Cơ Bản: Sentence Meaning/Combining

This study guide helps you understand how to combine sentences and find sentences with similar meanings. This is important for college entrance exams.

What is Sentence Combining?

Sentence combining is when you take two or more short, simple sentences and join them together to make one longer, more complex sentence. The goal is to express ideas more clearly and efficiently.

What is Sentence Meaning?

Understanding sentence meaning is the ability to grasp the central idea or message conveyed by a sentence. This skill involves not only knowing the definitions of individual words but also understanding how they relate to each other to form a coherent thought.

Basic Techniques for Sentence Combining

1. 
   

   Using Conjunctions (and, but, or, so, for, nor, yet):

   
   
   
   
   • Combine sentences that have a similar idea. For example:
     
     
     
     • Original: Peter moved abroad for a fresh start. He regrets it now.
     
     
     • Combined: Peter moved abroad for a fresh start, but he regrets it now.
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


2. 
   

   Using Relative Pronouns (who, whom, which, that, whose):

   
   
   
   
   • Combine sentences when one sentence describes a noun in the other sentence. For example:
     
     
     
     • Original: Smartphones are becoming reasonably priced. New applications make them more appealing.
     
     
     • Combined: Smartphones, which are becoming reasonably priced, are made more appealing by new applications.
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


3. 
   

   Using Prepositions (of, in, to, for, with, on, at, by, from, about):

   
   
   
   
   • Turn one sentence into a prepositional phrase to modify the other. For example:
     
     
     
     • Original: Mary left home to start an independent life. She realised how much her family meant to her.
     
     
     • Combined: After leaving home to start an independent life, Mary realised how much her family meant to her.
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


4. 
   

   Using Infinitives (to + verb):

   
   
   
   
   • Express purpose or reason. For example:
     
     
     
     • Original: Kate completed her higher education. She then decided to travel the world before getting a job.
     
     
     • Combined: After completing her higher education, Kate decided to travel the world before getting a job.
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   

Finding Sentences with Similar Meanings

This involves recognizing paraphrases. A paraphrase is a restatement of a sentence using different words but conveying the same meaning. Here's how:

1. Identify the main idea: What is the sentence really saying?


2. Look for synonyms: Do other sentences use different words to express the same concepts?


3. Pay attention to logical relationships: Are there cause-and-effect, comparison, or contrast relationships that need to be maintained?

For example:

• Original: It was wrong of you to criticise your son in front of his friends.


• Similar meaning: You shouldn't have criticised your son publicly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Changing the Original Meaning: Make sure your combined sentence expresses the same idea as the original sentences.


• Creating Run-on Sentences: Avoid joining too many ideas together without proper punctuation or conjunctions. A run-on sentence is a sentence that keeps going and going because there aren't enough full stops or commas.


• Misusing Punctuation: Commas, semicolons, and other punctuation marks are essential for clear writing. Learn the rules for using them correctly.


• Incorrect Grammar: Ensure the combined sentence is grammatically correct.


• Misunderstanding the original sentence. Always read each sentence carefully and make sure you understand the meaning before attempting to combine it.

Examples and Step-by-Step Solutions

Example 1: My father likes reading newspapers more than watching TV.

• Step 1: Identify the core meaning: The father prefers newspapers.


• Step 2: Look for similar expressions: "My father prefers reading newspapers to watching TV."


• Step 3: Choose the best option that matches the core meaning.

Example 2: "How long have you lived here, Lucy?" asked Jack.

• Step 1: Recognize this is direct speech that needs converting to indirect speech.


• Step 2: The question is about the duration of Lucy's residence.


• Step 3: A correct indirect form: Jack asked Lucy how long she had lived there.

Understanding Reported Speech

Reported speech (also known as indirect speech) is when you report what someone said without using their exact words. Here are some basic rules:

1. Change of pronouns: 'I' becomes 'he/she', 'we' becomes 'they', etc.


2. Backshift of tenses:
   
   
   
   • Simple present becomes simple past.
   
   
   • Present continuous becomes past continuous.
   
   
   • Simple past becomes past perfect.
   
   
   • Present perfect becomes past perfect.
   
   
   
   


3. Change of time and place adverbs: 'Here' becomes 'there', 'now' becomes 'then', 'today' becomes 'that day', etc.


4. Change in question format: In reported questions, the word order changes to a statement format, and question marks are removed.

Example:

• Direct speech: Anna said to Bella, "Would you like to go to the show with me?"


• Reported speech: Anna asked Bella if she would like to go to the show with her.

Additional Tips

• Practice regularly with different types of sentences.


• Read widely to improve your understanding of sentence structure and meaning.


• Pay attention to context. The meaning of a sentence can sometimes depend on the context in which it is used.


• When in doubt, ask for help from a teacher or tutor.

Visual Aids

Here is a diagram to help you understand sentence structure.

Here's a diagram illustrating sentence combining: