Avoid repeatedly using words like ‘and’, ‘very’, ‘nice’ and
‘got’. All of them are very overworked. Change your sen-
tence structure or find a synonym to replace them. Don’t
begin sentences with ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘also’.
Nothing is more monotonous than the repetition of the same
sentence pattern. Vary it by changing the length of your
sentences and by placing clauses and phrases in a different
order. There is a variety of different sentence structures you
can use. Look at the following examples:
- The bride looked radiant. (Onemain clause.)
- The match was cancelled because of the weather. (Main
clausefollowed bydependentclause.) - Because of the weather, the match was cancelled.
(Dependentclause followed bymain clause.) - Peeping into the bedroom, she saw that her daughter was
still asleep. (Phrasefollowed bymain clause.) - The Crown Prince, who should have succeeded his father
on the throne, was assassinated last week. (Dependent
clauseinserted in the middle of amain clause.) - I had a shower, put on my new evening dress, dabbed
some perfume behind my ears, picked up my handbag
and rushed downstairs. (List ofmain clauseswith subject
‘I’ ‘understood’.) - Julie was playing the piano, Mark was doing his home-
work, Colin was in the kitchen and Karen was reading her
library book. (List ofmain clauseseach with a different
subject.)
94 / PART ONE: THE BASICS