{"id":9771,"date":"2015-07-20T14:50:53","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T21:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-crowdcontent.com\/?p=9771"},"modified":"2021-05-12T01:52:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T08:52:06","slug":"sentence-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/resources\/writer\/university\/style\/sentence-unity\/","title":{"rendered":"Sentence Unity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sentence Unity<\/h2>\n

Before you start this lesson, you might want to review this basic lesson on sentences.<\/a> I\u2019m building on those basics here.<\/p>\n

Sentence unity refers to several concepts: noun-pronoun agreement<\/a>, subject-verb agreement<\/a>, tense agreement<\/a>, and using one idea per sentence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that last idea that we\u2019ll look at here.<\/p>\n

Multi-Idea Problems<\/h3>\n

In the lesson on sentences, I said that a sentence is a complete thought. Notice that \u201cthought\u201d is singular. Introducing multiple ideas into a sentence is a guaranteed method of confusing readers.<\/p>\n

Identifying what counts as single or multiple ideas is an art, not a science. It\u2019s also subjective.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got some tips below, but examining your sentences for possible confusion is the best way to improve your sentence unity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Good and Bad of Non-Restrictive Clauses<\/h3>\n

We know that non-restrictive clauses<\/a> are non-essential, but not necessarily unimportant, ideas. Both of the following sentences contain non-restrictive clauses. Can you spot an important difference between them?<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> My laptop, which is three-months-old, is broken.<\/em><\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> The office, which used to have a daycare and cafeteria, is located in the center of downtown.<\/em><\/p>\n

We could rewrite the first sentence as: My laptop is broken. This sentence makes sense; it\u2019s not essential to know that the laptop is three-months-old, but that information is relevant to the sentence (Three-month-old laptops aren\u2019t usually broken).<\/p>\n

So, in this sentence, the non-restrictive clause is non-essential (like all non-restrictive clauses), but it is important.<\/p>\n

In the second example, the non-restrictive clause is neither essential nor important. It\u2019s an irrelevant idea that comes out of nowhere.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re describing the location of an office, it\u2019s completely irrelevant what small features it used to have. We need to rewrite this sentence.<\/p>\n

Re-write:<\/strong> The office is located in the center of downtown. It used to have a daycare and cafeteria.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now we\u2019ve got two logical sentences, each containing their own idea.<\/p>\n

And on and on and on<\/h3>\n

Conjunctions, especially \u201cand\u201d, frequently sneak extra ideas into sentences.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> Cedric has red hair and freckles, and he plays soccer every Saturday, but he doesn\u2019t like any other sports except hockey.<\/em><\/p>\n

This sentence tries to describe Cedric\u2019s appearance, what he does, and his interests, which is more than one sentence can handle.<\/p>\n

His appearance is completely separate from the other two ideas, so it definitely gets its own sentence.<\/p>\n

Break it up:<\/strong> Cedric has red hair and freckles.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since what Cedric does is related to his interests, we can combine those ideas into one sentence.<\/p>\n

Re-write:<\/strong> He plays soccer every Saturday, but he doesn\u2019t like any other sports except hockey.<\/em><\/p>\n

While the ideas are now fine, the wording makes this sentence clunky. Changing the second half makes it easier to understand.<\/p>\n

Re-write:<\/strong> He plays soccer every Saturday, and the only other sport he likes is hockey.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re using a comma and a conjunction<\/a>, you can always use a period instead, so check how closely your ideas relate to decide which option is better.<\/strong><\/p>\n

See Spot Run<\/h3>\n

After all this talk of sticking to one and only one idea per sentence, you might be thinking, \u201cSo should I write only Dick and Jane sentences?\u201d<\/p>\n

No.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of lengthy sentences that stick to one idea, while exploring that idea in multiple clauses.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got a string of short sentences, look for related thoughts so that you can combine them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> I am a writer. I write online. I mostly write blogs. Sometimes I write product descriptions. I am having lasagna for dinner.<\/em><\/p>\n

Except for the last sentence, these sentences all relate to online writing. Here are several options for combining them.<\/p>\n

Option 1:<\/strong> I am an online writer who mostly writes blogs and occasional product descriptions.<\/em><\/p>\n

Option 2:<\/strong> As an online writer, I mostly write blogs, and sometimes write product descriptions.<\/em><\/p>\n

Option 3:<\/strong> I am an online writer. I mostly write blogs and sometimes write product descriptions.<\/em><\/p>\n

These sentences don\u2019t say anything about lasagna, so they\u2019re all fine.<\/p>\n

Learn More:<\/p>\n