Writer's Choice Grade 6

Unit 20: Sentence Combining

Overview

Short sentences can have impact. They can be easy to read. They can also be boring.

Experienced writers vary sentence length and type. They might combine two of the above sentences like this: Short sentences are easy to read, but they can also be boring.The previous example is a compound sentence. A compound sentence joins two or more related simple sentences by using the conjunctions and, but, or or.

Sometimes two or more sentences contain the same elements. For example, they may have the same subject or the same verb. Think about the following sentences. Anya went to the beach. Anya saw some whales at the beach. These sentences share the same subject, Anya. You can avoid repeating shared information by using compound elements to combine sentences. Anya went to the beach and saw some whales. In this example, the compound elements are the verbs went and saw. Join compound elements with the conjunctions and, but, or or; but do not use a comma before the conjunction.

Prepositional phrases can help you combine sentences by presenting more information about a noun or a verb. A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition, ends with a noun or pronoun, and describes nouns or verbs. Instead of writing Anya enjoys sunbathing. She sunbathes at the beach, write Anya enjoys sunbathing at the beach.