英语写作---lesson 2-loose, periodic, balanced sentences

Lesson 2

Loose, Periodic，

and Balance Sentences

From a rhetorical point of view, sentences are loose, periodic, or

balanced.

A loose sentence:松散句puts the main idea before all supplementary

information;

first things first

A periodic sentence:掉尾句,尾重句，圆周句the main idea is expressed at

or near the end of it;

it is not grammatically complete until the end is reached.

a. She decided to study English though she was interested in music.

b. Although she was interested in music, she finally decided to study

English.

Loose sentence: a sentence that may be brought to a grammatical close

before the end is reached.

特点：结构松散，它的组成部分可以比较自由地拆散，在句中的某些地方，可以随时停顿，而且语法上具有一定的完整性。

He will go abroad if he has enough money.

She decided to study English though she was interested in music.

Periodic sentence: a sentence that is not grammatically complete until the

end is reached.

特点：结构紧凑,句末所讲的一般是最重要的，语义和语法结构要到最后才完整清楚。

If he has enough money, he will go abroad.

Though she was interested in music, she finally decided to study English.

Just before I went away to college, my father took me aside, as I had expected, and said, as I had not expected, “now, son, if a strange woman

comes up to you on a street corner and offers to take your watch around

the corner and have it engraved , don’t do it.”

这个长句是尾重句，一直要读到最后才能明白全句的意思，而其父亲对儿子的话也是一个尾重句，只有听他讲到，“don’t do it” 才能明白他要说什么。

尾重句能够始终抓住读者的注意力，句子不完，就不能得到一个完整的思想。随着句子的一步步展开，一层层深入，在句末形成一个高潮，有力的表达了关键的意思，给人留下深刻的印象。

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a

good fortune must be in want of a wife.

——Jane Austen

This is the sentence with which Jane Austen begins her Pride and Prejudice.

It’s a periodic sentence because the last word being the most important,

and because many words are piled up before the key word.

The methods of making loose sentences and periodic sentences

or post-posing the adverbial clause

(1) Loose ( postposition): The world won’t end even if we fail again and

again.

Periodic (preposition): Even if we fail again and again, the world won’t

end.

(2) Loose ( post-position): Bill had cleaned the room before Tom

returned.

Periodic (pre-position): Before Tom returned, Bill had cleaned the room.

or post-posing the adverbial phrase

(1) Loose ( pos-tposition): Bill started to write his composition early in the

morning.

Periodic (pre-position): Early in the morning, Bill started to write his

composition.

(2) Loose ( post-position): We feel much honored to have you come to

visit our country.

Periodic (pre-position): To have you come to visit our country, we feel much

honored.

3. Preposing or postposing the participle phrase

(1) Loose ( postposition): She came up shouldering a spade.

Periodic (preposition):Shouldering a spade, she came up.

(2) Loose ( postposition): He came back, utterly exhausted.

Periodic (preposition): Utterly exhausted, he came back.

4. Preposing or postposing the prepositional phrase

(1) Loose (postposition):Tom was cutting a piece of metal with great

care.

Periodic (preposition):With great care, Tom was cutting a piece of

metal.

(2) Loose (postposition): This was done without my knowledge and

without my consent.

Periodic (preposition):Without my knowledge and without my consent,

this was done.

5. Preposing or postposing the apposition

(1) Loose (postposition): Tom became fond of Bill, a cheerful,

hard-working apprentice.

Periodic (preposition): A cheerful, hard-working apprentice, Tom

became fond of Bill.

(2) Loose (postposition): He read all kinds of books, ancient and modern,

Chinese and foreign.

Periodic (preposition): Ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, he

read all kinds of books.

6. Preposing or postposing the adjective or adjective phrase

(1) Loose (postposition): She took down what he said, conscientious and

eager.

Periodic (preposition): Conscientious and eager, she took down what he

said.

(2) Loose (postposition): Bill was cleaning the lathe full of energy.

Periodic (preposition): Full of energy, Bill was cleaning the lathe.

Loose: easier, simpler, more natural

and direct. Smooth flowing and conversational

naration and description

periodic: more complex, emphatic,

formal, or literary.

The difference lies in the order of the main structure and the

subordinating structure

The rhetoric function of loose sentence and periodic sentence

1. loose sentence

(1) loose sentence gives prominence to emphases and comes straight to the

point, it fits writing in a flat way most.

She was offered a professional contract after winning the Olympic gold

medal for figure skating, according to the newspaper reports.