Egft 13

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[Geoffrey Leech, ‘Chapter 13: Grammar and Composition’, 2004, Palgrave Macmillan,
reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan. This extract is taken from the author's
original manuscript and has not been edited. The definitive version of this piece may be
found in English Grammar for Today, 2nd Edition by Geoffrey Leech, Margaret Deuchar and
Robert Hoogenraad which can be purchased from www.palgrave.com. Posted with the
permission of co-authors Margaret Deuchar and Robert Hoogenraad.]
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13 Grammar and composition
13.1 Grammar and Writing
How can knowledge of grammar be used to improve our style of written English? If we know
something about grammar, we can criticise and discuss our own writing, and learn to improve
it. Here are four maxims of good writing which we will illustrate and enlarge upon in this last
chapter:
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1. Make your language easy to follow.

2. Be clear.
3. Be economical.
4. Be effective.
Practical principles such as these cannot always be fulfilled at the same time. Sometimes they
compete with one another. One example of this occurs whenever we open our mouths to
speak: we have to speak loud enough and slowly enough to be understood (‘Be clear’), but
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we also have to try not to waste effort by speaking too slowly for the purpose (‘Be
economical’). So to hit the right level of delivery, we have to weigh up the competing
demands of principles 2 and 3.
Such principles are, in a way, precepts of good behaviour in the use of language. Although
they apply to both spoken and written language, in spontaneous speech we have little time to
give them consideration. But there is less excuse for ignoring them in writing, where we have
the leisure to revise and redraft, and where the addressee does not have the immediate chance
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to reply and seek clarification. People understandably tend to be more critical of style in
writing than in speech - which is one reason why we concentrate in this chapter on style in
written composition.
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13.2 ‘Make your language easy to follow’ Time tyrannises over the way we compose and
understand messages. We cannot say all that we have to say at one moment, in one fell
swoop: we have to choose in which order to express things. Often grammatical choices are
choices which affect order. This is notably true of choices discussed in 8.7: ‘transformational’
choices such as that between an active and a passive construction – for example, between The
Chinese invented fireworks and Fireworks were invented by the Chinese.
Our first principle, ‘Make your language easy to follow’, is designed to help the reader
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make sense of a text in linear form. It has three aspects,
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13.2.1 Sentence length
For the reader’s sake, a text should be suitably segmented into units, so that it can be
understood bit by bit. In grammar, the largest unit is the sentence, and it is important to avoid
sentences which are too long or too short. It would of course be wrong to prescribe an ‘ideal
sentence length’ for all purposes, but recent studies indicate that the average sentence in
written English is about eighteen words long.
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In general, the longer a sentence is, the more complex it is (see pp. 137-8@@ for a
discussion of complexity). Also, the more complex it is, the greater the burden it places on
our attention and memory. On the other hand, if we go to the other extreme, repeatedly
making use of simple sentences, the result can be monotonous, lacking in light and shade. As
is true of so many things, a happy medium is often the best course. Consider:
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Although its meaning is clear and easy to follow, this passage suffers from the flatness of a
‘short-breathed’ style, with brief, one-clause sentences. On the other hand, we have:
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This passage is a much more difficult reading experience than the preceding one: crammed
into one sentence is all the content of the eleven sentences of (1). But (2) has an advantage
over (1) in that it indicates, through subordination and other grammatical relations, the
relations of meaning between the different clauses. We see all the different ideas fitting into a
single ‘complex thought’, with clear indications of how one idea is linked to another, how
one idea is subsidiary to another, etc. Now here is a happy medium between the two styles:
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Although there are occasions when we will want to use simple sentences, as in (1), or very
complex sentences, as in (2), the most generally serviceable style will be one which, like (3),
avoids the disadvantages of both.
13.2.2 Subordination
It helps the reader if we not only segment our message into units of suitable size, but also
indicate the relative importance of ideas within those units. As (2) and (3) have already
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1378
shown, subordinate clauses are one way of making one idea less salient than another. Putting
an idea in a main clause is like shining a spotlight on it; and putting it in a subordinate clause,
by the same simile, is like a placing it in the shadow:
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The contrast between (4), which spotlights the point about Greece, and (5), which spotlights
that about Rome, is easy to notice. Often subordinate clauses state ideas which are well
known, or have been mentioned before. This ‘backgrounding’ effect is still felt if the
subordinate clause is placed in a final position. Compare (4) and (6):
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Still further backgrounding results from placing an idea in a tenseless clause or in a phrase.
Compare:
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Coordination, on the other hand, gives equal importance to the clauses it links. We can
contrast both (4) and (5) with (10) and (11), where the clauses are linked by the coordinating
conjunctions but and nor:
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1905
So there is a scale of ‘backgrounding’ roughly as shown in Figure 13.1. This scale is only an
approximate indicator of importance; we should add that there are exceptions to it – for
example, a noun clause in final position is often the most important part of a sentence to
which it belongs: Everyone thought [that I had made a mistake].
Figure 13.1
Coordinate Tensed Tenseless Phrase
1905
1906
clause subordinate subordinate

