Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-complex Sentences by Manik Joshi (i love reading .txt) 📕

know him.

 

 

(C). Transitional Expressions

Transitional Expressions are used to provide a connection between sentences or paragraphs. The word transition literally means passing from one subject to another. Thus, transitional expressions show the logical relationships between ideas. They help to make a piece of writing flow better.

NOTE: Joining two independent clauses with a coordinating or correlating conjunction implies that they are part of the same idea. While, joining two independent clauses with a transitional expression (transitional words or phrases) implies that they are NOT part of the same idea. Instead, there is a specific and logical relationship between two independent clauses.

 

There are two types of transitional expressions: (1). Transitional words, (2). Transitional phrases

 

(C1). Transitional Words

[There are numerous transitional words that are used to link or join two or more clauses. Functioning as transitional words, Conjunctive Adverbs are commonly used to join independent clauses in compound sentences. Adverbs that are used as conjunctions are called “conjunctive adverbs”.]

 

(C2). Transitional Phrases

[Transitional phrases are formed of ‘group of words’ and are used to join independent clauses in compound sentences]

 

List of Useful ‘Transitional Words’ and ‘Transitional Words’ Based on Logical Relationship They Express. [Important Note: A particular transitional word or phrase may express more than one logical relationship]:

 

(a). Logical relationship: ‘Addition’

Transitional Words: additionally / again / alternatively / besides / further / incidentally / indeed / moreover

Transitional Phrases: above all / above and beyond / apart from / as a matter of fact / as well / as well as / coupled with / equally important / following this / in addition / in point of fact / in the same way / last but not least / let alone / over and above

 

(b). Logical relationship: ‘Cause and Effect’

Transitional Words: accordingly / consequently / hence / henceforth / therefore

Transitional Phrases: as a consequence / as a result / because of / by reason of / due to / following that / for the reason that / for this / forasmuch as / in consequence of / in view of / on account of / on the basis of

 

(c). Logical relationship: ‘Concession’

Transitional Words: regardless / nonetheless / however / blissfully / awhile / besides

Transitional Phrases: after all / all the same / at any rate / even so / in spite of / nevertheless / no doubt / of course / on the other hand

 

(d). Logical relationship: ‘Condition’

Transition Phrases: granting that / on the condition that / providing that

 

(e). Logical relationship: ‘Consequence (Result)’

Transitional Words: accordingly / consequently / hence / incidentally / otherwise / sadly / subsequently / thereby / therefore / thereupon / thus

Transitional Phrases: as a consequence / as a result / because of this / in consequence / on this account / so much so that / that’s why

 

(f). Logical relationship: ‘Contrast’

Transitional Words: anyhow / anyway / contrarily / conversely / fortunately / however / instead / ironically / meanwhile / nevertheless / nonetheless / notwithstanding / rather / though

Transitional Phrases: above all / after all / as compared with (or ‘to’) / at the same time / by contrast / contrary to / despite this (or that) / in contrast / in opposition to / in reality / in spite of / on the contrary / on the other hand / then again

 

(g). Logical relationship: ‘Dismissal’

Transitional Phrases: all the same / either way / in any case / whatever happens

 

(h). Logical relationship: ‘Illustration’

Transitional Words: chiefly / especially / including / namely / notably / specifically

Transitional Phrases: as an example / as an illustration / by way of example / by way of illustration / for example / for instance / furthermore / in a similar way / in particular / on top of that

 

(i). Logical relationship: ‘Emphasis’

Transitional Words: actually / certainly / decidedly / definitely / indeed / moreover / particularly / primarily / specifically / surely

Transitional Phrases: above all / after all / as a matter of fact / equally important / first and foremost / furthermore / in a first / in fact / more emphatically / more importantly / without a doubt / without question

 

(j). Logical relationship: ‘Exception’

Transitional Words: excepting / excluding / however

Transitional Phrases: aside from / besides this / nevertheless

 

(k). Logical relationship: ‘Explanation’

Transitional Words: explicitly / expressly / unfortunately

Transitional Phrases: even more / in fact / in the first place / more exactly / to clarify / to put it another way / to put it differently

 

(l). Logical relationship: ‘Generalization’

Transitional Words: customarily / generally / ordinarily / principally / typically / usually

Transitional Phrases: as a rule / by and large / for the most part / generally speaking / in simpler terms / more often than not / on the whole

 

(m). Logical relationship: ‘Location’

Transitional Words: alongside / hereupon / nearby / throughout

Transitional Phrases: at this / from there / in the center / in the foreground / on the far side / on the left near / on the opposite side / on the other side / on the right next / on the way down / up to this point /

 

(n). Logical relationship: ‘Purpose’

Transitional Phrases: for the purpose of / in order to / in the hope that / with this in mind / with this intention

 

(o). Logical relationship: ‘Quantifier’

Transitional Words: evenly / nearly / several / some

Transitional Phrases: a bit of / a couple of / a few / a great deal of / a lot of / a number of / a quantity of / almost all / at least / at most / at the minimum / little by little / none of the / not much / perhaps even less / perhaps even more / plenty of

 

(p). Logical relationship: ‘Reference’

Transitional Words: considering / regarding

Transitional Phrases: as for / given that / in view of

 

(q). Logical relationship: ‘Sequence’

