Lecture 21: Simplifying Complex Sentences

21.1 Introduction

Why Do We Need to Simplify Long and Complex Sentences?

• After segmenting a complex sentence into clauses, an individual clause may still contain many modifiers;
• Temporarily setting aside optional modifiers makes the core structure easier to see;

21.2 Simplify Long and Complex Sentences

21.2.1 Method

Simplification Methods

• 1. Locate the finite verb phrase in each clause;
• Match it with its subject and required complements;
• 2. Set aside extensions and identify the core;
• Temporarily remove optional modifiers rather than treating them as meaningless;
• Understand the core first, then restore the modifiers and their relationships;

Core Components of Simple Sentences

• Core Ingredients:
• Subject, finite verb phrase, object(s), and required complement(s);
• Non-core ingredients:
• Adjectival/adverbial modifiers, optional prepositional phrases, appositives, parentheticals, and non-finite constructions used as modifiers or adverbials;

21.2.2 Example Analysis

Examples

• The decision of the New york Philharmonic to hire Alan Gilbert as its next music director has been the talk of the classical-music world ever since the sudden announcement of his appointment in 2009
• The main clause has one finite verb phrase: has been;
• A non-finite modifier may be set aside temporarily, but retain any non-finite construction functioning as a subject, object, or required complement;
• Core sentences:
• ... Decision ... Has been ... Talk
• The decision has been the subject of discussion since the 2009 announcement;
• Extension:
• of the New York Philharmonic: identifies whose decision;
• to hire Alan Gilbert as its next music director: gives the content of the decision;
• Since its appointment was suddenly announced in 2009;
• During the late 1990 s, national spending on social sciences and the humanities as a percentage of all research and development funds-including government, higher education, non-profit and corporate-varied from around 4% to 25%...
• Finite verb: varied
• Core:
• ... spending ... Varied
• Costs vary
• A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 2007 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee's safety and Entergy's management-especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe.
• Finite verbs: raised, made
• Two things that need to be separated;
• Find punctuation: if there is no comma, explain the dash and it's useful;
• Conjunction: after -> time adverbial clause;
• Two sentences:
• A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 2007 and the discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about bothVermont yankee's safety and Entergy's management.
• Core: A string of accidents... Raised... Questions...
• especially after the company made misleading statements about the pipe.
• Core: after... Company made... Statements..
• Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the Federal Circuit itself that introduced such patents with its 1998 decision in the so-called State Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual fund assets.
• Finite verbs: would be, was, introduced
• But 'was' and 'introduced' are within the same emphatic sentence, so there's no need to break them into two paragraphs;
• Break into two parts:
• Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face
• Core: curbs... Would be... About face
• because it was the Federal Circuit itself that introduced such patents with its 1998 decision in the so-called State StreetBank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual fund assets.
• Core: because it was the Federal Circuit itself that introduced such patents...
• As a discovery claim works its way through the community, the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual's discovery claim into the community's credible discovery
• Split into two parts:
• As a discovery claim works its way through the community.
• Core: As... discovery claim works its way
• the interaction and confrontation between shared and competing beliefs about the science and the technology involved transforms an individual's discovery claim into the community's credible discovery.
• Core: interaction and confrontation... Transforms... Discovery claim

21.3 Past-Paper Practice

Examples

• From the beginning of our history, says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urges have driven us to reject anything that smells of elitism.
• says Hofstadter: Parenthetical, ignore it
• Two finite verbs: have driven, smells
• Segmentation:
• From the beginning of our history, says Hofstadter, our democratic and populist urges have driven us to reject anything
• From the beginning of our history composed of multiple prepositional phrases, including nouns, which are mostly parenthetical words;
• Core: urges have driven us to reject anything
• This stimulation and excitement drive us to do anything
• that smells of elitism.
• By linking directly to our nervous system, computers could pick up what we feel and, hopefully, simulate feeling too so that we can start to develop full sensory environments, rather like the holidays in Total Recall or the Star Trek holodeck...
• Break: Finite verbs -> could pick up, feel, simulate, can start
• Because feel and simulate are on the left and right sides of and, they are parallel components and cannot be used to break apart;
• Connectives: what, so that
• Segmentation:
• By linking directly to our nervous system, computers could pick up
• Core: Subject and finite verb retention -> computers could pick up
• what we feel and, hopefully, simulate feeling too
• Core: what we feel... Simulate feeling...
• so that we can start to develop full sensory environments, rather like the holidays in Total Recall or the Star Trek holodeck...
• Core: so that we can start to develop... Environments
• The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teenagers who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japan's rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs.
• Segmentation:
• The coming of age of the postwar baby boom and an entry of women into the male-dominated job market have limited the opportunities of teenagers
• Simplified: Because it is a compound sentence
• Subject -> The coming
• Subject: -> and an entry
• Predicate: have limited the opportunities
• who are already questioning the heavy personal sacrifices involved in climbing Japan's rigid social ladder to good schools and jobs
• who are already questioning ... Sacrifices.
• For example, British anthropologists Grafton Elliot Smith and W.J. Perry incorrectly suggested, on the basis of inadequate information, that farming, pottery making, and metallurgy all originated in ancient Egypt and diffused throughout the world
• Segmentation:
• For example, British anthropologists Grafton Elliot Smith and W. J. Perry incorrectly suggested, on the basis of inadequate information,
• that farming, pottery making, and metallurgy all originated in ancient Egypt and diffused throughout the world.
• Core: that farming, pottery making, and metallurgy all originated... And diffused
• As the interaction between organism and environment has come to be understood, however, effects once assigned to states of mind, feelings, and traits are beginning to be traced to accessible conditions, and a technology of Behavior may therefore become available.
• Finite verbs: has come, are beginning, may become
• Segmentation:
• As the interaction between organism and environment has come to be understood.
• however, effects once assigned to states of mind, feelings, and traits are beginning to be traced to accessible conditions.
• and a technology of behavior may therefore become available.

30.4 Exam Room Guide

Strategy: The "Two-Step Analysis Method" Solves All Complex Sentences with Basic Structures

• Separate multiple tasks first, then simplify them;
• 1. Cut off
• (1) Punctuation
• (2) Conjunction
• (3) Analyze subject-predicate
• 2. Simplify
• (1) Locating finite verb
• (2) Expand and find the core

Examples

• The same dramatic technological changes （that have provided marketers with more (and more diverse) communications choices） have also increased the risk that （passionate consumers will voice their opinions in quicker, more visible, and much more damaging ways.）
• Changes: Not a verb, because the previous 'dramatic technological' modifies 'changes';
• Finite verbs: have provided, have... Increased、will voice
• Connectors: that, that
• Check whether each paragraph is a unique finite verb;
• Last paragraph: passionate consumers will voice their opinions in quicker, more visible, and much more damaging ways
• There is only one finite verb
• Previous paragraph: No finite verb The same dramatic technological changes
• Ends after the conjunction and before the second finite verb:
• have provided marketers with more (and more diverse) communications choices have also
• Composition: The same dramatic technological changes that (clause 1) have also increased (clause 2**) the risk that
• Change, increase, risk