COMPOUND SENTENCE WITH ELLIPTICAL CONSTRUCTION
(comma indicates the omitted verb)
S V DO ; S , DO
We like classical music; those guys , rock.
We leave out the verb in the second clause BECAUSE AND ONLY IF it would needlessly repeat the verb of the first clause. Notice also, you may have a direct object (DO), which receives the action of the verb; or you may have a subject complement describing the verb.
You need parallel wording in both clauses, and the verb must be exactly the same.
Examples: The mother and son each had a goal; hers, educational; his, recreational.
For many of us, the new math teacher was a savior; for others, a pain.
"Thought is the blossom; language, the bud; action, the fruit." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Be sure that each sentence really has two independent clauses in it (even thought the second has an unexpressed verb).
Be sure that the verb omitted in the second clause matches exactly, in form and tense, the verb in the first clause.
Use a semicolon if there is no conjunction; if there is a conjunction, many writers use a comma. A semicolon does not go with a coordinating conjunction.
1. Which of the following doesn't work? Why.
a. Bill played a musical number by Bach; Joan, Beethoven.
b. Lou Williams was in for adultery; John Jones for gambling.
c. His mother told him to rent a car; his sister, to pack the suitcases.
a-because Joan Beethoven is not two independent clauses.
2. Write your own original example.
My sister and I like different members of the idol group; I, donghae; her, siwon.
3. Find one from something you have read (this may take a couple of weeks).
(comma indicates the omitted verb)
S V DO ; S , DO
We like classical music; those guys , rock.
We leave out the verb in the second clause BECAUSE AND ONLY IF it would needlessly repeat the verb of the first clause. Notice also, you may have a direct object (DO), which receives the action of the verb; or you may have a subject complement describing the verb.
You need parallel wording in both clauses, and the verb must be exactly the same.
Examples: The mother and son each had a goal; hers, educational; his, recreational.
For many of us, the new math teacher was a savior; for others, a pain.
"Thought is the blossom; language, the bud; action, the fruit." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. Which of the following doesn't work? Why.
a. Bill played a musical number by Bach; Joan, Beethoven.
b. Lou Williams was in for adultery; John Jones for gambling.
c. His mother told him to rent a car; his sister, to pack the suitcases.
a-because Joan Beethoven is not two independent clauses.
2. Write your own original example.
My sister and I like different members of the idol group; I, donghae; her, siwon.
3. Find one from something you have read (this may take a couple of weeks).