TRANSFORMATION OF STRUCTURAL SENTENCE: PART THREE

Transformation of the sentence means converting one sentence into another one. We can do it in two ways: changing the meaning and without changing the meaning. H.S.C. students are advised to convert one sentence into another without changing meaning. This article deals with the transformation of the structural sentence (simple, complex, and compound). While dealing with transformation, we must have a thorough idea about the formation of sentences (I've posted two articles on the transformation of structural sentences: TRANSFORMATION OF STRUCTURAL SENTENCE: PART ONE and TRANSFORMATION OF STRUCTURAL SENTENCE: PART TWO. Moreover, you also need to know about Phrases and Clauses fully.

UNDERSTANDING PHRASE

A phrase is a group of related words within a sentence that complements the overall structure of the sentence. A phrase lacks both the subject and the finite verb. Hence, a phrase cannot stand alone to give complete meaning. The underlined group of words in the following sentence is a phrase.

ü I saw a joker in the street.

A phrase can act as a noun, an adjective, a preposition, and an adverb. The function of a phrase depends upon its construction and place in a sentence. Depending upon its function in a sentence, phrases are divided into various types: Noun Phrase, Verb Phrase, Adjective Phrase, Adverb Phrase, Gerund Phrase, Infinitive Phrase, and Absolute Phrase.

UNDERSTANDING CLAUSE

Clauses are of three types:

1. Independent Clause: An Independent clause can express complete sense. For its meaning, it does not depend on any other clause.

Ø He told me the story which was written by Shakespeare. The part in bold can express complete sense even separated from the sentence

2. Dependent Clause: A dependent clause cannot express a complete sense of its own. For meaning, it has to depend on a Principal or independent clause.

Ø He told me the story which was written by Shakespeare. The part in bold is a dependent clause. It cannot express complete sense if separated from the sentence.

3. Co-ordinate Clause: Co-ordinate clause consists of two Independent clauses joined by Co-coordinating conjunction such as and, but, yet, otherwise, or, nor, either------or, neither------nor, etc.

Ø You have to study hard or you cannot make complete sense of the book.

Ø One must practice speaking the truth or people will not trust a liar.

Ø We work hard and we make our fate.

SOME SUBORDINATE AND COORDINATING CONJUNCTION REQUIRED FOR TRANSFORMATION

COORDINATING CONJUNCTION

We use coordinating conjunctions for making a compound sentence. If you want to know about coordinating conjunctions thoroughly, you can read my post “Conjunction”. However, following coordinating conjunctions are most commonly used for making a compound sentence.

N	A	F	B	O	Y	S
NOR	AND	FOR	BUT	OR	YET	SO

Examples of Coordinating conjunction

Ø I did not finish my homework, nor did I read anything.

Ø I work and expect a better result.

Ø I could not go to college, for I was sick.

Ø I worked hard but I could not make a better result.

Ø Work hard or you will fail in the exam.

Ø I am supposed to finish my homework today, yet I cannot.

Ø I am fond of reading, so I read regularly.

v SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION

We use subordinating conjunction for making a complex sentence. Some most used subordinating conjunctions are shown below.

BEFORE	IF	PROVIDED	TILL	WHO
AFTER	IF ONLY	PROVIDED THAT	UNTIL	WHICH
AS	IF WHEN	LEST	WHEN	WHERE
BECAUSE	IF THEN	SINCE	WHENEVER	WHY
AS THOUGH	EVEN	ONCE	THAN	WHOEVER
AS IF	EVEN IF	RATHER THAT	THAT	WHILE
ALTHOUGH	EVEN THOUGH	NOW	UNLESS	WHETHER
AS SOON AS	INASMUCH	NOW SINCE	THOUGH	WHEREIF
AS LONG AS	JUST AS	NOW WHEN	SUPPOSSING	WHEREAS
AS MUCH AS	IN ORDER THAT	NOW THAT	SO THAT	WHEREVER

SECTION ONE:

SIMPLESENTENCE

A simple sentence consists of only one subject and one finite verb, expressed or understood. But a simple sentence can have one or more than one non-finite verb.

