1. SINGLE and MULTI-Clause SEntences
TEACHING SENTENCE TYPES
SINGLE and MULTI-Clause SEntences

2. NC Glossary guidance
A sentence may consist of a single clause or it may contain several clauses held together by subordination or co-ordination. Classifying sentences as ‘simple’, ‘complex’ or ‘compound’ can be confusing, because a ‘simple’ sentence may be complicated, and a ‘complex’ one may be straightforward. The terms ‘single- clause sentence’ and ‘multi-clause sentence’ may be more helpful.
See also the PowerPoints:
Sentence Types: Student Confusion
Sentence Types: Teacher Information

3. Single-clause (simple) sentences
The detective hurried along the street.
The detective hurried along the rain-swept streets, his hands deep in his pockets.
With his hands deep in his pockets one cold November night, the detective from New York hurried anxiously along the half-deserted, rain-swept streets, a troubled frown on his face.
Most students define a simple sentence as a short sentence. Using the examples, how could you explain that a simple sentence can be any length? How could the term ‘single-clause sentence’ help you do this?

4. Find the single clause sentences. How many are also short sentences
Find the single clause sentences. How many are also short sentences? What effect do you think the writer wants to create through the number, length and placing of these single-clause sentences?
I was just pushing the lower half of the ladder back up when I heard it. There was someone at the front door. I held my breath. It was OK. They couldn’t get in. I slid my hand into my pocket to make sure the key was still there. It wasn’t. I’d left it in the front door. I could hear it turning in the lock now. I raced back up the ladder and hauled it after me. When I reached down to pull the hatch back up, I could hear someone coming up the stairs. I quickly pulled the hatch back into place and scrabbled over to the water tank, holding my breath. (From Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce)
Idea of deliberate design choices – here the writer wants to stress that Damian (who is hiding stolen money in the attic of his house when he hears someone coming in) is frightened and in a panic. How well do we think the one-clause sentences work here?

5. Single-clause sentences
Many students think that putting in ‘short snappy sentences’ will instantly improve their writing! Help them to tie choices of sentence structure to a purpose and effect, bearing in mind the type of text being written. For example, a single-clause sentence (which can be any length) can be effective for:
focusing attention on a single idea or argument:
Endangered animals like the tiger or the panda need the protection of zoos.
drawing attention to an expressive choice of verb:
A few rocks tumbled with him.
Creating a quick pace in a narrative or emphasising key ideas:
Hogarth began to run. He ran and ran. Home. Home. The Iron Man had come back.

6. Co-ordination
Between words: heads or tails; bread and butter; forgive and forget neither use nor ornament; not only but also Between phrases: All the king’s horses and all the king’s men; the good, the bad and the ugly; gone, but not forgotten; this way or that way Between clauses: Keep calm and carry on. Say what you mean, but don’t say it mean. To be, or not to be, that is the question.
Using the examples, explain what ‘co-ordination’ means and what effect it has i.e. joining similar things or providing a contrast; balancing ideas and giving them equal weight.
Current National Curriculum stresses teaching the concept of co-ordination and what it can do for writing, rather than the labelling of sentences as compound.

7. This is Pip’s first meeting with Miss Havisham in Great Expectations
This is Pip’s first meeting with Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. List all the examples of co-ordination you can see.
She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table. Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half- packed trunks, were scattered about. She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on – the other was on the table near her hand – her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief, and gloves, and some flowers, and a prayer-book, all confusedly heaped about the looking-glass.
Pip’s first view of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. List all the uses of co-ordination you can see here. Why do you think there are so many co-ordinated words, phrases and clauses? What is the effect of using ‘and’ so often, and ‘but’ only once?

8. This is Pip’s first meeting with Miss Havisham in Great Expectations
This is Pip’s first meeting with Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. What impression is created through Dickens’ heavy use of co-ordination?
She was dressed in rich materials – satins, and lace, and silks – all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table. Dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half- packed trunks, were scattered about. She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on – the other was on the table near her hand – her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief, and gloves, and some flowers, and a prayer-book, all confusedly heaped about the looking-glass.
Why do you think there are so many co-ordinated words, phrases and clauses? What is the effect of using ‘and’ so often, and ‘but’ only once?

9. Co-ordinated clauses (compound sentence)
Stone led us down the garden, tugged the door open and shone his little torch into the gloom. Co-ordinated clauses using ‘and’ can be useful for showing a sequence of actions, chaining ideas and for adding information of equal importance and weight. Co-ordinated clauses using ‘but’ can be useful for balancing ideas and providing contrast: Some animals build nests, but others make dens or dig burrows. ‘Or’ signals alternatives: For protection, animals make dens or dig burrows. With that in mind, why do you think Orwell chose to use ‘and’ as a co-ordinating conjunction in the opening sentence to Nineteen Eighty Four? It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

10. a woman stood in the doorway holding a flickering candle
How many different ways can you join the main clauses to the subordinate clauses? Which sentences sound the scariest? Using the examples you generate, how would you explain the concept of subordination?
the house seemed empty
slowly decaying
its windows boarded up
covered with ivy
smiling
Using the examples here, how would you explain the concept of subordination?
Can you do this in a way that stresses the relationship between the subordinate and main clauses (beyond, ‘adding detail’)?
a woman stood in the doorway
holding a flickering candle
beckoning me to follow her
©Mornixuur.nl

