Advance Composition: The Sentence

The Sentence

A sentence is a word or group of words expressing a single and complete thought.

Requirement:

1.       It should express a complete thought

2.       It should express only one thought or form a unit.

Principles of Sentence Structure:

1.       Learn to express yourself in complete sentence.

Use the basic sentence pattern: Subject  - Verb  - Object/Complement

Mark ate apples

    S      V      O      

2.       If two ideas do not belong together separate them.

The boy ran away down Rizal Avenue which was named after our hero, Jose Rizal.

3.       Sentence unity may be destroyed by the inclusion of words, phrases or clause that have no direct bearing on the principal thought of the sentence. A sentence of this type has ‘too much.’          

My uncle, short of temper out of breath, eighty years old at his time, and his hair entirely white, shouted at the stranger.

4.       Overloading with details obscure unity.

We were going to see the game which was to be played at the gymnasium and we walked and chatted and laughed gaily and when we reached the gymnasium, the game had begun and we were disappointed.

5.       Avoid expressing in short, choppy sentences or ideas which can be expressed more precisely in one sentence.

The program was over. I rose to go out. I was very nervous. I had to sit down again. Soon I grew calmer.

Coherence in a Sentence

“Sticking together”

The parts of a sentence must be cut and shaped to fit smoothly at the joints, laid in place to do their appointed tasks, and then fastened or bound with connectives so as to stay together and carry the ideas clearly to the reader.

1.       Place all modifier, whether words, phrases or clause as near as possible to the word modified.

Word modifier: 

I only need ten pesos. 

I need ten pesos only.

Phrase modifier: 

He began to lose his desire to go mountain climbing after an hour.

After an hour, he began to lose his desire to go mountain climbing.

Clause modifier:

When you are a child, do you remember all the toys you received?

Do you remember all the toys you received when you are a child?

Review:

Pronoun

A pronoun is a substitute for a noun. It refers to a person, place, thing, feeling, or quality but does not refer to it by its name. The pronoun in the following sample sentence is bolded.

The critique of Plato's Republic was written from a contemporary point of view. It was an in-depth analysis of Plato's opinions about possible governmental forms.

Antecedent

An antecedent is the word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers, understood by the context. The antecedent in the following sample sentence is bolded.

The critique of Plato's Republic was written from a contemporary point of view. It was an in-depth analysis of Plato's opinions about possible governmental forms.

While the pronouns I and you can be replaced by nouns, the context of a sentence does not always require the nouns to make clear to which persons I and you refer. However, the third person pronouns (he, she, it, they) almost always derive their meaning from their antecedents or the words for which they stand.

 Remember that pronouns in the third person communicate nothing unless the reader knows what they mean:

It is the best source available. What source is that?

Agreement

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways:

1.       Person refers to the quality of being.

2.       Number is the quality that distinguishes between singular (one entity) and plural (numerous entities).

3.       Gender is the quality that distinguishes the entities as masculine or feminine.

2.       The antecedent of pronoun in a sentence should be immediately clear to the reader.

Vague:  I remember that I met many people but I did not enjoy it very much.

Clear:    I remember that I met many people but I did not enjoy the occasion very much.

3.       Ideas which are parallel in meaning should have parallel form:

Faulty:  Arcilla’s stories appeal to me because they are plausible and sound plot.

 Better: Arcilla’s stories appeal to me because they are plausible and well-plotted.

4.       Avoid ‘dangling’ modifier.

Dangling: Arriving there late the train had left.

Clear: We arrive late and found that the train had left.

5.       Avoid ‘squinting’ modifier.

Squinting: After we stopped at a gasoline station, with the help of the attendant, we…

6.       Avoid overloading your sentences with too many details.

Too many details:

                Military training teaches a person to stand up straight and walk with his head up and this will help him in future life because it will become a habit and so many people have the bad habit of walking stooped leading to poor health and poor appearance.

Clear:

                Military training teaches a person to stand erect and walk with his head up. Good posture becomes habitual and leads directly to better health and appearance.                 

Philippine Literature: General View of Literature

The Pre-War Years

The founding of the University of the Philippines in 1908 triggered the development and flowering of Philippine –Literature in English, with the UP College Folio serving as vehicle for the first literary attempts. Along with this, later publications served to encourage such attempts, namely, The Philippine Review, The Philippine Free Press, the Philippine Herald, and still later, the Philippine Magazine. The U.P. Writers Club was organized in 1927 ' The Literacy Apprentice, its literary organ, became the most prestigious college literary publication in the country. It was also at about this time that the Varsitarian of the University of Santo Tomas began to see publication, existing side by side with its literary supplement, The Spectrum.