Subject + Finite Verb

Structure: Subject + finite verb

Rohan plays.

Rohit is writing.

2. Present participle + subject + finite verb

Going there, he called in a doctor.
Working hard, he obtained a good grade.

3. By + Gerund

Structure: (verb + ing) + subject + Finite verb

Ø By displaying good manners, he earned others’ respect.

Ø By climbing the mountain, you can see everything around you.

4. In spite of / Despite

Structure: Principal clause + in spite of / Despite + possessive form of the subject of the second clause + noun/being/ ing verb + adjective

He was hard working. He did not succeed.

Ø In spite of/despite his being hard work, he did not succeed.

The plant is not growing well. I take great care of it.

Ø The plant is not growing well in spite of/despite my taking great care of it.

5. Because of

Structure: Principal Clause + because of + possessive form of the subject of the second clause + noun/being/ ing verb + adverb

He made a good result. He worked hard.

Ø He made a good result because of his working hard.

Bolt won the 200-meter race. He could run fast.

Ø Neela won the 100-meter race because of his running fast.

6. In the case of

Structure: In case of + subject’s possessive form + verb with ing (Adjective/Adverb) + subject + verb

Ø In the case of his being poor he could not continue his study.

Ø In case of his being perseverant he will succeed in life.

7. Too.........To

8. Subject + Rr. Verb + too + Adjective/Adverb (for + object) + to + verb + extension

(This structure is used to combine two clauses. In this type of structure, we see adjectives or adverbs at the end of the first clause. Due to the influence of such adjective or adverb, the next clause expresses negative meaning.

He is very lazy. He cannot succeed in life.

Ø He is too lazy to succeed in life.

He is very weak. He cannot walk

Ø He is too weak to walk.

9. Uses of enough

'Enough' is used in two ways: with nouns and with adjectives.

With Noun: subject + verb + enough + noun (to + verb)

He has enough money. He can spend at his will.

Ø He has enough money to spend at his will.

With Adjective: Subject + verb + adjective + enough + (to + verb)

He is very intelligent. He will shine in life.

Ø He is intelligent enough to shine in life

Subject + Finite verb + object ‘to be’ verb + Adjective

Ø The teacher wanted everybody to be studious and serious.

Ø My parents want me to be a good human.

SECTION TWO: COMPLEX SENTENCE

Complex Sentence consists of one principal clause and one or more subordinate clauses. In a complex sentence, there is one subject and one finite verb in each clause. For example:

Though he is rich, he is honest.
I know the place where he was born.

Sub ordinate clause mostly starts with subordinate conjunction such as since as, because, when, after, before, until, till, relative pronoun etc.

Structure

i. Principal clause + Subordinate clause

a. I know the man who is writing.

b. There is a poet who is known to all.

c. When I went to Khulna, I visited Sundarban.

d. As he likes to work hard, he will receive divine justice.

e. I do not know when he will finish the work.

f. Since you work hard, you will succeed.

g. The boy who sits beside you is my student.

ii. So…… that

So…….that is co-relative conjunction. We use this structure when the result of the second clause is determined based on the first clause. Other parts remain unchanged.

Structure: Subject + verb + so + adjective + that + second clause

a. He is very poor. He cannot buy a mobile phone.

He is so poor that he cannot buy a mobile phone.

b. The bag was heavy. They could not carry it.

The bag was so heavy that they could not carry it.

iii. So that

So that sits together. Like ‘so…….that’, so that is also used when the result of the second clause is determined based on the first clause. Other parts remain unchanged.

Structure: first clause + so that + subject + may/ might/ can / could + verb

He is trying hard. He wants to achieve his goal.
He is trying hard so that he can / may / achieve his goal.

