Multiple Thoughts in One Sentence

The rule of putting a period at the end of every thought would be simpler, except that in English, we’re allowed to include more than one thought in the same sentence. These thoughts are expressed in clauses, and clauses can be independent or subordinate. For example, that last sentence has two independent clauses, separated by a comma and the word and.

With independent clauses, both thoughts don’t have to be included in the same sentence. In the previous paragraph, I could have said, “These thoughts are expressed in clauses. They can be either independent or dependent.” Do you see how independent they really are? They make sense even when they’re separated.

Putting a period between two independent clauses usually doesn’t make them any harder to understand. The rhythm or flow of the writing is a little choppier, but that is it. Most of the time, long sentences are overused and short sentences are underused. Pay attention to your writing. Are you jamming multiple thoughts in one sentence? Are you doing that over and over again? Perhaps you should use the period more often!

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5 Responses to “Multiple Thoughts in One Sentence”

  1. Jay Wagers on August 3rd, 2007 1:19 pm

    Amen!
    But, also remind them not to confuse the period with a comma. Many writers like to separate complete thoughts with commas, invariably creating a comma splice.
    Great tip.

  2. Daniel on August 3rd, 2007 1:25 pm

    Yeah comma splice will be covered next week :) .

  3. Roshawn on August 4th, 2007 3:22 am

    What a tip! And right on time!

    I favor longer sentences. Shorter sentences make me seem amateurish (which I am :)). However, longer sentences increase the number of commas in my works, and I’m tired of that. Pretty sure readers would be sick of them as well.

  4. DPeach on September 4th, 2007 8:41 pm

    I tried long ago to start using short sentences when possible. This was at the recommendation of our in house editor. The problem now is that I sometimes fall into the trap of having too many of them.

    I did some translation work a couple of years back where the original copy was written in huge sentences which were often over 120 words long! The writing was being done by a young lady who had no training in writing. It was a nightmare.

  5. Sovan on April 26th, 2008 5:14 pm

    I really English Grammar. thank alot

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