clause clause
1906
1907
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1942
13.2.3 Ordering: end-focus and end-weight
In fact, ordering itself is a way of indicating the relative importance of two parts of a
sentence. We can see this by reversing the order of the two clauses connected by but:
1942
1943
1943
1944
1944
1945
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1946
1946
1947
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1948
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Although grammatically the two clauses are of the same status, in any construction X but Y,
the main focus of attention seems to fall on Y. As we saw in 2.2 (discussing a sentence by
Samuel Butler), the final position is the most important in terms of information. Similarly, the
main focus is often carried by a final subordinate clause. Compare in this respect (8) with
(14):
2081
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2110
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The emphasis typically carried by final position is best explained in terms of
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2200
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2214
through a sequence of sentences in a text, we progressively add packages of ideas to the store
of information with which we started. These packages correspond to grammatical units,
especially clauses and phrases. Sentences we encounter in a text usually contain a mixture of
2214
2215
2215
2216
2216
2217
2217
2218
2218
2219
2219
2220
(information we have met before) and
2220
2221
2221
2222
2222
2223
2223
2224
information (information we have not met before). In this sense, a written text is like a
journey of exploration, where the reader is continually moving from familiar to less familiar
territory. In general,
The reader is helped if given information is placed before, rather than after, new information.
This maxim, which may be called the maxim of
2224
2225
2225
2226
2226
2227
2227
2228
2228
2229
2229
2230
2230
2231
2231
2232
2232
2233
clauses, but also to the ordering of clause elements. Which of the following is the easier to
make sense of?
2233
2234
2234
2235
2235
2236
2236
2237
2237
2238
2238
2239
2239
2240
2240
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The answer should be: (16) is easier to understand than (15). There are two reasons for this:
 Penicillin (by its contrast with quinine) conveys the most important new information
in the first clause, and should therefore follow the word patient, which is given
information within this context
 Recovered completely is a better ordering than completely recovered, because

