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.







  1. 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.



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  2. 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.



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  3. 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.



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  4. 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.



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  5. 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.



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  6. 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.



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  7. 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.



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  8. 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.



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  9. 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.



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  10. 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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