Structure And Written, Expression Skill 6-7

SKILL 6:   USE COORDINATE CONNECTORS CORRECTLY

When you have two clauses in an English sentence, you must connect the two clauses correctly. One way to connect two clauses is to use and, but, or, so, of yet between the clauses.

Tom is singing, and Paul is dancing.

Tom is tall, but Paul is short.

Tom must write the letter, or Paul will do it.

Tom told a joke, so Paul laughed.

Tom is tired, yet he is not going to sleep.

In each of these examples, there are two clauses that are correctly joined with a coordinate conjunction and, but, or, so, or yet, and a comma (,).

The following example shows how this sentence pattern could be tested in the Structure section of the TOEFL test.

Example

A power failure occurred,____the lamps went out.

a.    then

b.    so

c.    later

d.   next

In this example you should notice quickly that there are two clauses, a power failure occurred and the lamps went out. This sentence needs a connector to join the two clauses. Then, later, and next are not connectors, so answers (A), (C), and (D) are not correct. The best answer is answer (B) because SO can connect two clauses.

The following chart lists the coordinate connectors and the sentence pattern used with them :

SKILL 7: USE ADVERB TIME AND CAUSE CONNECTORS CORRECTLY

Sentences with adverb clauses have two basic patterns in English. Study the clauses and connectors in the following sentences:

I will sign the check before you leave.

Before you leave, I will sign the check.

In each of these examples, there are two clauses: you leave and I will sign the check, and the clause you leave is an adverb time clause because it is introduced with the connector before. In the first example the connector before comes in the middle of the sentence, and no comma (,) is used. In the second example the connector before comes at the beginning of the sentence. In this pattern, when the connector comes at the beginning of the sentence, a comma (,) is required in the middle of the sentence.

The following example shows how this sentence pattern could be tested in the Structure section of the TOEFL test.

Example

____ was late, I missed the appointment.

a.         I

b.        Because

c.         The train

d.        Since he

In this example you should recognize easily that there is a verb, was, that needs a subject. There is also another clause, I missed the appointment. If you choose answer (A) or answer (C), you will have a subject for the verb was, but you will not have a connector to join the two clauses. Because you need a connector to join two clauses, answers (A) and

(C) are incorrect. Answer (B) is incorrect because there is no subject for the verb was. Answer (D) is the best answer because there is a subject, he, for the verb was, and there is a connector, since, to join the two clauses.

The following chart lists adverb time and cause connectors and the sentence patterns used with them:

                                            

In this example you should quickly notice the adverb condition connector provided. This connector comes in the middle of the sentence; because it is a connector, it must be followed by a subject and a verb. The best answer to this question is answer (D), which contains the subject and verb you study.

The following chart lists the adverb contrast, condition, manner, and place connectors and the sentence patterns used with them:

 

EXERCISE (Skills 6-9): Underline the subjects once and the verbs twice in each of the following sentences. Circle the connectors. Then, indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).

____	1.	Until the registrar makes a decision about your status, you must stay in an
		unclassified category.
____	2.	Or the bills can be paid by mail by the first of the month.
____	3.	The parents left a phone number with the baby-sitter in case a problem with
		the children.
____	4.	The furniture will be delivered as soon it is paid for.
____	5.	Whenever you want to hold the meeting, we will schedule it.
____	6.	The government was overthrown in a revolution, the king has not returned to
		his homeland.
____	7.	Whereas most of the documents are complete, this form still needs to be
		notarized.
____	8.	Trash will be collected in the morning, so you should put the trash cans out
		tonight.
____	9.	It is impossible for the airplane to take off while is snowing so hard.
____	10.	We did not go out to dinner tonight eventhough I would have preferred not to
		cook.

_____ 11.  No one explained to me whether was coming or not.

_____ 12.  The part of the structure that has already been built needs to be torn down.

_____ 13.  The girl who she just joined the Softball team is a great shortstop.

_____ 14.  I have no idea about when the meeting is supposed to start.

_____ 15.  We have been told that we can leave whenever want.

_____ 16.  The racquet with whom I was playing was too big and.

Sumber buku :

Johan H.F, Ane Juwita.2009. Smart Way To TOEFL.Jakarta : Generasi Cerdas

Sumber Internet :

E-book, https://indahnyaduniamaya.files.wordpress.com.