Language Exercises (Being Fluid)

Exercise Contents Writing Workbook Writing Courses Language Exercises: Being Precise and Clear Being Familiar Being Concise

One aspect of being fluid is to vary sentence rhythms, and one easy way to vary sentence rhythms is to vary the way that sentences begin. For the following sentences, decide what type of sentence opener is used. Openers include subject-verb, prepositional phrase, adverb, dependent clause, infinitive phrase, participial phrase, introductory series, gerundial phrase, and dependent clause used as a subject. Most of these openers are discussed on pages 130-133 in The Craft of Scientific Writing. For this exercise to work effectively, please do not override this page's selection of colors.

At the time of her construction, the Titanic was the largest ship ever built. Subject-Verb Prepositional Phrase Adverb Dependent Clause Participial Phrase #1. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: page 130. Top of Page The Titanic was nearly 900 feet long, stood 25 stories high, and weighed an incredible 46 thousand tons. Subject-Verb Prepositional Phrase Adverb Dependent Clause Participial Phrase #2. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: pages 130-131. Top of Page However, on April 15, 1912, the Titanic sideswiped a massive iceberg and sank in less than three hours. Subject-Verb Prepositional Phrase Adverb Dependent Clause Participial Phrase #3. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: pages 130-131. Top of Page Although human factors contributed to the sinking of the Titanic, this report will focus on material failures and design flaws. Subject-Verb Prepositional Phrase Adverb Dependent Clause Infinitive Phrase #4. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: pages 130-131. Top of Page Brittle fracture of hull, failure of the rivets, and flaws in the watertight compartment--all of these aspects will be analyzed in this report. Gerundial Phrase Dependent Clause serving as the Subject Infinitive Phrase Prepositional Phrase Introductory Series #5. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: page 275. Top of Page What the survivors of the disaster then described was a loud noise that sounded like breaking china. Gerundial Phrase Dependent Clause serving as the Subject Infinitive Phrase Prepositional Phrase Introductory Series #6. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: This particular opener, which is not difficult to master, does an excellent job of varying the rhythm. Top of Page Falling nearly vertically at about 4 mph, the stern crashed into the ocean floor 27 minutes later. Participial Phrase Dependent Clause serving as the Subject Infinitive Phrase Prepositional Phrase Adverb #7. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: pages 130-132. Top of Page To measure the brittleness of the Titanic's steel, scientists conducted a Charpy test. Participial Phrase Dependent Clause Infinitive Phrase Prepositional Phrase Subject-Verb #8. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: pages 130-131. Top of Page When the iceberg tore through the hull plates, huge holes were created that allowed water to flood the hull of the ship. Prepositional Phrase Dependent Clause Infinitive Phrase Participial Phrase Adverb #9. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: pages 130-131. Top of Page Like a giant lever, the hull plates transferred the inward forces to the rivets along the plate seams. Participial Phrase Dependent Clause Infinitive Phrase Prepositional Phrase Adverb #10. Congratulations, you have made the correct choice. Discussion: pages 130-131. Top of Page You have reached the end of this exercise.

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