Chapter 4

Coordination and Subordination

 Coordination Within The Sentence

Coordination, simply pit, is having like-structures and like-sentences

together for consistency and flow.
For example, we have coordinating conjunctions like:
We built a new snow fort AND threw snowballs.
Robbie is mean, AND I’m not going to play with him anymore.
These sentences flow because we coordinated the information and
structures together.
Compounding

One of the most frequent uses of conjunctions is the

compound function.
Instead of writing out two sentences like:
Snow made the roads treacherous. Ice made the roads
treacherous.
You turn it into:
Snow and ice made the roads treacherous. Saving you three
words.
Compounding (Cont.)

That last example showed the compounding of subjects, but

you can also do it with:
Predicates: The kids PLAYED OUTDOORS ALL MORNING
but STAYED INSIDE ALL AFTERNOON.
Direct Objects: You can take A TAXI or A SHUTTLE from the
airport.
NONONONONONO Don’t DO THAT

This week’s topic of no no no don’t do that involves

coordinating conjunctions like AND, BUT, and OR.
DO NOT USE A COMMA with a coordinating conjunction
when it joins two REQUIRED sentence units.
If it is required (as in directly relates to the previous section),
do not use one since it will introduce a pause that throws of
our reading speed.
Parallel Structure

Parallelism is one of the most important tools for a writer.

But why?
Well, like the name suggests, parallelism keeps everything in
straight lines to make the sentence as smooth as possible,
not having any parts of the sentence criss-cross and wrecking
the sentence.
But what does it look like?
Let’s Start With What It Doesn’t Look Like

“Well, I was studying, took out the trash, did some

homework, was walking the dog, and will cook dinner before
you interrupted me.”
Notice how none of these verbs flow into each other? They
don’t all share the same tense? The don’t even follow the
same structure?
That’s because they didn’t keep their parallelism.
So What Does Parallelism Look Like

Let’s use the same sentence example: “Well, I was studying,

took out the trash, did some homework, was walking the
dog, and will cook dinner before you interrupted me.”
We could change it to: “Well, I was studying, taking out the
trash, doing some homework, walking the dog, and cooking
dinner before you interrupted me.”
Just by keeping that structure, there’s more flow to these
sentences and less opportunity for confusion.
Side Note Time: Gerunds

Gerunds will pop up more throughout the semester, but it’s

important to make sure I mention them a lot.
Gerunds are when we use -ing verbs as nouns. Which sounds
silly, but we use it a lot.
● I like running
● Snowboarding is cool
● Apologizing to me isn’t the answer
Coordination of the Series

A series is a coordinate structure with three or more items,

like a list.
So, when we have these, we will separate each item with a
comma like:
“Among the lands on the frozen fringes of the Arctic Ocean
are Alaska, Canada, and Greenland.”
If you have only two items, no need for a comma.
Oxford (or Serial) Comma

An Oxford comma is the last comma in a series before the

coordinating conjunction (Alaska, Canada ,< This one and
Greenland).
TECHNICALLY speaking, it isn’t necessary as a lot of writers
omit it on purpose, but if you will just humor me, I will show
why it is the most important silly punctuation.
Example Time!

Let’s say I had a sentence like:

“The people I invited to my graduation are my parents,
Morgan Freeman and Zendaya.”
Based on where there is NO Oxford comma, the sentence
can be misinterpreted as you saying that your parents are
Morgan Freeman and Zendaya (ew that age gap, though).
“The people I invited to my graduation are my parents,
Morgan Freeman, and Zendaya.” And now it’s NOT weird :)
Coordination with Correlative Conjunctions

There are going to be four sets of correlative conjunctions:

● Both-and
● Not only- but also
● Either- or
● Neither- nor
These have the ability to change the rhythm and focus of
your sentence based on only these four structures.
Exercise 11

Use one of our four Correlative Conjunctions to better our

sentence.
1. Tea and coffee contain caffeine.

2. Some people drink coffee or tea, but not both

Possible Answers!

1. Both tea and coffee contain caffeine.

a. Or: Not only tea but also coffee contain caffeine.

2. Some people drink either tea or coffee, but not both.

a. Or: Some people drink neither tea nor coffee, but not
both.
 Exercise 12
Revise to fix the lack of parallelism.
1. PEN International awards prizes to writers who promote freedom of
expression, sometimes enduring imprisonment, or even lose their lives.

2. Nobel Prizes are awarded not only for literature but to scientists and
humanitarians as well.

3. Though it is known for its yearly Oscars ceremony, the Academy of

Motion Picture Arts and Sciences supports education, activities in
research, and preservation.
 Possible Answers
1. PEN Internationals awards prizes to writers who PROMOTE FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION, ENDURE IMPRISONMENT, OR EVEN LOSE THEIR LIVES.

2. Nobel Prizes are awarded not only for literature but for SCIENCE AND
HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS as well.