‘recovery’ has already been mentioned, and it is the adverb completely which brings
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in new information at this point.
As writers, then, we have to keep an eye on two kinds of emphasis: there is the ‘spotlight’
effect of main clauses, and the ‘focusing’ effect of final position. These two visual metaphors
are compatible with one another, and enable us to treat the two kinds of emphasis, the
structural and the sequential kinds, independently. For example:
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These two sentences differ not in terms of the order of the two main ideas, but in treating one
as coordinate (in (17)) or as subordinate (in (18)) to the other. Although they are similar in
one respect, they are different in another.
There is a third kind of emphasis. It is sometimes said that the first position in a clause or
sentence is more important than the final position. While this is certainly not true with regard
to information focus, an initial element does have its own kind of emphasis, because it is an
element which first attracts the reader’s attention, and which sets the scene far what follows.
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This is particularly clear when the initial element is a fronted object, complement, or
adverbial (see 8.2):
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An initial adverbial typically has a scene-setting role for what follows:
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Notice that in these cases the first part of the sentence does not contain important new
information – in fact, it tends to rely on what is already known. But its importance is rather
that of providing a ‘handle’ by which to grasp what follows.
To the maxim of end-focus we now add a related maxim of
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Place a ‘heavy’ constituent after a ‘light’ one, rather than a ‘light’ one after a ‘heavy’ one.
This maxim has to do with the weight, or complexity, of an element, rather than the amount
of information conveyed; but the two measures of importance are interconnected. Naturally
enough, a complex constituent (in practice, one that contains a large number of words) tends
to contain more information than a simple one. Compare:
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Sentence (23) is a ‘happier’ sentence than (22), because the complex phrase by the art and
literature of the ancient world is placed at the end. Often it is a good idea to use a passive
construction, as in (23), in order to put the ‘weight’ of the sentence in final position. A
marked preference for the end-weight principle can be seen in sentences like:
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Here end-weight is so overriding that it leads the writer to rearrange the elements out of their
normal order
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that we appreciate the usefulness of having, in English, a number of transformations (see 8.7)
which allow elements to be moved out of their normal position in the clause.
13.3 ‘Be clear’
The principle of clarity is one of the obvious imperatives of written style. From the negative
point of view, it means avoiding ambiguities (such as those grammatical ambiguities we
noted on pp. 13, 19, and 111-12) and also avoiding obscurity of expression which results not
2923
2924
so much in outright ambiguity, as in muddles and delays of interpretation. The following

