AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR & LANGUAGE
Simple : You must work hard to pass the examina- Simple : Besides being a poet, Tagore was a great
tion. statesman.
Compound : You must work hard or you will not pass the Compound : He not only robbed the poor child but also
examination. raped her
Simple : You may take either of the pens. Simple : Besides robbing the poor child, he raped her.
Compound : You may take this pen or you may take that Compound : He finished his exercise and put away his
Simple : Due to poverty he could not shine in life. books.
Compound : He was poor and so he could not shine in Simple : Having finished his exercise, he put away
life. his books.
Simple : For all his troubles, he is cheerful Compound : Not only did his father give him money, but
Compound : He is in great troubles, still he is cheerful. his mother too.
Simple : He must work very hard to make up for the Interchange of one Part of Speech for another
lost time. He presumptuously ignored my advice.
Compound : He must work very hard and make up for He presumed to ignore my advice.
the lost time Few historians have written in a more interesting man-
Simple : To his eternal disgrace, he betrayed his coun- ner than Gibbon.
try. Few historians have written more interestingly than
Compound : He betrayed his country, and this was to his Gibbon.
eternal disgrace. We passed an anxious hour.
Simple : Besides robbing the poor child, he also mur- We passeed an hour anxiously.
dered her. He examined the document carefully.
Compound : He not only robbed the poor child but also He examined the document with care.
murdered her. I see him everyday.
Simple : He must work very hard to win the first I see him daily
prize.
The Act made the negro slaves free.
Compound : He must work very hard, or he will not win
The Act gave freedom to the negeros slaves.
the first prize.
There is a slight difference between the two shades
Simple : He must not attempt to escape, on pain of
The two shades are slightly different.
death.
He showed generosity even to his enemies.
Compound : He must not attempt to escape, or he will be
put to death. He was generous even to his enemies.
Simple : Notwithstanding his hard work, he did not He fought bravely.
succeed. He put up a brave fight.
Compound : He worked hard, yet did not succeed. That kind of joke does not amuse me.
Simple : Owing to ill-luck, he met a bad accident on That kind of joke does not give me any amusement.
the eve of his examination. It costs twelve paise.
Compound : He was unlucky and therefore met with bad The cost is twelve paise.
accident on the eve of his examination. He has disgraced his family.
Simple : The teacher punished the boy for disobedi- He is a disgrace to his family.
ence. The treaty of Salbai should be remembered as one of
Compound : The boy was disobedient, and so the teacher the landmarks in the history of India.
punished him. The treaty of Salbai is worthy rememberance as one of
Double or Multiple (Compound) into Simple the landmarks in the history of India.
Double and Multiple (Compound) Sentences can be Simple to Complex
changed into Simple sentences by contracting Clauses into Simple sentences may be changed into Complex sen-
words or phrases tences by enlarging words or phrases into Subordinate
Compound : I gave him not only money but also good ad- clauses.
vice. Simple : He confessed his crime.
Simple : Besides giving him money, I gave him good Complex : He confessed the crime he had committed.
advice.
Simple : Fortunately he had a trong ssense of humour.
Compound : Love the neighbours and be a friend to them.
Complex : It was fortunate that he had a strong sense
Simple : Be a loving friend to the neighbours of humour.
Compound : John did his best but could not succeed. Simple : Let him enjoy his hard-earned money.
Simple : In spite of doing his best, John could not Complex : Let him enjoy the money which he earned by
succeed. hard work.
Compound : Tagore was not only a poet but also a great Simple : I wish your success.
statesman.
Complex : I wish that you may succeed.
SEE–77