• 3.I cannot recall when I have had such a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast.
• 4. The cactus has adapted to survive in an arid environment. • 5. When Edward VII abdicated the British throne to marry the
• 9. a. The unavailability of imported foods was simply beyond their expectations.
• b. They never thought that they were unable to get imported foods. 10. a. A great many of the students in the class lack the ability of being able to speak fluently.
E.g. It is nearly half past five, and we cannot reach town before dark.
Advantages: help reduce wordiness and relieve moPangeo1t0ony
complex sentence: contains one main clause and at least one dependent clause, with a connective word denoting the relation between them.
• 13. Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech.
• 14. On the castle battlements, an apparition materialized and spoke to Hamlet, warning him of his uncle’s treachery.
(2) Functional classification groups sentences according to whether they make a statement, ask a question, issue a command, or express an exclamation. (3) Rhetorical classification groups sentences according to where the main idea is located in the sentence. (4) According to the number of words in a sentence, sentences can be grouped into short and long sentence.
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1. Classification of sentences
1.1 Seeking sentence variety (1) What does sentence variety deal with? Different sentence patterns Varied sentence lengths (2) What does sentence variety aim at? Avoid monotony in one’s speech or writing “The joy of life is variety.” Samuel Johnson said. So variety of writing or speech is a joy. Without variety, any text can be dull and uninteresting.
E.g. The trailer is surrounded by a wooden deck.
Advantages: clarity and directness
compound sentence: consists of two or more independent clauses related to each other in meaning, and linked by a coordinating conjunction or by a semicolon without a conjunction.
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2 Types of sentences
2.1 Grammatical classification:
Simple sentence : consists of only one clause. The subject or the predicate, or both, may be compound.
• b . Many students in the class lack the ability of speaking fluently.
• 11.a. There are sixteen boys attending the crash course. • b. Sixteen boys attend the crash course.
• 1. The pungent odour of sulfuretted hydrogen resembles that of rotten eggs.
• 2. As you approach it, a tinkling and banging and clashing begins to impinge on your ear.
English Rhetoric
Chapter Four The Three Levels of Rhetorical Operations: Choice of Sentenith simple, everyday words or expressions:
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• 7. The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him.
• 8. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was a catastrophe that destroyed most of the city.
woman he loved, he surprised the entire world. • 6. Although we were encompassed by enemy forces, we
were cheerful for we were well stocked and could withstand a siege until our allies joined us.
• 9. Deep in her book, Nancy was oblivious to the noisy squabbles of her brother and his friends.
• 10. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the proliferation of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
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1.2 Different standards of classification (4 standards): grammar, function, rhetoric and length
(1) Grammatical classification groups sentences according to how many and what types of clauses they contain.
competition mechanism in the socialist marketing system. • b. We do not know much about the competition mechanisms
in the socialist marketing system.
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• 1. Classification of sentences • 2. Types of Sentences
2. 1 Simple, compound, complex, compound-complex 2. 2 Declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory 2. 3 Loose, periodic, balanced sentences 2. 4 Long and short sentences
• 11. Freddy was so overwhelmed by the profusion of choices on the menu that he knocked over his wine glass and soaked his host.
• 12. For many years an unheralded research, Barbara McClintock gained international renown when she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
raised his head and howled sharply twice, then paced and sniffed again. • b. The animal gave a sign of restlessness.
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• 6.a. Our target must be a concrete ceiling. • b. Let’s aim high but realistically. • 7. a. There has been persistent instability in numbers of staff. • b. The staff has continually varied in number. • 8. a. There exists a considerable lack of knowledge of the