illustrate temporary, ‘garden-path’ ambiguities - they lead the reader up the garden path (or
should we say a blind alley?), encouraging an analysis which as the sentence proceeds turns
out to be wrong:
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In these examples, the constituent which is likely to mislead is in italics. In (26) the ‘garden
path’ is the analysis of marched down the road as part of the main clause, instead of as a
RClen relative clause (= ‘who were marched. . .’). In (27) it is the analysis of the film as
object of watching rather than as subject of frightened. And in (28) it is the analysis of and
his brother as part of a prepositional phrase at Ahmed and his brother, rather than as the
beginning of a new clause. In each case, there is an obvious remedy for the muddle: before
the offending words, we can insert in (26) the words who were, and in (27) and (28) commas.
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Another kind of delay of interpretation can occur in sentences with
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The parts of (29) in italics constitute a single noun phrase. But what is the point of separating
them? There are occasions when the demands of end-focus or end-weight strongly argue for
discontinuity:
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But there is no such pressing argument in (29), where the discontinuity simply adds to
difficulties of comprehension, by splitting elements which belong together in meaning.
Notice that the reason for preferring (30) to (29) is a negative one: in (30) we need to
sacrifice the principle of clarity for the principle of end-weight, whereas there is no such
reason in the case of (29). In other words, (30a) is markedly awkward in comparison with
(29a), and so needs to be reformulated:
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In a similar way, the principle of clarity is often at odds with the principle of economy, as we
will see in a moment.
13.4 ‘Be economical’
In grammar, the principle of economy can be paraphrased ‘Do not waste energy.’ Avoiding
unnecessary words is good because it means less work for the writer and for the reader. This
underlies the common objection to
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could be omitted without loss of meaning from the sentence. Try omitting generally and
satisfactory in:
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Furthermore, a saving occurs whenever we avoid repetition, or avoid using words whose
meaning could easily be inferred. The general phenomenon of grammar whereby we save
words and hence simplify structures is called
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it, they, etc.) and other substitute words, such as (sometimes) do, so, such, that.
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which are predictable in that they merely repeat what is said in the nearby context.
 The omission of that at the beginning of a zero that-clause or relative clause.
Both pro-forms and ellipsis are means of avoiding repetition:
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As well as reducing length and complexity, pro-forms and ellipsis help to connect one part of
a sentence or text to another. So he in (33) refers back to my brother, which is called the
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we should follow, then, for economy and conciseness, is ‘Reduce as much as possible’. This
means, all other things being equal, ‘Prefer ellipsis to pro-forms’ (as in (34)), and ‘Prefer pro-
forms to repetition’ (as in (33)). But often not all these alternatives are available. For
example, we can say:
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But the use of the pronoun in (36), for example, requires repetition of must have also; there is
no English sentence combining a pronoun with ellipsis, such as *The intruders must have
smashed the glass and they broken in.
13.5 ‘Be clear but concise’: clarity versus economy
On the other hand, saving words can often lead to an unsuspected loss of meaning. So we
should not reduce where economy conflicts with clarity. In (38), omitting the conjunction
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that after proved results in a ‘garden-path’ sentence. In (39), ellipsis leads to unclarity of
constituent structure:
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Does every year apply (i) to the increase of home sales alone, or (ii) does it also apply to the
achievement of export targets? The second meaning is here more likely, because of the
parallelism of the structure that expresses it:
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so if we intended to convey the first meaning we would have to restore the omitted elements
of the second clause, adding a comma for extra clarity, as the coordination is now between
entire clauses:
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Similarly, unclarity results when an ellipsis is too distant from its antecedent structure:
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4106
4107
4107
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4109
4109
4110
4110
4111
4111
4112
4112
4113
4113
4114
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4115
4115
4116
4116
4117
4117
4118
4118
4119
4119
4120
4120
4121
4121
4122
4122
4123
4123
4124
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4125
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4126
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4127
4128
4128
4129
4129
4130
4130
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4132
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4133
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4134
4135
4135
4136
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4137
4137
4138
4138
4139
4139
4140
4140
4141
4141
4142
4142
4143
4143
4144
4144
4145
But the most obvious types of ambiguity and obscurity are those arising from the use of
pronouns:
4145
4146
4146
4147
4147
4148
4148
4149
4149
4150
4150
4151
4151
4152
4152
4153
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4154
4155
4155
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4165
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4169
4169
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4170
4171
4171
4172
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4175
4175
4176
4176
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4178
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4179
4179
4180
4180
4181
4181
4182
4182
4183
4183
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4184
4185
4185
4186
4186
4187
4187
4188
4188
4189
4189
4190
4190
4191
4191
4192
4192
4193
4193
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4195
4195
4196
4196
4197
4197
4198
4198
4199
4199
4200
4200
4201
4201
4202
4202
4203
4203
4204
4204
4205
4205
4206
4206
4207
4207
4208
4208
4209
4209
4210
4210
4211
4211
4212
4212
4213
4213
4214
4214
4215
4215
4216
4216
4217
4217
4218
4218
4219
Humorous examples like this point out the danger (increased here by the ambiguity of came
off) of placing a pronoun too near to a ‘false antecedent’. Normally the antecedent of a
pronoun will be a preceding noun phrase which is either the nearest candidate, or the nearest
candidate in a parallel function:
4219
4220
4220
4221
4221
4222
4222
4223
4223
4224
4224
4225
4225
4226
4226
4227
4227
4228
4228
4229
4229
4230
4230
4231
4231
4232
4232
4233
4233
4234
4234
4235
4235
4236
4236
4237
4237
4238
4238
4239
4239
4240
4240
4241
4241
4242
4242
4243
4243
4244
4244
4245
4245
4246
4246
4247
4247
4248
4248
4249
4249
4250
4250
4251
4251
4252
4252
4253
4253
4254
4254
4255
4255
4256
4256
4257
4257
4258
4258
4259
4259
4260
The nearest potential antecedent in (43) is her sister, but Joan is also a candidate, because the
function of Joan (subject) is parallel to that of she.
Apart from this type of ambiguity, there is the opposite danger of using a pronoun where
there is no antecedent at all, or where the antecedent is too distant to be recognised:
4260
4261
4261
4262
4262
4263
4263
4264
4264
4265
4265
4266
4266
4267
4267
4268
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4269
4269
4270
4270
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4279
4280
4280
4281
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4290
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4291
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4295
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4297
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4298
4298
4299
4299
4300
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4301
4301
4302
4302
4303
4303
4304
4304
4305
4305
4306
4306
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4309
4310
4310
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4311
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4320
4320
4321
4321
4322
4322
4323
4323
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4324
4325
4325
4326
4326
4327
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4329
4330
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4331
4331
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4333
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4346
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4347
4348
4348
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4349
4350
4350
4351
4351
4352
4352
4353
(Here, unless clarified by a previous sentence, the antecedents of her and one are not clear.
To clarify, the second clause could read: and Queen Elizabeth’s cousin Mary Queen of Sots
was the chief suspect.) Yet another type of unclarity results from the repeated use of the same
pronoun with a different antecedent:
4353
4354
4354
4355
4355
4356
4356
4357
4357
4358
4358
4359
4359
4360
4360
4361
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4364
4365
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4380
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4399
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4402
4402
4403
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4437
4438
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4439
Having stressed these pitfalls, however, we should add that common sense knowledge
frequently resolves a theoretical ambiguity. There would be little likelihood of interpreting
(45), for example, as meaning that Pam would tell her mother about the headmistress’s
misconduct. The unclarity in such cases lies more in the possibility of a temporary tangle
which will be resolved only by re-reading. So to the maxim ‘Reduce as far as possible’, we
must always add the rider ‘unless unclarity results’.
4439
4440
13.6 ‘Be effective’
The three principles so far illustrated have to do with efficient rather than with effective
communication. But to communicate effectively is to make good use not merely of the
referential function of languages, but of all the functions of language (see p. 150@@). This
brings us back to the subject of literary style, and reminds us that the artistic sense of style
can be found in quite ordinary texts: there is no gulf fixed between creative writing and
practical writing. So, for example, the maxim ‘Reduce as far as possible’ can be overruled for
4440
4441
the sake of
4441
4442
4442
4443
4443
4444
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4451
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4507
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4509
4510
4510
4511
4511
4512
4512
4513
4513
4514
The repetition of John Brown here is not required for clarity, but suggests an emphasis (‘that
man and that man alone’) which would be lost by reduction. On the other hand,
4514
4515
4515
4516
4516
4517
4517
4518
4518
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4521
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4528
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4529
4529
4530
4530
4531
monotony by using alternative synonymous expressions – can be a reason for avoiding both
repetition and reduction:
4531
4532
4532
4533
4533
4534
4534
4535
4535
4536
4536
4537
4537
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4573
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4583
4583
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4600
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4601
4602
4602
4603
4603
4604
4604
4605
4605
4606
4606
4607
4607
4608
4608
4609
4609
4610
4610
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4614
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4615
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4616
4617
4617
4618
4618
4619
4619
4620
Variation for the sake of variation is often treated as a vice of style. Talking of so-called
‘elegant variation’, Fowler went so far as to say: ‘There are few literary faults so widely
prevalent, and this book will not have been written in vain if the present article should heal
any sufferer of his infirmity’ (Fowler, Modern English Usage, 1926, 1965). Nowadays this
opinion appears overstated, but it reminds us that some types of expression – such as proper
names and technical terms – cannot usually be varied without artificiality, and are likely to be
repeated in descriptive or explanatory writing. But elsewhere, e.g. in (47), variation can be a
4620
4621
virtue that avoids both the tedium of over-repetition and the contrived switching from one
synonym to another. Consider the italicised words in the following paragraph:
4621
4622
4622
4623
4623
4624
4624
4625
4625
4626
4626
4627
4627
4628
4628
4629
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4641
4641
4642
4642
4643
4643
4644
4644
4645
4645
4646
4646
4647
4647
4648
4648
4649
4649
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4650
4651
4651
4652
4652
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4659
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4660
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4661
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4662
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4666
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4671
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4674
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4676
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4677
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4678
4679
4679
4680
4680
4681
4681
4682
4682
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4683
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4684
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Variation here is not so much a negative practice of avoiding repetition, as a positive search
for different words which may appropriately highlight different aspects of the same thing.
From different metaphorical viewpoints, a mountain range can be both a chain and a wall. It
can also be a frontier when we are thinking of it as a boundary between peoples. So variation
can be a strength, and we can argue more generally that linguistic variation of all kinds is to
be welcomed in writing, so long as it is consistent with other goals. This includes not only
variation in lexical choice, but variation of grammatical structure, such as:
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(a) Variation in length or complexity of sentences.

