Sentence Skills
Part 5 Sentence Combining --Subordination
Teaching Items
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Types of Subordination
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The Function of Subordination
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Ways of Achieving Subordination
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Misuse of Subordination
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Balance between Coordination and
Subordination
Types of Subordination
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Subordinate Clause (Dependent Clause)
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Subordinate Phrase
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Subordinate Word
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Emphatic degree: Subordinate Clause--Phrase---Words
Subordinate Clause
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The Adverb (Adverbial) Clause
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The Adjective (Relative) Clause
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The Noun Clause
subject clause, object clause, appositive
clause, complementary clause
Subordinate Phrases
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The Verbal Phrase: infinitive, participle, gerund
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The Appositive Phrase
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The Absolute Phrase
Function of Subordination
1. Emphasis
The thief ran away when the police arrived.
2. Compactness and Variety
The young, friend, responsive audience cheered for
each speaker.
3. Clear Relationship
(time, reason, condition, identification, concession,
circumstance…)
Ways of Achieving Subordination
1. Using Subordinate Clause
(Subordinating less important meanings by using subordinators)
e.g. The police arrived. The thief ran away.--When the police arrived, the thief ran away.
2. Using Subordinating Phrases
(Subordinating short sentences or coordinate clauses into phrases
and embedding them into a nearby sentence)
e.g. I worked hard and I turned out a first rate manuscript, and I
missed my deadline and my publisher was angry.--Although I worked hard and turned out a first rate manuscript,
my publisher was angry because I missed my deadline.
Misuse of Subordination
1. Illogical subordination
2. Faulty subordination
3. Inverted subordination
4. Overused subordination
Balance between Coordination and
Subordination
1. I waked up at 6:30. I thought I was late.
I washed quickly. Then I went into the
kitchen. I found something to eat. I
finished eating in a few minutes. I took
my bike and hurried out. I rode very fast
along the streets. Soon I was at the school
gate. But it was closed. Then I realized
that it was Saturday.
I waked up at 6:30. Thinking that I
would be late for school, I washed quickly,
went into the kitchen, and found something
to eat. Then I hurried out with my bike. I
rode as fast as I could along the streets, and
soon got to the school gate, but it was
closed. Only then did I realize that it was
Saturday.
2. I sit here at the keyboard. I try to think
of things to say. The words are not coming
very freely. I think that is probably because
it is the end of a long day. It may be that I
am tired. I can not continue my writing.
Free writing may help me break through
the writer’s block.
I sit here at the keyboard, trying to think
of things to say, but the words are not
coming very freely. Probably, they aren’t
coming because it is the end of a long day,
and I’m tired. Whatever the reason, I can
not continue my writing. Perhaps free
writing will help me break through the
writer’s block.
3. It was the end of the term. All the
students were excited. The class was still
going on. The students began to talk about
where to spend their holiday. Some were
thinking of going to the seaside. Some
were thinking of visiting some famous sites
of historical interest. Others were thinking
of seeing friends.
3. It was the end of the term. All the
students were so excited that they began to
talk about where to spend their holiday
although the class was still going on. Some
were thinking of going to the seaside, some
planning to visit some famous sites of
historical interest all over the world and
others wanting to see friends.
4. I studied hard for the next exam, and I got
Bill to help me, but I still did poorly, but I did
much better than on the previous exam. The
teacher was obviously displeased with me, but
his frowns did not shatter my self-confidence.
With some help from Bill, I studied hard
for the next exam; and even though I still
did poorly, I did much better than on the
previous exam. The teacher’s frowns did
not shatter my self-confidence.