If you’re not sure what a compound sentence is, you’re in the right place.
You’ve read them countless times and probably used them in your writing without even realizing it.
In this article I will:
- Define cumulative sentence and give examples.
- Show you how and why cumulative sentences make your writing shine.
- Give friendly tips on how to use them to improve your writing…
And more.
Ready to add some punch to your writing? let’s go
What is the definition of a cumulative sentence?
A cumulative sentence is also known as a empty sentence.
Cumulative sentences is a combination of two or more sentences or phrases. They include;
- A main idea or independent proposition, i.e. complete and standing on its own.
And;
- One or more subordinate clauses modify or provide additional information about a person, place, idea, or event.
Combining the Cumulative Sentence
For the following examples, we will do stay the main clausecontains the subject of the sentence. All the rest are subordinate clauses and must change the main idea of the sentence.
Let’s illustrate a compound sentence using a passage from a famous American writer…
Joan Didion: Some Dreamers of a Golden Dream
“The San Bernardino Valley is located just one hour east of Los Angeles via the San Bernardino Freeway. but in a way it’s a foreign place: not the coastal California of subtropical twilights and gentle wests on the Pacific coast, but a harsher California beyond the mountains, haunted by the Mojave, ravaged by Santa Ana winds ripping through the passes at 100 mph and whistling through the eucalyptus.
Notice that the main clause is a sentence by itself, with the San Bernardino Valley as the subject. It is followed by subordinate, modifying clauses and stops the forward movement of the main clause.
Joan Didion uses short and long phrases punctuated by adjectives rather than stringing together descriptive sentences after an independent clause. This gives a complete picture of how the San Bernardino Valley is strangely out of the character of California.
This is a very long sentence, but it is perfectly understandable, because it gives a more relaxed and literary style. Makes a balanced sentence.
Cumulative sentences strengthen your writingespecially when writing a description.
Want to see it used elsewhere? Let’s look at some more examples…
Sample sentences to help your writing shine
When you skillfully write cumulative sentences, reading becomes a joy. Let’s look at how they are used in Literature, Poetry, and Pop Culture.
Compound sentences in literature
1. Michael Chabon: Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure (Del Rey, 2007)
“cried silently after the custom of shamed and angry men, so that Hillel could hear the creaking and creaking of their leather armor as the pursuing party came tumbling, battering, and tumbling down the trail from his hiding place…”
2. Sinclair Lewis: Arrowsmith (1925)
“He dipped his hands in the bichloride solution and shook them — to shake quickly, bring the fingers down, as a pianist’s fingers over the keys.
3. Annie Dillard: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Harper & Row, 1974)
“I I am with the Eskimos in the tundra chasing after the bare-footed caribou, sleepless and dazed for days, in sight of the ocean, under the long-shadowed pale sun, scattered in scribbled lines along the surface ledges of glaciers and deer moss, they run silently through the night.
4. John Gardner: Life and Times of Chaucer (Alfred A. Knopf, 1977)
“Undamaged supply wagons, warhorses, and heavily armed knights kept the advance up to nine miles a day. The vast horde moves in three parallel columns, cutting wide paths of debris and rubble through already abandoned villages, most of the adventurers now traveling on foot, having sold their horses for bread or butchered them for meat.
Compound sentences in poetry
5. Anne Sexton: All My Beauties
“This is the yellow album you started with
year of birth; now as cracked and wrinkled
like tobacco leaves: The cuts that Hoover overcame
democrats wagging the dry finger at me
and Prohibition; News of where the Hindenburg is headed
low and last years where you entered the war.
6. Anonymous: Beowulf (Modern English translation by Frances B. Gummere)
“This Beowulf was famous for: To boast of him flew away,
Son of Skild, in the lands of Scandia.
7. Langston Hughes: The Weary Blues
“Last night on Lenox Ave
By the pale paleness of the old gaslight…”
Cumulative Sentences from Pop Culture
8. Eminem: Courage Over Fear
“…Since I arrived
Ever since the song “Hello! My Name Is” dropped…
9. From Ozark (Netflix)
“What are you doing, Martin? When the bride who took your breath away turns into the bride who takes your breath away with fear?’
10. Keith Urban: You’ll Think of Me
“I woke up around 4 am today
With the moon shining like headlights on the interstate…”
Useful Tips and Functions of Cumulative Sentences
You may not realize it, but I’m sure you’ve already used a few compound sentences in your writing.
A few more tips to complete this lesson.
Tips for writing better summary sentences
The 2-clause structure of a cumulative sentence makes it easy to build large sentences.
Remember that one main independent clause is followed by a dependent clause that describes, illustrates, or reins in an idea in detail.
As you’ve already seen, writers of all genres—fiction and nonfiction—can and will use this sentence form.
Getting it right is just a matter of practice with a few tips in mind…
- Use examples from great writers as examples for your work.
- Use a grammar checker to make sure you don’t make things too long (short sentences). Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, and ProWritingAid can help.
- Read your work aloud to someone else. Furrowed brows tell you that you’re losing them, so make sure your modifying clauses aren’t so long that your main idea gets lost in a casually complex sentence.
Setting the Scene with Cumulative Sentences
Cumulative sentences are great for economically constructing scenes. The main clause broadly introduces your setting, and you’ll use modifier clauses to fill out the picture.
Consider the following statement;
11. Moment Example I drew from my own fiction
“The white site was last, a few steps from where that white faga was first hung, and a few minutes from the clearing.
Characteristics and compound sentences
Cumulative sentences are also a great way describe the characters…
12. Someone else Example I drew from my own fiction
“Sarah grew up when Bill died; no anger, no alienation, no pointless time spent with countless lovers, it was as if all the things his father meant for family passed on to him, and he aged within a few months.
As you can see, compound sentences connect thoughts and images and allow your writing to flow. It makes for an enjoyable reading experience.
It certainly worked in my writing. I’m sure it will improve your writing as well.
Cumulative sentences and periodic sentences
Cumulative sentences are fairly easy to get right. A periodic sentence, on the other hand, requires a slightly softer touch.
So what is a periodic sentence?
It is often called conditional sentence, a periodic sentence is characterized by suspended syntax, which means that the entire meaning is unknown until the end of the sentence.
A few examples to illustrate my point;
13. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Confidence in yourself
“Believing in your own opinion To believe in your heart that what is true for you is true for all people, this is genius.“
14. Truman Capote, In Cold Blood
“Like the waters of the river, like the drivers on the highway, and like the yellow trains on the Santa Fe tracks, the drama, in the form of exceptional events, never stopped there.“
The beginning and end of each in the examples above sentence structure (highlighted in red) makes perfect sense when formed as its own short sentence. But the inclusion of modifying phrases means that you have to keep reading to get the full meaning of the sentence.
This is what distinguishes periodic sentences from their compound counterparts.
With practice, you can easily make periodic sentences a comfortable part of your writing repertoire. But pay attention to the word so as not to lose the intended meaning of your sentence.
Time to Work Cumulative Sentences into Your Game
So you’ve seen what compound sentences are and how they look in different art forms. Ready to put it to work in your writing?
Excellent.
What will happen next? Experiment, of course.
Exercise and read a lot. This will help you recognize compound sentences and make your writing sharper.
Look for opportunities to use compound sentences in your descriptive transitions, both in setting scenes and building character.
Focus on flowing text and economy and let it happen naturally. As you edit, ask yourself two simple questions:
Is the passage stronger and the reading richer?
My bet is noise Yes!
Good luck, good luck.
This article was originally published on December 10, 2022. It has been updated for clarity and comprehensiveness.
