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1. Sentence variety: infinitives as subjects
Sentence variety is one of the elements that divides good writing from poor writing. If you read and notice that each sentence begins in the same way, you'll soon realize how boring reading may be.
Without sentence variety:
I get up in the morning. I listen to the weather forecast. I put on my clothes. I have a bowl of granola with a banana. I brush my teeth. I pick up my briefcase and leave. I remember to lock the front door.
With sentence variety:
Each morning when I get up, I listen to the weather forecast. Hearing the forecast helps me decide which clothes to wear. After putting on my clothes, I have a bowl of granola with a banana. Next, I brush my teeth and pick up my briefcase. Remembering to lock the front door, I leave the house for the day.
Aaron Says Volume 13 discussed using gerunds for sentence variety. A second option for sentence variety is infinitives as sentence subjects. To go, to think, to write, and to discover are examples of infinitives.
Example with a pronoun as subject:
All morning I sit at my desk and think about a two-week holiday in Hawaii.
Example with a gerund as subject:
Sitting and thinking about a two-week holiday in Hawaii is my morning activity.
Example with an infinitive as subject:
To sit and think about a two-week holiday in Hawaii is my morning activity.
When you compare the three sentences, each one has a different focus and a different mood.
Using infinitives and gerunds as sentence subjects will add variety to your writing.
2. Collocations
The word collocation is a term meaning words that match. For example, a person may be fat, but a refrigerator is wide. Saying that a person is wide is strange. Yet, you may say that someone has wide hips. Streets and cars may be long, but people and trees are tall. Streets and refrigerators may be narrow, but people are slim or thin.
Learning which words collocate and which do not is a significant part of language learning, and the subtleties of words make the task a complicated one. If we imagine that each word has its own territory much like baseball players on the field have theirs, we get a clearer idea of the subtleties of words. If baseball players step outside their territories to get a ball, they may succeed. On the other hand, they may find themselves colliding with another player. The same is true about collocations. Stepping outside of the territory of a particular word may be poetic, or it may simply sound wrong.
Incorrect collocations with blonde:
My car is blonde.
My shoes are blonde.
Collocations with blonde:
They have blonde hair.
The furniture is light, almost blonde.
Awkward collocations with yellow:
They have yellow hair.
The furniture is light, almost yellow.
Collocations with yellow:
My car is yellow.
My shoes are yellow.
Examples of words that collocate may be found online. If you choose a word to research, you'll get a list of sentences with your word in it. You'll then be able to see words as used in context. For example, using Yahoo, I looked up the uses of the word trunk. I expected to find trunk as part of an elephant, a large suitcase, and a bathing suit for men. In addition to the three, I found an example about a tree trunk and the trunk of a car.
Checking collocations online may be time consuming, but it may also be beneficial for the growth and development of your writing.
3. Boat Life
While most people in the United States live in houses or apartments, a small number live on boats. Living on a boat is in some ways very different from living on land. Making certain that the boat is securely tied to the dock is something that land dwellers need not think about.
People who live on boats - liveaboards -- do just about what other people do. They go to work, attend school, and listen to music. What makes their way of life unique is that water surrounds their homes. Some of the advantages of being a liveaboard are living on water near an urban environment, seeing birds on the dock, and watching them fly overhead. To sit on the deck and watch the moon at night is a lovely boat experience. Hearing the water lap against the side of the boat makes each day feel just like a holiday.
Unfortunately, during a storm the same gentle lapping water may seem like a roaring ocean, feeling threatening.
Liveaboards face disadvantages. Boats may develop serious problems such as leaks, mold, or dampness. Staying warm in the winter is a greater challenge because of the dampness from the water that seems to permeate into the boat.
One of the great advantages of being a liveaboard is flexibility. When you want to go someplace, you simply go in your boat. Of course, that is not always possible if you want to go inland.
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