Pattern #3 Sentences with series

A series is a group of three or more similar items, all of which go in the same place or slot
in a sentence. For three items to be considered a series, they must all be similar in form
(e.g. all nouns or all verbs) and have the same grammatical function. A series can appear
in any place or slot in a sentence. For example, there could be a series of three or four
verbs for the same subject; three or four nouns for the same preposition; or three or four
adjectives modifying the same noun. A series does not have to consist of single words
but could be phrases or dependent clauses as well.

We can use a series to help to eliminate wordiness. One way to eliminate wordiness
using a series could be when three short sentences are reduced to a single sentence
with series.

Here is an example of three short sentences, each describing what the fictional ‘John’ did
to make his business profitable:

• In an effort to make his business profitable, John created a marketing plan.

• In an effort to make his business profitable, John calculated his sales forecast.

• In an effort to make his business profitable, John prepared a cash flow statement.

To eliminate the wordiness and repetitiveness of these three short sentences basically
repeating the same thing again and again, the writer could instead use a series as you
can see below.

The same content expressed in a series:

Item 1 Item 2 Item 3

In an effort to make and prepared a

created a marketing calculated his sales
his business cash flow
plan, forecast
profitable, John statement.
Pattern #4 Series without a
conjunction (asyndeton)

A, B, C
Sentence structure #4 is a type of series called an asyndeton, or a series without a
conjunction. Asyndeton is a Greek word, meaning ‘no things that bind’.

For example:

Item 1 Item 2 Item 3

He handled the
situation with his patience, candour, diplomacy.
usual

This is the simplest type of series. As we can see in the example above, each item is
separated by a comma but no conjunction links the final two items. We could choose to
use a series without a conjunction to give the sentence a quick, almost staccato sound.
The deliberate lack of conjunctions is meant to speed up the sentence and create a
feeling in the reader that the items in the series could go on and on.

So when can you use this type of series in writing? Asyndeton can be used when you
want to mention or quote a few things but imply that there is more you haven’t
mentioned. For example, if you want to stress that your company undertook a number of
actions in the previous year you could write:

Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4

reduced
In the past year opened a new invested in new reorganized spending
we factory, technology, infrastructure, across the
company.

Deciding to use this series without a conjunction creates a feeling that the list is
incomplete and that your company actually undertook even more than this.
Here are more some examples of asyndeton. Try to read them aloud so you can hear
how the items flow together without a conjunction.

The United States has a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
(Abraham Lincoln, US President)

They focus on the bottom line, and through their knowledge make decisions about
which projects and products to fund, which to cut, which strategies will work,
which will not.(LineZine, http://linezine.com/6.2/articles/wlahwmlbl.htm, accessed
April 23, 2105)

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have
bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. (Barack Obama, US
President)