We’ve been practicing writing complex sentences, and we’ve talked about beginning complex sentences two different ways: with a subordinate clause or with an independent clause. It’s helpful to learn how to write sentences in different ways so that our writing sounds interesting and lively.
If we begin every sentence with a subordinate clause, our writing will look like this:
When the rain stops, I will go fishing. Because the wet ground is soft, it will be easy to dig for worms. While I am waiting, I will get my rod out of the basement. After I take out my tackle box, I need to find my boots. Unless my feet grew over the winter, the boots should still fit. If Dad gets back from the store in time, I can take the car. Although I have a bike, it’s easier to drive to the lake.
Technically, there’s nothing wrong with this paragraph, but the repetitive sentence structure is a bit tedious. Rather than begin every sentence with a subordinate clause word, it would be good to mix things up a bit. Begin some of the sentences with a subordinate clause; begin others with the independent clause. If you do that, it might look like this:
I will go fishing when the rain stops. It will be easy to dig worms because the wet ground is soft. While I am waiting, I will get my rod and tackle box out of the basement. I also need to find my boots. The boots should still fit unless my feet grew over the winter. I can take the car if Dad gets back from the store in time. Although I have a bike, it’s easier to drive to the lake.
Notice how the order of some sentences has been changed. Sometimes the subordinate clause word is at the beginning of the sentence; other times it is in the middle of the sentence. One short sentence is not even complex; it’s a simple sentence. Variety in sentence length and sentence structure makes for more interesting reading. The next time you have to write something, try to vary your sentence structure. Be creative. Make your writing come alive.