11. The two finite (main) clauses are highlighted
The two finite (main) clauses are highlighted. Count how many subordinate clauses are used in this description of the bear fight.
Like a wave that has been building its strength over a thousand miles of ocean, and which makes little stir in the deep water, but which when it reaches the shallows rears itself up high into the sky, terrifying the shore-dwellers, before crashing down on the land with irresistible power – so Iorek Byrnison rose up against Iofur, exploding upwards from his firm footing on the dry rock and slashing with a ferocious left hand at the exposed jaw of Iofur Raknison. It was a horrifying blow.
(Northern Lights, Philip Pullman)

12. What do you think is the writer’s purpose in using subordination so heavily?
Like a wave that has been building its strength over a thousand miles of ocean, and which makes little stir in the deep water, but which when it reaches the shallows rears itself up high into the sky, terrifying the shore-dwellers, before crashing down on the land with irresistible power – so Iorek Byrnison rose up against Iofur, exploding upwards from his firm footing on the dry rock and slashing with a ferocious left hand at the exposed jaw of Iofur Raknison. It was a horrifying blow.
(Northern Lights, Philip Pullman)
Epic clash between the enemies reflected in epic sentence structure!

13. Subordinate clauses (complex sentence)
Subordinate clauses can be effective:
for adding layers of detail:
Finally, the footprints led back up to the top of the cliff, where the little boy had seen the Iron Man appear the night before, when he was fishing.
for stressing the relationship between ideas:
Although zoos are unnatural, they do protect endangered species.
for foregrounding information:
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.
Last example – opening sentence of One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

14. Forming subordinate clauses
Students can be unsure about the different ways of forming a subordinate clause. These are:
with a non-finite verb
a present participle ending in –ing: Struggling against the wind, the little boat almost hit the rocks.
a past participle, with an –ed or irregular ending: The little boat broke into pieces, dashed against the rocks.
an infinitive: We changed course to avoid the rocks.)
with a relative pronoun, as part of a noun phrase: The little boat, which struggled against the wind, almost hit the rocks.
with a subordinating conjunction: Although the little boat was struggling against the wind, it avoided the rocks.

15. Practice! Explain how these subordinate clauses are formed:
a wave that has been building its strength
when it reaches the shallows
terrifying the shore-dwellers
before it crashes down on the land
exploding upwards

16. Sentence types and writing development
The tendency to over-use co-ordination is more typical of lower and middle ability writers. This may reflect speech patterns which are naturally more heavily co-ordinated; or it may reflect a focus upon conveying narrative action without considering the relationships between ideas that can be expressed through subordination.
Using subordination allows the relationship between clauses to be more explicit: it can represent a move from chaining ideas together (with and or but) to showing explanatory or causal links.
Using subordination results in varying the structure of the sentence, which can add to its impact on the reader.
Using subordination often invites the use of more sophisticated internal sentence punctuation.
But note also that co-ordination is itself an effective choice for many circumstances such as building pace or emphasising a chain of events. Controlled use of short sentences for emphasis is also a mark of good student writers.

17. The effects of overusing co-ordination
Once upon a time there was a little girl and her name was Red Riding Hood and she lived on the edge of a forest with her mother and father. One day Red Riding Hood’s mother called her into the cottage kitchen and Red Riding Hood could smell cakes baking and her mother told her to take the cakes to her grandmother in the forest. Her grandmother was very old and she was not very well and she lived all alone in a cottage deep in the forest. Red Riding Hood’s mother finished baking the cakes and dusted them with icing sugar. So Red Riding Hood filled her basket with cakes and covered them with a red napkin and she set out on her journey.
You could try rewriting a section of this using subordination to establish relationships between ideas. Some suggestions are made on the next slide – you could use these to articulate some of the differences.

18. The effects of using subordination
Once upon a time there was a little girl, called Red Riding Hood, who lived on the edge of a forest with her mother and father. One day Red Riding Hood’s mother called her into the cottage kitchen, filled with the smell of baking cakes, and told her to take the cakes to her grandmother. Because she was now old and unwell, and lived all alone in a cottage deep in the forest, Red Riding Hood’s grandmother would be glad of the cakes and the company. Soon, the cakes had been baked and dusted with icing sugar. Then Red Riding Hood filled her basket with them, covered them with a red napkin, and set out on her journey.
Consider the meanings that are foregrounded, or the relationship between ideas that are created through subordination. Consider too the rhythmic variation created.

19. Sentence combining
Combining single-clause sentences in different ways can be a helpful activity for showing the range of possible choices and discussing the impact on meaning and effect, tied to a specific purpose and context.
For example:
How many different ways can you combine these single-clause sentences in order to emphasise the drama of the situation?
The little boat tried to reach the harbour. It struggled against the wind. The crew cried out in fear. The boat was dashed against the rocks.
Which do you prefer?
Trying to reach the harbour, struggling against the wind, the crew cried out in fear as the little boat was dashed against the rocks.
As the little boat struggled against the wind, trying to reach the harbour, it was dashed against the rocks and the crew cried out in fear.
When the little boat struggled against the wind and tried to reach the harbour, it was dashed against the rocks. The crew cried out in fear.