52b Varying sentence openings
Contents:
Using transitional expressions for variety
Using phrases for variety
Using dependent clauses for variety
If sentence after sentence begins with a subject, a passage may become monotonous or even hard to read.
The editing adds variety by using a subordinating word (Because) and transitions (however and In fact) and by linking sentences. Varying sentence openings prevents the passage from seeming to jerk or lurch along.
You can add variety to your sentence openings by using transitions, various kinds of phrases, and introductory dependent clauses.
Using transitional expressions for variety
See how transitions bring variety and clarity to this passage.
In order to be alert Friday morning in New York, I planned to take the shuttle from Washington Thursday night. On Thursday morning it began to snow in Washington and to snow even harder in New York. By mid-afternoon I decided not to risk the shuttle and caught a train to New York. Seven hours later the train completed its three-hour trip. I arrived at Penn Station to find a city shut down by the worst blizzard since 1947.
—LINDA ELLERBEE, “And So It Goes”
Here the transitional words establish chronology as well as help carry readers smoothly through the paragraph. (For more on transitions, see 5f.)
Using phrases for variety
Prepositional, verbal, and absolute phrases can also provide variety in sentence openings.
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
Before dawn, tired commuters drink their first cups of coffee.
From a few scraps of wood in the Middle Ages to a precisely carved, electrified instrument in our times, the guitar has gone through uncounted changes.
VERBAL PHRASES
Frustrated by the delays, the driver shouted at his car radio.
To qualify for the finals, a speller must win a regional championship.
ABSOLUTE PHRASES
Our hopes for victory shattered, we started home.
In general, use a comma after such phrases whenever they open a sentence (54b).
Using dependent clauses for variety
Dependent clauses are another way to open a sentence.
While the boss sat on his tractor, I was down in a ditch, pounding in stakes.
What they want is a place to call home.
In general, use a comma after adverb clauses whenever they open a sentence (54b).