Sentence Boundaries

WRITING CLEARLY IN ENGLISH:

HOW TO RESPECT SENTENCE BOUNDARIES

A) Does this sentence have correct sentence boundaries? Why or why not?

            Example:  To which brands are you loyal?

                       "ASOS is a brand that reflects my taste, I always find something I could wear: it doesn’t happen in other cases with different brands that don’t have the same style, so it’s possible that some ASOS collections excite me."

B) Read the rules about sentence boundaries. Do you want to revise your answer in A?

 ; = the semicolon

Definition: A semicolon is more like a period than like a comma because it is used between independent clauses, not within them.

Use a semicolon between two independent clauses when the relationship between them is clear without a connecting word. [A connecting word is : and, but, or].

                       -Some dogs love water; all cats hate it.

-My older brother is in his last year of university; my younger brother is still in high school. 

C) Practice.  Insert the semicolon where necessary.

1  It’s a beautiful day; the sun is shining and the birds are singing.

2  The rain comes often and in large amounts in Rome; I like it very much because I can wear my favorite rain boots and pretend I have a horse farm.

3  Brand loyalty is very important for companies in the fashion business; it is a guarantee of income because customers will continue to buy their products which they like very much.

4  Unilever makes a lot of products; I can’t remember how many, but it’s impressive.

5  I don’t think there is a brand that features clothing and food; at the same time, I don’t know if it exists, really.

D) Practice. Read the paragraph and decide if the sentences need a semicolon ( ; ), comma ( , )  or a period ( . ) between its independent clauses. Remember to capitalize the beginnings of new sentences.

On Friday night,  my roommate and I went to a movie. We returned to our apartment around 11:00 p.m. As we approached our front door, we could tell something was wrong: the front door was open. Entering cautiously, we immediately saw that the place had been burglarized. In the living room, all our books and CDs lay scattered on the floor.  The furniture had been overturned, there was glass everywhere, and  the television was gone. We went next door and called the police immediately. They did not arrive until two hours later.

How to write comparative sentences

 There are a few ways to show a comparison in English:

·      Use   ‘but’ ‘however’ ‘instead’ :  My oldest sister lives in California. But, my younger sister lives in Arizona. 

·      My oldest sister lives in California. However, my younger sister lives in Arizona.  

·       My oldest sister lives in California. Instead, my youngest sister lives in Arizona. 

·      Use ‘while’:  While my oldest sister lives in California, my youngest sister lives in Arizona.

·      Use ‘would rather’ + base verb:  I don’t like H & M’s clothing. I would rather shop at the GAP because I’m a very practical person and I like their minimalist style.

·      Use On the one hand / On the other hand / From a ______point of view…  
-On the one hand, H & M has attractive styles because they are current, and cheap. On the other hand, it doesn’t always reflect my personal style.

 -From a trendy point of view, it might be a good idea to shop at H&M, also because it has good prices. In any case, I really don’t think H & M reflects my personal taste for clothes, so I would rather shop at the GAP. 

Practice:  Combine the ideas to show comparisons.

     Example:  My favorite color is green. My best friend prefers blue.

-My favorite color is green, but  my best friend prefers blue.   
-My favorite color is green, while my friend prefers blue.
-I love green as a color. My friend would rather see everything in blue since that is her favorite color.

A) Revise the paragraph comparing two brand styles. Use the words given in the explanation above. 

Zara produces clothing on an industrial scale, in large quantities, and on their store floor you can find products in line with the current styles, inspired by the big brands. The quality of their products is different from Luisa Spagnoli’s. The Luisa Spagnoli brand is different also from other points of view. Their stores refer to the idea of the old ateliers. On the other hand, the Zara stores are department stores with a large selection of items.

B)  Write a concluding thought to finish the idea thread in this paragraph. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

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[1] Definitions and some examples from The Essentials of English: A Writer’s Handbook by Ann Hogue, Longman Publishers, 2003, White Plains, NY, USA.