Transitional Words: additionally / afterward / at last / concurrently / finally / furthermore / initially / lastly / later / moreover / secondly

Transitional Phrases: after that / at the beginning / at the end / at the onset / followed by / following that / from this point / in addition / in the end / in the first place / in the last place / in the same way / in the second place / in the third place / in turn / later on / on the next occasion / subsequently

 

(r). Logical relationship: ‘Similarity’

Transitional Words: equally / correspondingly / equivalently / likewise / similarly

Transitional Phrases: along the same lines / by comparison / in a like manner / in a similar fashion / in line with / in the same way

 

(s). Logical relationship: ‘Summary’

Transitional Words: briefly / eventually / finally / lastly / obviously / overall

Transitional Phrases: as a result / at last / by and large / in brief / in conclusion / in essence / in short / in sum / in summary / in the end / in the final analysis

 

(t). Logical relationship: ‘Time’

Transitional Words: afterward / finally / following / hereafter / immediately / instantly / later / meantime / meanwhile / occasionally / nowadays / periodically / sometimes / suddenly / thereafter / thenceforth

Transitional Phrases: a minute later / a moment ago / a week later / after a few days / after a / at present / at this instant / for a split second / for the time being / from then on / in a jiffy / in a little while / in a moment / in a short time / in retrospect / in the end / in the future / later on / on the following day / since then / soon after / until then

 

 

PUNCTUATION RULES

 

(A). Punctuation Rules: coordinating conjunction

You should use a comma (,) before a coordinating conjunction to connect independent clauses.

Pattern: independent clause + comma + coordinator + independent clause

Example: He won the competition, but he was not satisfied with his performance.

 

Note: You may omit the comma before the conjunction in FORMAL writing.

Example: He won the competition but he was not satisfied with his performance.

 

Note: You may omit the comma before the conjunction if independent clauses are short.

Example: She studied but he played.

 

Note: You can also skip using coordinating conjunction and instead use a semicolon (;) to join two independent clauses.

Example: He won the competition; he was not satisfied with his performance.

Example: She studied; he played.

 

However, a semi-colon should be used only where ideas are very closely related--

Example: I can defeat him; he cannot defeat me.

 

Note - Never join two independent clauses with a comma alone.

 

 

(B). Punctuation Rules: correlative conjunction

You should use a comma (,) before the second part to connect two independent clauses.

Pattern: correlative word + independent clause + comma + correlative word + independent clause

Example: Although he won the competition, yet he was not satisfied with his performance.

 

 

(C). Punctuation Rules: transitional words or phrases

You should use a semicolon (;) before a transitional words or phrases to connect independent clauses. In addition, transitional words or phrases should be followed by a comma (,).

Pattern: independent clause + semicolon + transitional word or phrase + comma + independent clause

Example: He won the competition; however, he was not satisfied with his performance.

 

Other Examples:

I will go to office after two hours; meanwhile, I will read the novel.

He didn’t tell me his home address; on the contrary, he asked me for my home address.

 

 

Compound sentences may have two or more independent clauses –

Compound sentence having two independent clauses or simple sentences

Examples:

David joined party, and Henry studied English.

David joined party, but Henry studied English.

David joined party, so Henry studied English.

David joined party, yet Henry studied English.

 

There are two independent clauses in the above sentences –

David joined party. [subject – David; predicate – joined party]

Henry studied English. [subject – Henry; predicate – studied English]

 

Coordinators (‘and, but, so, yet’) have been used to join these clauses.

Thus, there are two independent clauses in a single sentence. [Compound sentence]

 

Note – When there are two independent clauses in compound sentence, it is also called a ‘Double Sentence’.

 

Another Example:

He was intelligent, yet he couldn’t get the first rank.

There are two independent clauses in this sentence:

He was intelligent. [subject – He; predicate – was intelligent]

He couldn’t get the first rank. [subject – He; predicate – couldn’t get the first rank.]

 

Coordinator (‘yet’) has been used to join these clauses.

Thus, there are two independent clauses in a single sentence. [Compound sentence]

 

 

Compound sentence having more than two independent clauses or simple sentences

Example:

Mark studied for sex hours, and George played for five hours, yet Jimmy sang for three hours, and Bill walked for two hours.

There are four independent clauses in this sentence:

Mark studied for six hours.

George played for five hours.

Jimmy sang for three hours.

Bill ran for two hours.

 

Coordinator (‘and’, yet) has been used to join these clauses.

Thus, there are four independent clauses in a single sentence. [Compound sentence]

 

Note – When there are more than two independent clauses in a compound sentence, it is also called a ‘Multiple Sentence’.

 

Another Example:

I read the novel, and I watched the movie, but I didn’t write anything.

There are three independent clauses in this sentence.

I read the novel.

I watched the movie.

I didn’t write anything.

 

Coordinators (‘and, but’) have been used to join these clauses.

Thus, there are three Independent clauses in a single sentence. [Compound sentence]

 

 

Important Note

Compound verb should not be confused with a compound sentence. Sentences may contain coordinating conjunctions and not be compound.

I have given the following examples in the ‘Simple Sentence’ section:

David and harry won the competition.

He wrote and sang a song.

Clark and Tom jogged and swam.

Here, coordinating conjunction ‘and’ has been used merely to join two words (two subjects or two verbs).

While in a compound sentence, coordinating conjunction ‘and’ is used to join two independent clauses.