He worked eight hours. He wanted to finish his thesis in six months.
He worked eight hours so that he could / might finish his thesis in six months.

iv. So/as…….as

So/as…as the structure is used to transform superlative or comparative degree in a positive sentence.

Structure: subject + verb (not) + as/so + adjective + as + noun/pronoun

Note: as….as structure is used in positive statement, but not so…..as or as…..as structure is used in negative statement

Ø Nasima is as intelligent as is Priyanka.

Ø Rohan is not as talent as is Rohit.

The complex sentence also consists of some other co-relative conjunctions such as no sonar had…..than, hardly had……when/before, scarcely had……when/before, not only…..but also, neither……nor, either……..or, as soon as.

SECTION THREE: COMPOUND SENTENCE

A compound sentence consists of two or more co-ordinate/principal clauses joined by coordinating conjunction. The most used coordinating conjunctions are FOR, AND, NOR, BUT, OR, YET. If you want to know about coordinating conjunction, you may read my article on “CONJUNCTION”.

Ø He is a rich man and he is very honest.

Ø I met the boys and they were studying seriously.

Structure: Co-ordinate Clause + and/or/but + Co-ordinate Clause

He is poor but he is rich at heart.

· (You) Work fast or you will not achieve your goal.

A SHORT VIEW

SIMPLE

COMPLEX

COMPOUND

VERB WITH "ING"

Going home, I found him dancing.

AS/SINCE/WHEN

When I went home, I found him dancing.

AND

I went home and I found him dancing

BY + GERUND

By working hard, you can succeed in life, If we work hard, we can succeed in life.

IF + AFFIRMATIVE

If we work hard, we can succeed in life.

IMPERATIVE + AND

Work hard and you can succeed in life.

WITHOUT + GERUND

Without working hard you cannot succeed.

IF WITH NEGATIVE/UNLESS

If you do not work hard, you cannot succeed in life.

IMPERATIVE.....OR

Work hard or you cannot succeed in life.

TOO.....TO

He is too poor to buy a car.

SO THAT

He is so weak that he cannot buy a car.

VERY......AND

He is very poor and he cannot buy a car.

IN SPITE OF/DESPITE

Despite his riches, he is unhappy.

THOUGH/ALTHOUGH

Though he is rich, he is unhappy.

BUT

He is rich but he is unhappy.

TO + VERB

I went to Khulna to visit Sundarban.

SO THAT/IN ORDER THAT

I went to Khulna so that I could visit Sundarban.

WENT.....AND/SO

I went to Khulna and/so I visited Sundarban.

BECAUSE OF/ON ACCOUNT OF/WING TO/DUE TO

He could not finish his work because of his laziness.

AS/SINCE/BECAUSE

As he was lazy, he could not finish his work.

AND

He was lazy and he could not finish his work.

MAN/ANIMAL/THING

I saw a floating flower.

WHO/WHOM/WHEN/WHERE

I saw a flower which was floating.

AND

I saw a flower and it was floating.

BESIDES/BOTH

Besides being a good player, he is a good human.

WHILE

While he s a good student, he is a good human.

NOT ONLY/BUT ALSO

He is not only a good student but also a good player.

NOTE: It should be kept in mind that understanding the basic structure of a sentence can boost one in the process of transformation. A sentence can be converted into another one in more than one way without preserving its meaning. If we know the formation or nature of different sentences, we can transform one sentence into another naturally. There are no fixed rules though rules can help us to a great extent. It is better to understand the basics. Then we can look at rules.

SOME EXAMPLES

· I shall / will remember them with pride. (Compound)
I shall/will always remember them and it is with pride.
I shall/will always remember them and I am proud of them.
I am proud of them and I shall/will always remember them.

· Our forefathers sacrificed their lives for the independence of Bangladesh. (complex)

It is our forefathers who sacrificed their lives for the independence of Bangladesh.
Our forefathers sacrificed their lives so that they could achieve the independence of Bangladesh.

· It was 2013 when I finished my Master’s. (simple)