Sentence Length: Are Short Sentences Childish?
2022-07-01
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1Do English speakers consider short sentences to be childish?
2A reader sent us a message asking about that very question.
3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore an area of connection between sentence length, writing style, and grammar.
4Are short sentences childish?
5The answer is this: it depends.
6Are the sentences clear? Do the ideas connect to each other?
7Are there different kinds of words - verbs, nouns, pronouns - and different kinds of sentence structures?
8If the answer to these questions is "yes," then the writing is not childish.
9The quality of a sentence does not depend on its length.
10Short sentences can be clear, direct, and powerful; they can also be boring or childish.
11Long sentences can be interesting, artistic, and intelligent; they can also be confusing and unclear.
12Ben Blatt is a writer. In 2017, he wrote a book called Nabokov's Favorite Word is Mauve.
13In the book, he explores how famous writers use language.
14Blatt studied the opening lines of many books.
15Some writers used very short sentences, while others used very long sentences.
16Toni Morrison, Blatt notes, had a median sentence length of five words.
17In comparison, Jane Austen had a median sentence length of 32 words.
18Consider these lines from A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway.
19Hemingway was a famous, Nobel Prize-winning writer from the United States.
20You do not want music. Certainly you do not want music.
21Nor can you stand before a bar with dignity although that is all that is provided for these hours.
22What did he fear? It was not a fear or dread. It was a nothing that he knew too well.
23It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too.
24These lines have 62 words and seven sentences.
25On average, there are just under nine words per sentence.
26Some English writing guides suggest sentences of around 15 words are likely to be understood.
27Sentences beyond 25 words risk becoming difficult to understand.
28This is because longer sentences usually have more clauses - subject and predicate groups.
29The greater the number of clauses, the greater the risk the sentence loses clarity.
30Yet it is useful to write sentences with more than one clause.
31Such sentences create variety - and variety, as the expression goes, is the spice of life.
32One useful way to keep clauses separate and clear is by joining them with a semicolon.
33But first, consider the independent clause.
34An independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence ending with a period. For example:
35Tom likes salad.
36This independent clause has a subject and a predicate.
37The subject is "Tom," and the predicate is "likes salad."
38You can combine two or more independent clauses that carry similar ideas.
39You can separate them with a semicolon (;)
40A semicolon can be used to form a compound sentence.
41For example:
42Tom likes salad.
43Betty likes pizza.
44These two short statements - three words each - can be put together to make the following sentence that has six words:
45Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza.
46More information can be added to one of the clauses to make longer statements.
47Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza, but she hates vegetables.
48Or
49Tom likes salad but doesn't like tomatoes; Betty likes pizza.
50These sentences have 10 and 11 words, respectively.
51Compound sentences can also be used to describe actions, as in:
52The shark came close to the boat; the passengers yelled and took pictures.
53Three clauses could be combined along with a connector - a conjunctive adverb such as "however," "unfortunately," or "therefore."
54Such a sentence might go like this:
55Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza; unfortunately, Joe refuses to eat vegetables.
56Note that this example combines three clauses yet only has 12 words.
57The central idea of this report is that sentence length and sentence quality are not the same thing.
58As a very general suggestion, try to keep sentences around 15 words on average.
59Try to minimize the number of clauses per sentence.
60If possible, include sentence variety.
61If you want to write sentences with several clauses, experiment with the semicolon idea.
62It is a useful way to create sentence variety and still keep thoughts clear and separate.
63For those of you reading online, we will end our program with a question.
64We used a complex version of the semicolon structure two times earlier in this report.
65Can you find these sentences?
66How are they similar or different from what you learned about in today's report?
67Write to us in the comments section of our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.
68I'm John Russell.
1Do English speakers consider short sentences to be childish? 2A reader sent us a message asking about that very question. 3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore an area of connection between sentence length, writing style, and grammar. 4Question and answer 5Are short sentences childish? 6The answer is this: it depends. 7Are 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? 8If the answer to these questions is "yes," then the writing is not childish. 9The 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, artistic, and intelligent; they can also be confusing and unclear. 10Ben 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. 11Blatt 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. 12Consider these lines from A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was a famous, Nobel Prize-winning writer from the United States. 13You 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 dread. It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too. 14These lines have 62 words and seven sentences. On average, there are just under nine words per sentence. 15Some 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 clauses - subject and predicate groups. The greater the number of clauses, the greater the risk the sentence loses clarity. 16Using short statements to make longer sentences 17Yet it is useful to write sentences with more than one clause. Such sentences create variety - and variety, as the expression goes, is the spice of life. 18One useful way to keep clauses separate and clear is by joining them with a semicolon. 19But first, consider the independent clause. An independent clause can stand on its own as a sentence ending with a period. For example: 20Tom likes salad. 21This independent clause has a subject and a predicate. 22The subject is "Tom," and the predicate is "likes salad." 23You can combine two or more independent clauses that carry similar ideas. You can separate them with a semicolon (;) 24A semicolon can be used to form a compound sentence. 25For example: 26Tom likes salad. 27Betty likes pizza. 28These two short statements - three words each - can be put together to make the following sentence that has six words: 29Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza. 30More information can be added to one of the clauses to make longer statements. 31Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza, but she hates vegetables. 32Or 33Tom likes salad but doesn't like tomatoes; Betty likes pizza. 34These sentences have 10 and 11 words, respectively. 35Compound sentences can also be used to describe actions, as in: 36The shark came close to the boat; the passengers yelled and took pictures. 37Three clauses could be combined along with a connector - a conjunctive adverb such as "however," "unfortunately," or "therefore." 38Such a sentence might go like this: 39Tom likes salad; Betty likes pizza; unfortunately, Joe refuses to eat vegetables. 40Note that this example combines three clauses yet only has 12 words. 41Closing thoughts 42The central idea of this report is that sentence length and sentence quality are not the same thing. 43As a very general suggestion, try to keep sentences around 15 words on average. Try to minimize the number of clauses per sentence. If possible, include sentence variety. 44If 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. 45For 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.voanews.com. 46I'm John Russell. 47John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 48_______________________________________________________________________ 49Words in This Story 50style -n. a particular way in which something is done, created or performed 51boring - adj. dull and uninteresting : causing boredom 52median - n. mathematics : the middle value in a series of values arranged from smallest to largest 53bar - n. a building or room where alcoholic drinks and sometimes food are served 54dignity - n. a way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-control; the quality of being worthy of honor or respect 55clause - n. grammar : a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb 56predicate - n. grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject