20|Sentence Variety
For a review of sentence types, see 5.
Most writers rely on some patterns more than others to express ideas directly and efficiently, but sometimes they combine sentence elements in unexpected ways to emphasize ideas and to surprise readers.
20aNormal Sentences
In a normal sentence, a writer puts the subject before the verb at the beginning of the main clause. This pattern is the most common in English because it expresses ideas in the most straightforward manner.
Most college students today want interesting classes.
20bInverted Sentences
In an inverted sentence, a writer inverts or reverses the subject-verb order to emphasize an idea in the predicate.
| NORMAL | My peers are uninterested in reading. |
| INVERTED | How uninterested in reading are my peers! |
20cCumulative Sentences
In a cumulative sentence, a writer piles details at the end of a sentence to help readers visualize a scene or understand an idea.
They came walking out in heavily brocaded yellow and black costumes, the familiar “toreador” suit, heavy with gold embroidery, cape, jacket, shirt and collar, knee breeches, pink stockings, and low pumps.
—Ernest Hemingway, “Bullfighting Is Not a Sport—It Is a Tragedy”
20dPeriodic Sentences
The positions of emphasis in a sentence are the beginning and the end. In a periodic sentence, a writer suspends the main clause for a climactic ending, emphasizing an idea by withholding it until the end.
Leaning back in his chair, shaking his head slowly back and forth, frustrated over his inability to solve the equation, Franklin scowled.
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EXERCISE 20-1 Increasing Sentence Variety
Revise the following passage, adding sentence variety to create interest, emphasize important ideas, and strengthen coherence.
We are terrified of death. We do not think of it, and we don’t speak of death. We don’t mourn in public. We don’t know how to console a grieving friend. In fact, we have eliminated or suppressed all the traditional rituals surrounding death.
The Victorians coped with death differently. Their funerals were elaborate. The yards of black crepe around the hearse, hired professional mourners, and solemn procession leading to an ornate tomb are now only a distant memory. They wore mourning jewelry. They had a complicated dress code for the grieving process. It governed what mourners wore, and it governed how long they wore it. Many of these rituals may seem excessive or even morbid to us today. The rituals served a psychological purpose in helping the living deal with loss.