirl of words, elicits3 the most admiration4 and envy. How can I write like that?
Declarative Sentences
First, start small. The declarative sentence is the building block of writing (1). It requires a simple string of one subject and one predicate, and usually has one direct object:
Henrik scrubbed the goat.
Henrik is the subject, scrubbed is the predicate, and the goat is the direct object.
Compound Sentences
All the necessary information is there, but your reader will go for a nap if you write too many short declarative sentences in a row.
Henrik scrubbed the goat. He danced a tarantella.*
Blah. But those two declarative sentences are related to each other because they're both about Henrik. So you can combine them to make a compound sentence:
Henrik scrubbed the goat, and he danced a tarantella.
Now the sentence contains two independent clauses, Henrik scrubbed the goat and he danced a tarantella. They're joined by the conjunction “and,” and can also be expressed as separate sentences—which is the big test for any compound structure.
Complex Sentences
The next step on the ladder of sentence complexity5 is the complex sentence. The straightforward6, no-nonsense complex sentence is made of a main clause and a dependent clause. The main clause can stand alone, but just as dependent children need their parents, dependent clauses need their main clause to escape being sentence fragments.
Henrik cleaned his beard after the goat kicked straw in his face.
Henrik cleaned his beard is the main clause and after the goat kicked straw in his face is the dependent clause. Readers get more information from complex sentences, and including them makes for an engaging reading experience.
Acquiring the Skill
Moving even higher on the ladder of sentence complexity, we've got the complex-compound sentence. As you might have guessed, complex-compound sentences are a combination of compound sentences and complex sentences. They have at least two main clauses and one dependent clause, and sometimes many others. Punctuation8 can also expand past the lone7 comma and period to include semicolons, and even dashes.
Henrik never should have bought the goat after it kicked straw in his face; he wanted to impress Daphne, who always wore a leopard9 skin pillbox hat.
Henrik never should have bought the goat is the first main clause and after it kicked straw in his face is the first dependent clause. He wanted to impress Daphne is the second main clause and who always wore a leopard skin pillbox hat is the second dependent clause.
Although they do appear in non-fiction, some of the most beautiful examples of complex-compound sentences appear in fiction. In John Barleycorn by Jack10 London (2), the writer shows the breathless enthusiasm of youth while piloting a bandit skiff on San Francisco Bay:
How was I, who had worked hard and read books of adventure, and was only fifteen years old, who had not dreamed of giving the Queen of the Oyster11 Pirates a second thought, and who did not know that French Frank was madly and Latinly in love with her—how was I to guess that I had done him shame?
How was I is the main clause and “I” is the subject, with who had worked hard and read books of adventure being the first dependent clause. Was only fifteen years oldhas an implicit12 “who” to make it a second dependent clause, and who had not dreamed of giving the Queen of the Oyster Pirates a second thought is the third dependent clause. We’re not out of the sentence yet. Who did not know that French Frank was madly and Latinly in love with her is the fourth dependent clause, and finally, the second main clause ends the sentence: how was I to guess that I had done him shame?
Of the classic writers, Jane Austen was fond of the complex-compound, as were Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, and Henry James. Contemporary writer Flannery O’Connor used the complex-compound sentence judiciously13, David Foster Wallace tosses the structure around like a profligate14, and Thomas Pynchon is a master in his most dense15 novels. Alice Sebold uses the complex-compound to great effect in The Lovely Bones (3).
The Importance of Music
Your ear is the greatest asset in composing these sentences. The complex-compound is where the written word turns to music. Grammar is important, but what brings the meanings and actions of the sentence to the reader is the rhythm. An artfully constructed complex-compound sentence is sung instead of read. When the tune16 is missing, copy editors and readers will shriek17 when confronted with its appearance.
Now that you understand the complex-compound sentence, remember -- the quick and dirty tip is to listen for the music and construct them with care and attention.
The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken19 Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish
Thanks to guest-writer Sal Glynn, the author of the award-winning book The Dog Walked Down the Street, An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish. Find out more about Sal at his blog,...
You can find a transcript20 of this podcast and all my contact information at quickanddirtytips.com.
That's all. Thanks for listening.
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avid
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adj.热心的;贪婪的;渴望的;劲头十足的 | |
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marvel
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vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
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elicits
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引出,探出( elicit的第三人称单数 ) | |
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admiration
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n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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complexity
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n.复杂(性),复杂的事物 | |
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straightforward
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adj.正直的,坦率的;易懂的,简单的 | |
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lone
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adj.孤寂的,单独的;唯一的 | |
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punctuation
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n.标点符号,标点法 | |
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leopard
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n.豹 | |
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jack
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n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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oyster
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n.牡蛎;沉默寡言的人 | |
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implicit
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a.暗示的,含蓄的,不明晰的,绝对的 | |
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judiciously
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adv.明断地,明智而审慎地 | |
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profligate
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adj.行为不检的;n.放荡的人,浪子,肆意挥霍者 | |
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dense
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a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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tune
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n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
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shriek
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v./n.尖叫,叫喊 | |
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administrative
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adj.行政的,管理的 | |
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outspoken
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adj.直言无讳的,坦率的,坦白无隐的 | |
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transcript
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n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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