Sentence structure
የዓረፍተ ነገር አወቃቀር (sentence structure)
How English sentences are built: clauses, simple, compound and complex sentences, and how to fix the two most common problems, fragments and run-ons.
Clauses and the three sentence types
A clause has a subject and a verb. An independent clause can stand alone (I work at the airport). A dependent clause starts with a word like because, when, if, although, who and cannot stand alone (because I need money). Amharic puts the verb at the end and attaches “because” to the verb (ገንዘብ ስለሚያስፈልገኝ); English keeps the order subject + verb + object and puts because at the start of its clause.
In Amharic
ሐረግ (clause) ባለቤትና ግሥ አለው። ነጻ ሐረግ ብቻውን መቆም ይችላል (I work at the airport)። ጥገኛ ሐረግ እንደ because, when, if, although, who ባሉ ቃላት ይጀምራል፤ ብቻውን መቆም አይችልም (because I need money)። አማርኛ ግሡን መጨረሻ ላይ ያስቀምጣል፤ “ስለ”ንም ከግሡ ጋር ያያይዛል (ገንዘብ ስለሚያስፈልገኝ)፤ እንግሊዝኛ ግን ባለቤት + ግሥ + ተሳቢ የሚለውን ቅደም ተከተል ይይዛል፤ because ደግሞ በሐረጉ መጀመሪያ ይገባል።
| Type | Made of | Example |
|---|---|---|
| simple | one independent clause | My wife works at a hotel. |
| compound | two independent clauses + and / but / or / so | My wife works at a hotel, and I drive for a delivery company. |
| complex | independent + dependent clause | When the baby sleeps, I study English. |
| compound-complex | two independent + one dependent | I was tired, but I finished the form because it was due. |
- Every English sentence needs a subject and a verb. Amharic can drop the subject (መጣ); English cannot: He came. It is raining.
- FANBOYS join two independent clauses with a comma: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
- If the dependent clause comes first, put a comma after it: If it rains, we will stay home. If it comes second, usually no comma: We will stay home if it rains.
- The bus was late.
- The bus was late, so I took a taxi.
- Because the bus was late, I missed my appointment.
- My son plays soccer, and my daughter takes piano lessons.
- Although the rent is high, the apartment is close to work.
Fragments and run-ons
A fragment is a piece of a sentence written as if it were complete: Because I was sick. (What happened?) Join it to a main clause, or add the missing subject or verb. A run-on is two sentences pushed together with no mark (I called you nobody answered) or with only a comma (a comma splice: I called you, nobody answered). Long Amharic sentences joined with -ና or -ኦ often become run-ons when translated.
In Amharic
ያልተሟላ ዓረፍተ ነገር (fragment) እንደ ሙሉ የተጻፈ የዓረፍተ ነገር ቁራጭ ነው፦ Because I was sick። (ምን ሆነ?) ከዋና ሐረግ ጋር ያገናኙት፤ ወይም የጎደለውን ባለቤት ወይም ግሥ ይጨምሩ። የተደራረበ ዓረፍተ ነገር (run-on) ያለ ምልክት (I called you nobody answered) ወይም በኮማ ብቻ (comma splice፦ I called you, nobody answered) የተገፉ ሁለት ዓረፍተ ነገሮች ናቸው። በ -ና ወይም በ -ኦ የተያያዙ ረጅም የአማርኛ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች ሲተረጎሙ ብዙ ጊዜ run-on ይሆናሉ።
| Problem | Example | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| fragment (no main clause) | Because I was sick. | I stayed home because I was sick. |
| fragment (no verb) | The man from the office. | The man from the office called. |
| fragment (no subject) | Went to the bank. | I went to the bank. |
| run-on | I called you nobody answered. | I called you. Nobody answered. |
| comma splice | I called you, nobody answered. | I called you, but nobody answered. |
| comma splice | The rent is due, I will pay today. | The rent is due; I will pay today. |
- Four ways to fix a run-on: a full stop; a comma + and/but/so; a semicolon; or because/when/although.
- However and therefore are not joining words like but: use a full stop or a semicolon before them. I was tired; however, I finished.
- In speech and text messages, fragments are normal (Sounds good. See you at 5.). In formal writing, avoid them.
- I couldn't come to work yesterday because my son was sick.
- The heater is broken. Can someone fix it this week?
- We looked at the apartment, but it was too small.
- The office was closed; therefore, I went back on Monday.
One idea per sentence
Clear English writing uses short to medium sentences, each carrying one main idea. If a sentence has more than about 25 words or three ands, split it. Put the most important information first: readers in offices and schools often read only the first line.
In Amharic
ግልጽ የእንግሊዝኛ ጽሑፍ አጭርና መካከለኛ ዓረፍተ ነገሮችን ይጠቀማል፤ እያንዳንዳቸው አንድ ዋና ሐሳብ ይይዛሉ። አንድ ዓረፍተ ነገር ከ25 ቃላት በላይ ወይም ሦስት and ካለው ይክፈሉት። በጣም አስፈላጊውን መረጃ መጀመሪያ ያስቀምጡ፦ በመሥሪያ ቤትና በትምህርት ቤት ያሉ አንባቢዎች ብዙ ጊዜ የመጀመሪያውን መስመር ብቻ ያነባሉ።
- Split long chains of and: one sentence, one idea.
- Start with the point, then the reason: I need Friday off. My daughter has a school event.
- Vary the length: a short sentence after two long ones is easy to remember.
- Too long: I went to the office and they said I need a new form and I have to bring my ID and come back on Monday.
- Better: I went to the office. They said I need a new form. I have to bring my ID and come back on Monday.
- I am writing about my water bill. It is twice as high as usual.
- My son will be absent on Friday. He has a doctor's appointment.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Because I was late, I missed the bus. | A because clause alone is a fragment; join it to the main clause. | |
| It is very hot today. | English always needs a subject, even an empty it. | |
| I finished work, and I went home. | A comma alone cannot join two sentences. | |
| The landlord called me. | Do not repeat the subject with a pronoun. | |
| I was tired; however, I finished. | however needs a semicolon or full stop before it. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Which is a complete sentence?
What type is this sentence? “I called, but nobody answered.”
What type is this sentence? “When I get home, I cook dinner.”
Which fixes the run-on “I was hungry I ate a sandwich”?
Add the missing subject: “___ is raining.” (one word)
Which is a comma splice?
Join with a word that gives a reason: “I stayed home ___ I was sick.”
Which is correct?
Which is punctuated correctly?
Which joining word shows contrast? “The apartment is small, ___ it is cheap.”