(b) Variation in position and type of subordination.
(c) Variation between subordination and coordination.
(d) Variation in type and position of adverbials.
(e) Variation in type and position of modifiers.
If we keep an eye open for the opportunities of variation, we will make the most of the
expressive range of the language and avoid the temptation to fall back on stereotyped
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formulas and clichés. Becoming aware of the manifold possibilities of English grammar, as
outlined in Part B of this book, means becoming aware of how to use those possibilities, for
varied effect, in our own writing.
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Exercises
Exercise 13a (answers on p. 213@@)
In view of the principles of style discussed in this chapter, all the following sentences can be
regarded as less than successful. What is the stylistic weakness of each example, and how
would you avoid it? (It will be useful to refer to the three principles examined in 13.2-13.5: a.
‘Make your language easy to follow’; b. ‘Be clear’; c. ‘Be economical’.)
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Exercise 13b (answers on p. 214@@)
Ambiguities, including those of the temporary, ‘garden-path’ type, can in many cases be
eliminated by the insertion of commas or other stops. In other cases, they can be eliminated
by changes in the grammar of the sentence: e.g. deletions, transformations, re-orderings. How
would you insert punctuation or otherwise clarify the structure and meaning of the sentences
in the following cases? Provide (i) an improved version of each sentence, (ii) an informal
description of each ambiguity, and (iii) a description of the change(s) you have made.
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To conclude the exercises in this book, the following two supplementary exercises are
designed to provide more wide-ranging material, for practice and discussion of written
composition.
Supplementary exercise 13c
The following passage consists of short, repetitive sentences, which as they stand do not hold
together as a reasonable piece of English prose. Make what grammatical and lexical changes
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you wish - including re-ordering by changing active into passive, etc., combining sentences
by subordination or coordination, deletion, substitution of pronouns, etc. The goal is to make
these sentences into three coherent paragraphs of an article or essay on Brook Farm. You may
also add sentence adverbials. Be prepared to justify your changes, in terms of the principles
outlined in this chapter.
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(excerpts freely adapted from James R. Mellow, ‘Brook Farm: an American Utopia’,
Dialogue, 13.1, 1980 pp. 44-52)
Supplementary exercise 13d
The following are two passages for comment. The first is an extract from a story by a 12-
year-old girl. The second is from a letter written to a newspaper. Discuss each passage
critically from the point of view of usage (Chapter 12) and from the point of view of good
7116
7117
style (Chapter 13). If you were the author, and were asked to make revisions, what
grammatical changes would you make to each passage?
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7695
(quoted in James Britton, Language and Learning, Penguin, 1970, p. 252)
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(from a letter to a newspaper)
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Egft 13