It was not therefore until the mid-20's that literary activities were stepped up, literary efforts were recognized and encouraged, and notable names in literature began to grace the literary scene.

understandably, the writers of this generation could not help writing under the shadow of their American tutors and inspiration who taught them the craft as well as motivated them. But at the same time they encouraged them to take pride in their own people, their own customs and traditions, applaud their own folk-wisdom with "unprejudiced eyes", they fed them with a surfeit of the sentimentalities" of Cooper, Bryant, Longfellow, Tennyson, Poe, Teasdale, etc. Thus, the early writings in English even up to the later pre-war years and on, borrowed much from the conventions or techniques of Anglo-American authors.

Aside fr0m their American teachers, sources of motivation were courses in Creative Writing, literary contests' as well as more literary magazines and supplements which printed literary pieces, maintaining strict standards which had to be met. To be published during those days was already supreme achievement for the budding writer.

It was not however until the establishment of the commonwealth in 1935 that the writers began to be more concerned with the creation of a "national literature." Prior to this, literary attempts were merely personal outpourings, most of the time about love, newly felt, lost or unrequited, or about the common sorrows and joys of life. At first, this concept of national literature was understood in terms of "local color" through the use of localisms and rustic landscapes, customs, traditions. Later, some few years before the war, the writer's view of nationalism intensified into a growing rejection of American influences which were mostly based on old romantic conventions, and an increasing emphasis on realism and social consciousness. This led to the famous literary conflict between Salvador P. Lopez on one hand and poet Jose Garcia villa on the other, between two opposing and rather extreme ideas on literature.

S.P. Lopez, prophet of socially committed literature, influenced as he was by the social protest movement sweeping the USA at about this time in the wake of the great economic collapse and the depression wrote:

“The real artist has a deep compassion for the suffering of the oppressed and anger of the oppressors. The highest form of art is that which springs from the wells of man’s deepest urges and longings…his love of his own kind and his longing to be free…of all the ends to which he (the artist) may dedicate his talents, none is more worthy than the improvement of the condition of man and the defense of freedom.”

-Literature Society, 1939

S.P. Lopez explained his side, “The 30’s comprised a period of intense political, social and intellectual activity in our country, mainly because of his independence movement which spawned problems…we who are just beginning to master English, were exposed to the literature of the social protest, which had become very powerful abroad.”

Jose Gracia Villa, on the other hand, believed in “art for art’s sake”; that in art, craft comes before meaning, that poetry should never be useful and propagandistic, that it must only arouse pleasure in the beautiful, must lead to contemplation, not action.

One significant benefit derived from such controversy was the attempt to strike a healthy balance between social commitment and artistic excellence. But since on cannot truly serve two masters the writer must set his priorities. One disadvantage of this conflict was it led to fanatic disciples for either camp, and bred social propagandists on one hand and effete, irrelevant artist on the other, the respective tags depending on which side of the fence one situated himself. The times however were more receptive to S.P. Lopez literary platform and Villa was considered anachronism, far beyond his time.

Generally, however, part of the literary ferment that appeared before World War II as it affected Philippine shores was enlivened by this dynamic tension in the history of our literary evolution, and the brush with Western culture and politics. The post-war years continued this lively conflict, but basically, the literary scenario began to change.

ref: Philippine Contemporary Literature in English, Ophelia A. Dimalanta, et.al.

Philippine Literature: The More Recent Years ( Early 70's to the Present)

The immediate postwar years were years of conformism and no one, much less the students, was expected to raise a voice against the United States. It was not until the 60's that the students began to feel restive and to be aware of the graft, corruption, and influence peddling that became rampant in the government. It was not until the late sixties and early seventies that mass rallies, strikes and demonstrations began to be staged. The students, jolted out of their cautious and complacent world by the Vietnam war, the Back Poser riots, and the violent upsurge of student activism all over the world were flushed out of insulated classrooms, swamped by Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung thoughts, and inspired by the new legend surrounding Amado Guerrero and Jose Maria  Sison. The 70's was the rises of the "student power" and the demonstrations called "the parliament of the streets" basically were anti-establishments and anti-imperialism - these often led to eruptions of violence and destruction of life and property. The country, supposedly under the threat of subversion and Communist take-over (the perfect reason for taking control of the country), was put under Martial Law by then President Ferdinand Marcos in September 21, 1972. The years that followed led to traumatic experiences especially where the writers (journalistic and literary) were concerned. There was a general clampdown on media. Only the political propaganda, machination of the Marcos government was in operation, in the light of this political situation, some writers were forced to redefine their values and see the word "commitment" or "engagement" in a new slant.


After about fourteen years of political enslavement and oppression where almost all basic human rights were suppressed under dictatorship, the political scenario underwent a sudden change. instrumental in the change was a phenomenal four-day revolution on February 21 -25, 1986 by what has been called "people power." It was generally a bloodless revolution, fought with songs, flowers, friendship, exhortations of unity, and an espousal of a common cause, and the climax of Corazon Aquino's miracle.


ref: Philippine Contemporary Literature in English, Ophelia A. Dimalanta, et.al.