Writing better sentences in English
- How do I write better sentences?
- How can I write sentences so that they sound more interesting?
- Do I have to use complicated structures?
These are only some of the questions studets often ask their teachers.
One very important step in English Grammar that students should know, is the word order in English sentences. Do not write the text in your mother tongue and try to ›translate‹ it inot English. This won't work. Start in English!
How do I write better sentences?
Make your sentences more interesting. Use adjetives, adverbs, expressions of place and time. Have a look at the following example:
Your task is to write something about you last weekend or you last holidays.
Collect some facts, eg. where you were, what you did, etc.Then form short sentences:
- I was at my Grandma.
- It was nice.
- The weather was OK.
- We were at a lake.
- We went swimming.
These easy sentences have to be improved by addíng more information. Here are some tips:
1. Use appropriate verbs
- I visited my Grandma.
- We walked to a lake.
2. Use adverbs and adjectives
- We slowly walked to a quiet lake.
3. Use expressions of place and time
- We walked to a quiet lake on Saturday morning.
But be careful! Do not make the sentences too complicated. This is not a good example:
We slowly walked to an extremely quiet lake on the early Saturday morning.
4. Do not write too many facts into one sentence – use ›better‹ constructions
It was nice. → We were having a great time.
The weather was OK. → The sun was shining, but it was a bit windy.
5. Connect sentences
You might connect the three sentences: The weather was OK. – We were at a lake. – We went swimming. with ›and‹:
The weather was OK and we were at a lake and we went swimming.
The result won't be good. You don't get better sentences. Connect the sentences more logically:
→ It was very warm, so we walked to a quiet lake and went swimming there.