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Buffalo buffalo

I've been using the sentence, "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" for years in my Rhetoric classes to show my students how to parse a sentence, but I never knew till now that there was a Buffalo buffalo Wikipedia entry, which identifies the author of the Buffalo sentence -- William J. Rapaport of the University of Buffalo -- and explicates the text as follows:

The sentence . . . reads as a description of the pecking order in the social hierarchy of buffaloes living in Buffalo:

[Those] (Buffalo buffalo) [that] (Buffalo buffalo buffalo) buffalo (Buffalo buffalo).

[Those] buffalo(es) from Buffalo [that are intimidated by] buffalo(es) from Buffalo intimidate buffalo(es) from Buffalo.

Bison from upstate New York who are intimidated by other bison in their community also happen to intimidate other bison in their community.

There is also a traditional sentence diagram:

and, even better, a parse tree:

I love parse trees to distraction. Any questions?

A Peculiar Sentence about a Peculiar Boy

At my blog Scribal Terror, I recently posted an unusual eighteenth-century print of a "human oddity" called "The Woolly-Headed Boy." Little is known about the subject of the print, so I simply remarked,

Who he was and why his hair appears to be a clump of sheep's wool are unspecified.

The sentence itself is such an oddity (at least in modern American prose) that I thought I would comment on it here.

It is a complex sentence, which means that it has one independent clause combined with one or more dependent clauses.

In this case, the dependent clauses function as the subjects of the verb are.

The first subject is the relative clause, Who he was. The second subject is the relative clause, why his hair appears to be a clump of sheep's wool. These clauses are joined with the coordinating conjunction, and.

The sentence functions just the same as it would if the subjects were single words; for instance, Name and address are unspecified. The relative clauses are simply behaving as if they were nouns.

If I had written the following sentence, my grammar would have been incorrect. Can you tell why?

Who he was or why his hair appears to be a clump of sheep's wool are unspecified.

Coordination and Subordination

The concepts of coordination and subordination are critical to a clear understanding of English sentence structure.

The English prefix co- means with, together, or jointly, and ordination means arrangement. So the word coordination means arranged together. Grammarians specifically use coordination to mean an arrangement of equal parts.

The English prefix sub- means beneath. Subordination therefore means arranged beneath. Grammarians use subordination to mean an arrangement of unequal parts.

COORDINATION

We divide sentences into equal parts by joining independent clauses with other independent clauses through appropriate punctuation (colon or semicolon) or coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so -- FANBOYS) set off by a comma.

Examples of coordination:

James is verbose; Hemingway is laconic.

James is verbose, but Hemingway is laconic.

James is verbose; his sentences are interminable.

Notice that all these sentences are compound. They are built from two or more independent clauses. We create compound sentences through coordination.

SUBORDINATION

We divide sentences into unequal parts by joining an independent clause to a dependent clause. (Both types are explained in Understanding Clauses.) The dependent clause may be either relative or subordinate. (These distinctions are also discussed in Understanding Clauses.)

One clause is subordinate to another when it performs a function within the other clause.

A subordinate clause usually acts as an adverb modifying the verb in the main (independent) clause.

Example: I like Hemingway because his writing is concise.
The subordinate clause answers the question Why do I like Hemingway?
Therefore it is acting as an adverb modifying like.

A relative clause usually acts an an adjective modifying a noun in the main clause.

Example: Hemingway is the writer whom I like.
The relative clause answers the question Whom do I like?
Therefore it is acting as an adjective modifying writer.

We use subordination to form complex sentences. Complex sentences are built from an independent clause combined with one or more dependent clauses. The dependent clauses may be relative or subordinate.
 

Examples of complex sentences:

I dislike James because he is verbose.

main clause (I dislike James) + subordinate clause (because he is verbose) = complex sentence

I dislike a writer who is verbose.

main clause (I dislike a writer) + relative clause (who is verbose) = complex sentence

Coordination and subordination are sometimes called, respectively, parataxis and hypotaxis.

