S
Sentence 92
P
From Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, 1847
“I
intended
no
pointed
repartee;
it
was
only
a
blunder.”
pron.
v.
adj.
adj.
n.
pron.
v.
adv.
adj.
n.
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subj.
AVP
D.O.
subj.
LVP
S.C.
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no prepositional, appositive, or verbal phrases
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--------------------------independent clause--------------------------------------------independent clause--------------an I;I compound declarative sentence
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Grammar:
Vocabulary:
This is a classic I;I compound sentence; we use a semicolon rather than a comma if there is no coordinating
conjunction connecting the clauses.
We refer to conversation as repartee when it is filled with quick, witty replies; re means again. W50 (Review)
Poetics:
The three pairs of consonants PB TD KG are known as the stopped consonants; they are often used in combinations
together to suggest harshness, solidity, villainy, weight. Notice the use of stopped consonants: inTenDeD PoinTeD
reParTee iT BlunDer. Notice intenDED poinTED. This sentence is pronounced emphatically.
Writing:
One of the illuminating surprises about great sentences that are a century or two centuries old is not that they are
so different but that they are not. For all of the cultural change that has occurred, the language has demonstrated
an impressive power and stability in its forms. The vocabulary has changed much, the grammar little.
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