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Egft 13

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239

13 Grammar and composition

13.1 Grammar and Writing

1. Make your language easy to follow.

make sense of a text in linear form. It has three aspects,

13.2.1 Sentence length

Coordinate Tensed Tenseless Phrase

clause subordinate subordinate

13.2.3 Ordering: end-focus and end-weight

The emphasis typically carried by final position is best explained in terms of

(information we have met before) and

This maxim, which may be called the maxim of

 Recovered completely is a better ordering than completely recovered, because

in new information at this point.

An initial adverbial typically has a scene-setting role for what follows:

To the maxim of end-focus we now add a related maxim of

13.3 ‘Be clear’

so much in outright ambiguity, as in muddles and delays of interpretation. The following

Another kind of delay of interpretation can occur in sentences with

13.4 ‘Be economical’

 The omission of that at the beginning of a zero that-clause or relative clause.

Both pro-forms and ellipsis are means of avoiding repetition:

13.5 ‘Be clear but concise’: clarity versus economy

13.6 ‘Be effective’

(a) Variation in length or complexity of sentences.

Exercise 13a (answers on p. 213@@)

Exercise 13b (answers on p. 214@@)

Supplementary exercise 13c

Supplementary exercise 13d

(quoted in James Britton, Language and Learning, Penguin, 1970, p. 252)

(from a letter to a newspaper)

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