The Ins and Outs of Compound Sentences

A compound sentence combines two or more independent clauses, usually in order to compare, contrast, or emphasize their relationship in some way. The independent clauses should be statements of roughly equal importance. (See the examples below.)

Independent clauses are described here in depth, but all you really need to know about them for this discussion is that all clauses contain a subject and a predicate, but only an independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. You can tell if a clause can stand alone by applying the "I believe" test, which we also use to test for sentence fragments. Here's how it works:

Put the phrase I believe that in front of the sentence you wish to test. If it makes sense, your clause will stand alone as a sentence; if it doesn't make sense, your clause will not stand alone.

Example: William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
Test: I believe that William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
Conclusion: The clause is independent. It will stand alone.

Example: When William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
Test: I believe that when William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
Conclusion: This doesn't make sense. The clause cannot stand alone.

Example: Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.
Test: I believe that Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.
Conclusion: The clause will stand alone.

Example: Even though Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.
Test: I believe that even though Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.
Conclusion: This doesn't make sense. The clause cannot stand alone.

Independent clauses can be joined in three ways:

• with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so -- remember FANBOYS)
  • William Shakespeare was born in 1564, and Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.

• with a semicolon
  • William Shakespeare was born in 1564; Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.

• with a colon
  • William Shakespeare was a prolific author: he wrote approximately 37 plays.

Notice the difference between the semicolon and the colon. The semicolon separates two clauses that provide information that is closely related but DOES NOT define or expand on the same information in different words. The colon introduces a second clause that defines, expands on, or restates the information in the first clause.

If you want to separate independent clauses with a comma rather than a color or semicolon, always remember to combine it with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). It is considered incorrect to splice two independent clauses together with a comma alone. This error is called, appropriately enough, a comma splice.

Incorrect: William Shakespeare was born in 1564, Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.
Correct: William Shakespeare was born in 1564; Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.

Also be sure that you use only one of the FANBOYS conjunctions to support your comma. Other words, like however, nevertheless, then, thus, etc., may sound like conjunctions, but they are infact conjunctive adverbs.

Incorrect: William Shakespeare was born in 1564, however, Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.
Correct: William Shakespeare was born in 1564; however, Sir Francis Bacon was born in 1561.

You can read more about the conjunctive adverbs in the post entitled Making Sense of However.

Many authorities permit the comma splicing of very short independent clauses that have a strong parallel structure, such as "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Understanding Clauses

It is very important for writers to understand clauses. Clauses form the basis for many of the decisions you will make about grammar, style, and punctuation. For instance, if you want to know where to put commas, you must know what the different kinds of clauses are and how they work grammatically within the English sentence.

Unlike the English handbooks you might have read, however, Beautiful English is an interactive learning experience. If you are confused about the explanations, all you need to do is put a question in the comments section and I will be immediately notified by email -- and I will keep finding new ways to explain and new examples to use until you are satisfied that you understand. Also, if you have sample sentences that you would like me to analyze, I will be glad to do that. For instance, if you want to know if a clause is relative or subordinate, I can tell you and explain the reasoning behind my explanation. Again, I won't stop until you are satisfied that you understand. And remember, There is no such thing as a silly question.

Now, let's begin our study of the English sentence with a discussion of its main components -- clauses.

A clause is a group of words with a subject and a predicate, like The cow jumped over the moon. The action, jumped, is defined in the predicate jumped over the moon, and the source of the action, the cow, is defined in the subject.

There are two types of clauses:

An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence. The cow jumped over the moon is an independent clause. It can also be called a main clause.

A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it performs a specific grammatical function in relation to an independent clause. Examples include because the cow jumped over the moon, when the cow jumped over the moon, and which jumped over the moon. All of these examples include a subject and a predicate. In the first two examples, the subject is cow and the predicate begins with the verb jumped. In the third example, the subject is the pronoun which. Here is how each one works in relation to an independent clause:

Because the cow jumped over the moon, the little dog laughed.

The little dog laughed can stand alone as a complete sentence, but because the cow jumped over the moon cannot stand alone because it is acting as an adverb modifying laughed. It answers the question, Why did the dog laugh? That's right; the whole clause is acting as an adverb. That is what dependent clauses do -- they perform the function of a part of speech -- like an adverb, an adjective, even a noun -- in relation to the independent clause.

The little dog laughed when the cow jumped over the moon.

This example works the same way as the one before. The little dog laughed is the independent clause. It can stand alone as a sentence. When the cow jumped over the moon is the dependent clause because it acts as an adverb describing jumped. It answers the question, "When did the dog laugh?"

The dependent clauses in the previous two examples can also be called subordinate clauses because they use subordinating conjunctions such as when, where, because, although, unless, or even though to link them to the independent clause.

The dependent clause in the third example can also be called a relative clause because it uses a relative pronoun such as which, who, or that to link it to the independent clause.

The little dog laughed at the cow, which jumped over the moon.

This dependent clause answers the question "Which cow did the little dog laugh at?" It therefore acts as an adjective modifying cow.

Making Sense of "However"

There are two forms of the word however. One is a pure adverb, meaning in whatever manner, as in "We'll do this however you want." That one doesn't cause problems. The tricky form is the conjunctive adverb meaning but or although.

The most important thing to remember about however when you're using it to mean but or although is that it functions as an adverb, not as a conjunction. It cannot be used to separate two independent clauses.

Think of it as having a secret ly on the end, and if that doesn't help, substitute quickly in the sentence, then punctuate however the way you would punctuate quickly -- with one difference, which we'll discuss later.

Example: I thought I would pay for the dinner, however I came to my senses.
Test: I thought I would pay for the dinner, quickly I came to my senses.

-- Hey, that's wrong. Those are two separate sentences. --

Here are a few correct revisions:

• I thought I would pay for the dinner; however, I came to my senses.
• I thought I would pay for the dinner; I came to my senses, however.
• I thought I would pay for the dinner. However, I came to my senses.
• I thought I would pay for the dinner. I came to my senses, however.

The semicolon does the same thing the period does. It demonstrates that one independent clause has ended and another has begun. You can also use a comma plus a conjunction to join two independent clauses:

    I thought I would pay for the dinner, but I came to my senses.

You can't do this with conjunctive adverbs like however, therefore, nevertheless, hence, and the like. When you have these types of words, always imagine the secret ly or substitute quickly to test your punctuation.

There is one difference between how you would punctuate quickly and how I have punctuated however. Quickly doesn't need to be followed by a comma in the beginning of  a sentence, surrounded by commas  in the middle, or preceded by a comma at the end. However does. Think of this as the way you communicate the conjunctive meaning of however and distinguish it from the purely adverbial meaning.

You might have been told never to open a sentence with however. This is a stylistic preference, not a grammatical one. The word for however in Latin is autem. In classical Latin the word autem always takes the postpositive position; that is, it never comes first.  The postpositive use of however is modeled on the Latin use of autem  because it is considered more elegant, not because it is more correct.

Avoiding Sentence Fragments

Sentence fragments are incomplete thoughts masquerading as complete ones. They can be used intentionally for stylistic effect, but only in informal writing. Formal writing requires complete sentences.

Here's how to tell if a sentence is complete without picking it apart grammatically.

Take the phrase "I believe  that" and attach it to the front of any sentence you want to test. If the sentence makes sense, it is complete. If not, it's a fragment.

Please note: there should be a distinct pause between "believe" and "that."

Example: If the sentence makes sense.
Test: I believe [pause] that if the sentence makes sense. Sounds wrong! It's a fragment.

Example: It's a fragment.
Test: I believe [pause] that it's a fragment. Sounds right! It's complete.

Example: Although I don't like him.
Test: I believe [pause] that although I don't like him. Sounds wrong! It's a fragment.

Example: Although I don't like him, I'll go out with him anyway.
Test: I believe [pause] that although I don't like him, I'll go out with him anyway. Sounds right! It's complete.