3. Though it is known for its yearly Oscars ceremony, the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences supports ACTIVITIES IN EDUCATION,
RESEARCH, AND PRESERVATION.
Subject-Verb Agreement

The main issue with these compound sentences, subjects,

and passive voice is making sure that we are using the right
tense for our sentence.

For example:

Mount Rushmore National Memorial are in South Dakota.

This looks fine, but it is grammatically incorrect because we

used ‘are’.
How Do We Correct This?

When in doubt, simplify your sentence.

So, instead of using Mount Rushmore National Memorial,

which can make it seem like a whole lot more than one item,
we can use the noun (Memorial) or a pronoun (It).

This makes it easy to see why, “It are in South Dakota,” is

incorrect.
 What Other Obstacles Are There?

When noun phrases are combined with and or both-and, the subject will be
plural.

Both Democrats and Republicans ARE in agreement on some issues.

However, with the conjunction ‘or’ and ‘nor’, the subject closest to the verb
will dictate its agreement.

Neither the speaker nor the listeners WERE intimidated by the protestors.

Either the class officers or the faculty makes the final decision.
 Exercise 13
Choose the verb that agrees with the subject.

1. The students in Biology 101 (goes/go) on a field trip each spring for a full day.

2. Neither the instructor nor the students (goes/go) to any other classes that day.

3. A field guide, as well as a writer’s notebook, (finds/find) a place in most students’

backpacks.
Answers

1. The students in Biology 101 (goes/go) on a field trip each

spring for a full day.

2. Neither the instructor nor the students (goes/go) to any other

classes that day.

3. A field guide, as well as a writer’s notebook, (finds/find) a place

in most students’ backpacks.
 Compound Sentences

Before I go into how to make compound sentences and how they function, I am first
going t explain the difference between two similar concepts:
● Clause: A structure with a subject and a predicate, but does not necessarily end
on its own (Example: I walked the dog, but he ran off during our route.)

● Sentence: A structure of subject and predicate, but does end, regardless of how
many clauses or patterns exist within it (Example:I walked the dog, but he ran off
during our route)
Compound Sentences (Cont.)

A compound sentence is any sentence that has more than

one clause, but what kind of clauses can we produce?

Two: Independent and Dependent

Independent: The clauses that you are used to, those that
stand on their own (I walked the dog/ The students yawned).

Dependent: Clauses that cannot stand on their own (When I

wake up in the morning/ Until I see you tonight).
Conjunctive Adverbs

Addition: moreover, furthermore, further, also

Time: meanwhile, then, afterward, previously

Contrast: however, instead, rather

Result: therefore, consequently, thus

Concession: though

Reinforcement: indeed, nevertheless, still

How To Use Conjunctive Adverbs

We worked hard for the Consumer Party candidates;

however, we knew they didn’t stand a chance.

We worked hard for the Consumer Party candidates; we

knew, however, they didn’t stand a chance.

We worked hard for the Consumer Party candidates; we

knew they didn’t stand a chance, however.
Transitionals

Addition: in addition to

Time: in the meantime

Contrast: in contrast, on the contrary

Result: as a result, in the end

Concession: of course, at any state, at least

Reinforcement: in fact, above all, in particular

Compound Sentences w/ Semicolons

The easiest way to think of a semicolon is that it is a period on

top of a comma; you stop for a moment and then move on.

However, the semicolon is meant acknowledge a deep

connection between these two clauses or sentences.

Ancient Rome held more than a million people; no European

city would come close to it in size until the London of
Shakespeare’s time.
 Compound Sentences w/ Colons
One of the colon’s functions is to start a list--

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh.

Colons can also act as a completing or explanatory list-starter:

Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us
with courteous detachment.

Lastly, a colon can start a quote or question:

The formation of snowflakes touches on some fundamental questions: How do

crystals grow?
 Exercise 14
Add punctuation to the following passages, if necessary.

1. The Smithsonian Institution comprises nineteen museums nine research centers and the
National Zoo.

2. You can find one of the museums on the National Mall in Washington, DC but the National
Air and Space Museum has two locations.

3. The museum on the National Mall opened in 1976 however, its collection was so large that
an additional museum was built near Dulles International Airport.

4. Together, these two museums maintain a vast collection of air and spacecraft they also
sponsor vital research into aviation and related technologies.
 Answers
1. The Smithsonian Institution comprises: nineteen museums, nine research centers,
and the National Zoo. (Colon is not mandatory, but I like them)

2. You can find one of the museums on the National Mall in Washington, DC but the
National Air and Space Museum has two locations.

3. The museum on the National Mall opened in 1976; however, its collection was so
large that an additional museum was built near Dulles International Airport.

4. Together, these two museums maintain a vast collection of air and spacecraft; they
also sponsor vital research into aviation and related technologies.
Questions?