Prof. G. Steinberg
Sentence Combining

Combine each group of sentences below into a single, grammatical sentence in your head.

  1. Rudolf had a nose.

  2. It was red.

  3. Rudolf was a reindeer.

  4. His nose was very shiny.

 

  1. Rudolf had a nose.

  2. It was so bright.

  3. Santa came to say something to Rudolf.

  4. Santa asked if Rudolf would guide his sleigh.

  5. It was Christmas Eve.

  6. It was foggy.

 

  1. Winesburg is in Ohio.

  2. Winesburg is a little town.

  3. George Willard lives in Winesburg.

  4. George Willard wants to be a writer.

 

  1. The jewels were packed in a box.

  2. The box was wooden.

  3. The box was imprinted with names.

  4. The names were foreign.

 

  1. The street was full of shadows.

  2. The street was deserted.

  3. Nothing was moving.

 

  1. The job offers an attractive salary.

  2. It demands long work hours.

  3. Promotions are rapid.

 

  1. A newspaper tumbles in the wind.

  2. It is tattered.

  3. The tumbling is aimless.

  4. It cartwheels toward the horizon.

  5. The horizon is smudged.

 

  1. Ski resorts were once deserted.

  2. It was during the summer months.

  3. It doesn't snow in summer.

  4. Now ski resorts have created a new sport.

  5. It is to entice visitors in summer.

 

  1. I walked in.

  2. Grandpa was sitting at the kitchen table.

  3. The newspaper was spread before him.

 

  1. Many suicides can be prevented.

  2. They are not a spur of the moment thing.

  3. Talk of committing suicide should be taken seriously.

 

  1. They are lucky.

  2. They sleep in bunks.

  3. They don't sleep under bridges.

  4. They don't sleep in doorways.

 

  1. He glanced over his shoulder

  2. He suddenly had a feeling.

  3. The feeling was strong.

  4. The feeling was unmistakable.

  5. He was being watched.

 

  1. John was in love.

  2. He was in love with Martha.

  3. He walked with her through the night.

  4. He was holding Martha's hand.

 

  1. The world has finite fuel resources.

  2. These include coal, oil, gas, oil shale, and uranium.

  3. These resources theoretically are sufficient for centuries.

  4. These resources are not evenly distributed.

 

  1. I studied students.

  2. Most of them did not seem comfortable.

  3. They were uncomfortable using the word revision.

  4. Most of them explained.

  5. Revision was not a word they used.

  6. It was a word their teachers used.

 

  1. The experienced writers were unlike the students.

  2. The experienced writers possess a theory.

  3. The theory is nonlinear.

  4. In the theory is a sense of the whole writing.

  5. The sense of the whole writing precedes an examination.

  6. The sense of the whole writing grows out of an examination.

  7. The examination is of the parts.

 

  1. Changes are made.

  2. They are made in compliance with rules.

  3. The rules are abstract.

  4. The rules are about the product.

  5. The rules quite often do not apply.

  6. The rules do not apply to the problems.

  7. The problems are specific.

  8. The problems are in the text.


Combine each group of sentences below into a single, grammatical sentence in your head.  All the groups of sentences together tell a story.

  1. The boys leaned against the willow tree.
  2. The tree grew next to the stream.
  3. Their fishing poles rested on sticks.
  4. Their eyes gazed at the bobbers.
  5. The bobbers floated on the ripples.
     
  6. The morning had been cool.
  7. It had been comfortable.
  8. The afternoon was growing sultry.
     
  9. Both boys had taken great pleasure.
  10. The pleasure was in planning the trip.
  11. Both had looked forward to Friday.
  12. Friday was their only day off from school all spring.
     
  13. The bass hadn't been biting.
  14. The boys spent most of the morning.
  15. They talked.
  16. They occasionally dozed off.
  17. They dozed off to dream.
  18. They dreamed of catching fish.
     
  19. The fish didn't take the lines.
  20. They periodically teased the boys.
  21. They nibbled at the bait.
  22. They jumped.
  23. The jumping was within arm's reach of the boys.
  24. The boys were on the bank.
     
  25. The boys tried changing bait.
  26. They tried changing rods.
  27. They tried changing places.
  28. Nothing worked.
     
  29. One bluegill did strike.
  30. It was tiny.
  31. It struck late in the afternoon.
  32. It fell off.
  33. I was being drawn near the bank.