Talk:Loose sentence
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A loose sentence is a type of sentence in which the main idea (independent clause) comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses. If a period were placed at the end of the work containing many loose sentences, the work often seems informal, relaxed, and conversational.
The meaning of a loose sentence can be easily understood in the very beginning of the sentence, unlike a periodic sentence. example- He went into town to buy groceries. He went to the sea to play with the animals.
Unacceptable Alternatives Section
[edit]The Alternatives section of this should not be prescriptive. It should be reworded to describe what The Elements of Style recommends. Also, there are many essays and books, academic or other, that put forth the idea that cumulative sentences are actually superior to simple short sentences. S&W got things wrong. The book should not be treated as gospel, though it almost universally is.
I am going to edit this section to be descriptive, but I don't have time to work in the counter arguments in favor of cumulative sentences. If anyone else wants to work them into this article, I can provide references to these resources. Polygnost (talk) 17:20, 1 December 2024 (UTC)
- Upon rereading, we should consider removing the Alternatives section altogether. The language is unclear and the grammar is incorrect. A couple of examples: “them” refers to what in the first sentence?; the use of “by” instead of “with” throughout.
- Also, I do not think the Alternatives section adds much value to the article in general. It implies that there is something innately wrong with cumulative sentences. If a section like this is included, it should be thorough and cover all arguments for and against, and the section should be called something like Usage. As is, I think the Alternatives section is inadequate, incorrect, and requires a complete rewrite. Polygnost (talk) 17:39, 1 December 2024 (UTC)
- The Alternatives given are entirely OR, so should go anyway. The cite has nothing to do with these examples.
- Apart from the OR, this article looks like it's based on S&W (though I'm pretty sure the concept predates them...) but as they don't define loose sentences, don't argue against them per se, and their examples don't really match the definition here, the article isn't in great shape. It might be better as part of another article about sentences anyway. CohenTheBohemian (talk) 14:09, 3 December 2024 (UTC)