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Sentence Length: Are Short Sentences Childish?

时间:2022-08-01 01:09:16

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Sentence Length: Are Short Sentences Childish1?

Do English speakers consider short sentences to be childish?

A reader sent us a message asking about that very question.

In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore an area of connection between sentence length, writing style, and grammar.

Question and answer

Are short sentences childish?

The answer is this: it depends.

Are the sentences clear? Do the ideas connect to each other? Are there different kinds of words – verbs, nouns, pronouns – and different kinds of sentence structures?

If the answer to these questions is "yes," then the writing is not childish.

The quality of a sentence does not depend on its length. Short sentences can be clear, direct, and powerful; they can also be boring or childish. Long sentences can be interesting, artistic2, and intelligent; they can also be confusing and unclear.

Ben Blatt is a writer. In 2017, he wrote a book called Nabokov's Favorite Word is Mauve. In the book, he explores how famous writers use language.

Blatt studied the opening lines of many books. Some writers used very short sentences, while others used very long sentences. Toni Morrison, Blatt notes, had a median sentence length of five words. In comparison, Jane Austen had a median sentence length of 32 words.

Consider these lines from A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was a famous, Nobel Prize-winning writer from the United States.

You do not want music. Certainly you do not want music. Nor can you stand before a bar with dignity although that is all that is provided for these hours. What did he fear? It was not a fear or dread3. It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too.

These lines have 62 words and seven sentences. On average, there are just under nine words per sentence.

Some English writing guides suggest sentences of around 15 words are likely to be understood. Sentences beyond 25 words risk becoming difficult to understand. This is because longer sentences usually have more clauses5 – subject and predicate groups. The greater the number of clauses, the greater the risk the sentence loses clarity6.

Using short statements to make longer sentences

Yet it is useful to write sentences with more than one clause4. Such sentences create variety – and variety, as the expression goes, is the spice of life.

One useful way to keep clauses separate and clear is by joining them with a semicolon.

But first, consider the independent clause. An independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence ending with a period. For example:

Tom likes salad.

This independent clause has a subject and a predicate.

The subject is "Tom," and the predicate is "likes salad."

You can combine two or more independent clauses that carry similar ideas. You can separate them with a semicolon (;)

A semicolon can be used to form a compound sentence.

For example:

Tom likes salad.

Betty likes pizza.

These two short statements — three words each — can be put together to make the following sentence that has six words:

Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza.

More information can be added to one of the clauses to make longer statements.

Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza, but she hates vegetables.

Or

Tom likes salad but doesn't like tomatoes; Betty likes pizza.

These sentences have 10 and 11 words, respectively.

Compound sentences can also be used to describe actions, as in:

The shark came close to the boat; the passengers yelled7 and took pictures.

Three clauses could be combined along with a connector – a conjunctive adverb such as "however," "unfortunately," or "therefore."

Such a sentence might go like this:

Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza; unfortunately, Joe refuses to eat vegetables.

Note that this example combines three clauses yet only has 12 words.

Closing thoughts

The central idea of this report is that sentence length and sentence quality are not the same thing.

As a very general suggestion, try to keep sentences around 15 words on average. Try to minimize8 the number of clauses per sentence. If possible, include sentence variety.

If you want to write sentences with several clauses, experiment with the semicolon idea. It is a useful way to create sentence variety and still keep thoughts clear and separate.

For those of you reading online, we will end our program with a question. We used a complex version of the semicolon structure two times earlier in this report. Can you find these sentences? How are they similar or different from what you learned about in today's report? Write to us in the comments section of our website, learningenglish.51voa.com.

Words in This Story

style –n. a particular way in which something is done, created or performed

boring – adj. dull and uninteresting : causing boredom9

median – n. mathematics : the middle value in a series of values arranged from smallest to largest

bar – n. a building or room where alcoholic10 drinks and sometimes food are served

dignity – n. a way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-control; the quality of being worthy11 of honor or respect

clause – n. grammar : a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb

predicate – n. grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject


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1 childish rrmzR     
adj.孩子的,孩子气的,幼稚的
参考例句:
  • The little girl spoke in a high childish voice.这个小女孩用尖尖的童声讲话。
  • We eventually ran out of patience with his childish behaviour.我们终于对他幼稚的行为忍无可忍。
2 artistic IeWyG     
adj.艺术(家)的,美术(家)的;善于艺术创作的
参考例句:
  • The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
  • These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
3 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
4 clause QVuyO     
n.(正式文件或法律文件的)条款,从句,分句
参考例句:
  • The sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause.这句中有一个主句和一个从句。
  • What clause do you require in the contract?你要求在合同中订上什么条款?
5 clauses 3d77f6277deb3abd1d274bedeade6932     
从句( clause的名词复数 ); (法律文件等的)条款
参考例句:
  • Relative pronouns and adverbs introduce attributive clauses. 关系代词和关系副词引导定语从句。
  • Please underline the noun clauses in the passage. 请用线画出短文中的名词性从句。
6 clarity uXazE     
n.清澈,透明,明晰
参考例句:
  • His writing has great clarity of style.他的写作风格清晰易懂。
  • Mozart's music is characterized by its naivety and clarity.莫扎特的音乐特色是纯朴兴清澈。
7 yelled aeee2b86b284e7fbd44f45779d6073c1     
v.叫喊,号叫,叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
  • The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着,希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 minimize RDpx4     
vt.使减(缩)小到最低,极力贬低,最低估计
参考例句:
  • To minimize the risk of burglary,install a good alarm system.安装可靠的报警设备以减低被盗的风险。
  • To minimize the public expenditure of this country.把该国的财政支出减少到最低限度。
9 boredom ynByy     
n.厌烦,厌倦,乏味,无聊
参考例句:
  • Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
  • A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。
10 alcoholic rx7zC     
adj.(含)酒精的,由酒精引起的;n.酗酒者
参考例句:
  • The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
  • Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。
11 worthy vftwB     
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
参考例句:
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

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