To make an effective sentence, some principles should be followed :
🔷 1. Omit needless words:
Examples:
Wordy : He has a garden which is beautiful.
Economical : He has a beautiful garden.
Wordy : The teacher became angry because of the fact that one of his students misbehaved.
Economical : The teacher became angry because one of his students misbehaved.
Wordy : Hasina walks in a graceful manner.
Economical : Hasina walks gracefully.
Wordy : The ancient mariner’s story is a strange one.
Economical : The ancient mariner’s story is strange.
Wordy : The matter is of great importance.
Economical : The matter is important.
🔷 2. Use the active voice :
Not : Sweets are very much liked by me.
But : I like sweets very much.
Not : Kamal has been hit by Hasan.
But : Hasan has hit Kamal.
Not : My visit to Dhaka will always be remembered by me.
But : I will always remember my visit to Dhaka.
Not : You are requested to come immediately.
But : Please come immediately.
🔷 3. Use parallel structure:
Examples:
Awkward : Hasan is a husband, a father and he runs a shop.
Parallel : Hasan is a husband, a father and a shopkeeper. (noun, noun, noun)
Awkward : Mina is tall, slim and she has a pretty face.
Parallel : Mina is tall, slim and pretty. (adjective, adjective, adjective)
Awkward : She sang, danced, and jokes were made by her.
Parallel : She sang, danced, and joked. (verb, verb, verb)
Awkward : People came to the meeting by rickshaw, by bus and they also used the train.
Parallel : People came to the meeting by rickshaw, by bus and by train.
(prepositional phrase, prepositional phrase, prepositional phrase)
Awkward : He went to town to buy a book and with the purpose of meeting a friend.
Parallel : He went to town to buy a book and to meet a friend. (infinitive phrase, infinitive phrase)
Awkward : He got what he wanted, ate what he liked and expressed his feelings.
Parallel : He got what he wanted, ate what he liked and expressed what he felt.
(noun clause, noun clause, noun clause)
Awkward : Since money is scarce and we cannot have everything in this world, we must be content.
Parallel : Since money is scarce and since we cannot have everything in this world, we must be content.
(reason clause, reason clause)
Awkward : Nobody was satisfied. Nobody was pleased. There was not a happy man.
Parallel : Nobody was satisfied. Nobody was pleased. Nobody was happy. (three simple sentences with the same structure)
🔷 4. Make sure that co-relative expressions are followed by the same construction :
both, and;
not, but;
not only, but also;
either, or;
neither, nor.
Examples:
Not : It is a time not for words but action.
But : It is a time not for words but for action. (not, but, followed by the same grammatical construction)
Not : Either you must do the work, or face the consequences.
But : You must either do the work or face the consequences. (either, or followed by the same grammatical construction)
Not : He not only loves his wife but also his children.
But : He loves not only his wife but also his children. (nor only, but also followed by the same grammatical construction)
🔷 5. Avoid a succession of choppy, stringy sentences:
(i) Avoid choppy sentences by using phrases:
Choppy : Malek was born in Rajshahi. He was educated there. He joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in 1985. He was then 28.
Improved: Born and educated in Rajshahi. Malek joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in 1985 at the age of 28.
Choppy : Bangladesh is a democratic country. India is also a democratic country. Both countries are neighbours.
Improved: Bangladesh and India, both democratic countries, are neighbours.
Choppy : I have read an interesting book lately. The book is called Mosques in Bangladesh. It is written by a professor of Islamic History and Culture. He works
at Dhaka University.
Improved: I have lately read an interesting book called ‘Mosques in Bangladesh’ written by a professor of Islamic History and Culture, Dhaka University.
(ii) Avoid choppy sentences by using subordinate clauses:
Choppy : I was sleeping. At that time the telephone rang.
Improved: While I was steeping, the telephone rang.
Choppy : Hakim is a doctor. He is my friend. He works in the Middle East.
Improved: Hakim, my friend, is a doctor who works in the Middle East.
❌ Choppy : Hamlet is a great tragedy. It is written by Shakespeare. It is about Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark. He was a student of the University of Wittenberg. One day he received bad news: His father had died. His mother had married his uncle. His uncle had become king: He was shocked at the news. He came back. He learnt from his father’s ghost that his uncle had poisoned him. The ghost urged him to take revenge. But Hamlet hesitated. He delayed in taking revenge. He was a man of philosophical temperament. He was also not sure about the veracity of the ghost. Later, he got the ghost’s story confirmed by means of a play. Then he avenged his father’s death. But he was also killed.
☑️ Improved : Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a great tragedy, is about the prince of Denmark called Hamlet. While he was a student of the University of Wittenberg, one day he received the news that his father had died and that his mother had married his uncle who had become the new king. Shocked at the news, Hamlet came back. His dead father who appeared as a ghost told him that he had been poisoned by his uncle and he urged him to take revenge. But as Hamlet was a man of philosophical temperament, and as he was not sure about the ghost’s veracity, he hesitated and delayed until he got the ghost’s story confirmed by means of a play. Although he avenged his father’s death at last, he was also killed.
🔷 6. Use idiomatic English:
Formal/non-idiomatic: Old cars fail to function every so often.
Informal/Idiomatic : Old cars break down every so often.
Formal/non-idiomatic: Hasan and Lina have ended their engagement.
Informal/Idiomatic : Hasan and Lina have broken off their engagement.
Formal/non-idiomatic: Robbers entered my neighbour’s house by force last night.
Informal/Idiomatic : Robbers broke into my neighbour’s house last night.
Formal/non-idiomatic : Fighting began suddenly and violently between rival groups of students.
Informal/Idiomatic : Fighting broke out between rival groups of students.
Formal/non-idiomatic : The meeting terminated in confusion.
Informal/Idiomatic : The meeting broke up in confusion.
☑️ These two paragraphs are non-idiomatic and idiomatic for each other.
❌(A) Non-idiomatic:
Hasan, who is an industrialist, is a man who is regular in all his activities. He arises from bed at seven o’clock every morning. Then he leaves his house for a brisk walk. As soon as he returns, he enters the bathroom to shave and to bathe. Having dressed, he descends downstairs to take his breakfast. When breakfast is finished, he gocs to the office by driving his car. He wants that everybody should arrive timely and work tirelessly.
According to him, it is absolutely necessary for success in life.
✅(B) Idiomatic:
Hasan, an industrialist, is a man of regular habits. He gets up at seven o’clock every morning. Then he goes for a brisk walk. As
soon as he comes back, he goes into the bathroom to have a shave and a bath. Having dressed, he comes down to breakfast. Breakfast over, he drives to the office. He insists that everybody should arrive strictly on time and work hard. He thinks diligence is the key to success in life.
Keys to building effective sentences
How to write an effective sentence
Effective sentence structure examples
Why is it important to use effective sentences in writing a letter
