Worksheet on Cumulative and Periodic Sentences
Conveying Emphasis through Sentence Structure: As you write, you can construct sentences that emphasize more important ideas and de-emphasize less important ones.
(1) Using Cumulative Sentences (Also called Loose Sentences): A cumulative sentence begins with an independent clause, followed by additional words, phrases, or clauses that expand or develop it.
She holds me in strong arms, arms that have chopped cotton, dismembered trees, scattered corn for chickens, cradled infants, shaken the daylights out of half-grown upstart teenagers.
Because it presents its main idea first, a cumulative sentence tends to be clear and straightforward. (Most English sentences are cumulative.)
(2) Using Periodic Sentences: A periodic sentence places the main idea at the end of the sentence. It moves from supporting details, expressed in modifying phrases and dependent clauses, to the main idea, which is placed in the independent clause.
Unlike World Wars I and II, which ended decisively with the unconditional surrender of the UnitedState’s enemies, the war in Vietnam did not end when American troops withdrew.
In the preceding sentence, the writer adds emphasis to his main idea not only by placing it in the independent clause but also by keeping readers waiting for it. NOTE: In some periodic sentences the modifying phrase or dependent clause comes between subject and predicate.
Columbus, after several discouraging and unsuccessful voyages, finally reached America.
Periodic sentences are generally more emphatic than cumulative sentences, but the most emphatic sentence is not always the best choice. Because the periodic structure forces readers to wait—or even to search—for the delayed main idea, periodic sentences tend not to be as straightforward as cumulative ones.
EXERCISE 1: Copy the following sentences and do the following: A. Bracket the independent clause(s) in each sentence and underline each modifying phrase and dependent clause. Label each sentence cumulative or periodic. B. Relocate the supporting details to make cumulative sentences periodic and periodic sentences cumulative, adding words or rephrasing to make your meaning clear. C. Explain how your revision changes the emphasis of the original sentence.
Example: Feeling isolated, sad, and frightened, [the small child sat alone in the train depot.] (periodic)
Revised: The small child sat alone in the train depot, feeling isolated, sad, and frightened. (cumulative)
1.However different in their educational opportunities, both Jefferson and Lincoln as young men became known to their contemporaries as "hard students."
2.The road came into being slowly, league by league, river crossing by river crossing.
3.Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware.
4.To those of us who remain committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly narrow and cracked determinism.
EXERCISE 2: Do the following: A. Combine each of the following sentence groups into one cumulative sentence, subordinating supporting details to main ideas. B. Then combine each group into one periodic sentence. Each group can be combined in a variety of ways, and you may have to add, delete, change, or reorder words. C.Explain how the two versions of the sentence differ in emphasis.
Example: More women than ever before are running for office. They are encouraged by the success of other
female candidates.
Cumulative: More women than ever before are running for office, encouraged by the success of other female
candidates.
Periodic: Encouraged by the success of other female candidates, more women than ever before are running for
office.
1. Many politicians opposed the MX missile. They believed it was too expensive. They felt that a smaller, single-warhead missile was preferable.
2.Smoking poses a real danger. It is associated with various cancers. It is linked to heart disease and stroke. It
threatens even nonsmokers.
3.Infertile couples who want children sometimes go through a series of difficult processes. They may try adoption. They may also try artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization. They may even seek out surrogate mothers.
4.The Thames is a river that meanders through southern England. It has been the inspiration for literary works such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows. It was also captured in paintings by Constable, Turner, and Whistler.