We are aiming for clarity, precision and sophistication. This page enables us to think about grammar, punctuation, words in their context, sharper descriptions and the language techniques an author uses etc etc etc. It helps you realise that analytical precision is important for depth of thinking and depth of analysis – skills that are critical to success in all of your English-related tasks.
To all avid word learners: when writing your own sentences, try to copy the author’s grammatical construction (esp. the prepositional phrases)
For example, (please see example below): Scrooge … “beguiled the rest of the evening with his banker’s book.” (beguiled is a transitive verb; it takes a direct object)
Please note, you cannot turn the verb into an adjective and use a “that” (relative clause): “I was beguiled that my enemy couldn’t come to the party.”
For our list of “word a day” pages
39.
“Tilly Dunnage had maintained her industrious battle until the house was scrubbed and shiny and the cupboards bare (Dressmaker, 34)
industrious : hard-working; diligent or assiduous
38.
“Marigold was shrill, whippet-like woman with a startled bearing and a nervous rash on her neck.” (Dressmaker, 57)
whippet-like: small slender breed of dog similar to a greyhound in appearance
startled: to cause to be surprised or frightened; sp so as to start involuntarily
37.
“Elsbeth .. was a small, sharp, razor-thin woman with a long nose and an imperious expression.”
“Circling her sun-splotched wedding finger was a tiny diamond cluster next to a thin, gold band..”
Muriel, laconic and unkempt in her grubby apron, was speaking to Elsbeth.
imperious – domineering, arrogant, over-bearing
laconic – using few words, terse,
unkempt – uncombed, dishevelled, ungroomed, slovenly
36.
“Beula puckered her lips and raised her eyebrows”. (Dressmaker, 36)
to pucker: to gather or contract (a soft surface such as the sin of the face) into wrinkles or folds
35.
“I know your sort,” said Molly, nodding and steepling her translucent fingers”. Dressmaker, 34
to steeple: to put into a spire (interesting conversion from the noun)
translucent: allowing light to pass through partially or diffusely; semi-transparent
34.
“The ten past nine Thomson and Company SAR raced towards Dungatar at a top speed of 32 mph, all steam and clatter and thumping…. The giant black engine screeched, halted, rumbled and sighed. The guard threw the great canvas bags of mail at Ruth’s feet. Next he dragged a cowering liver-coloured kelpie pup on a lead over to Ruth. (Dressmaker, 69)
Note the repetition (syntactic patterning)! Please follow the rhythms in your own sentence.
Also “cowering: – to cower is to crouch or cringe as if in fear (also note the alliteration)
33.
“In a quiet moment someone begins a rambling reminiscence, some old sadness or talk of home and is roughly silenced.” (Ransom 168) “For a time they surge in lumbering shadow play, from which sweaty faces, wet mouths, black eye-pits, flare, half-dark, half-flame.” (168)
lumbering: adj awkward, or heavy in movement, moving with a rumbling sound
reminiscence; the act of recalling or narrating past experiences; an event, phenomenon that reminds one of something else
32.
“Respectful yes, ingratiating even, but with a hint as well of amused condescension. .. he was moved by this invocation of the sacred tie, and took it, from a god’s lips, as an endorsement and blessing.” (Ransom 161)
ingratiating: (with) to place (oneself) purposely in the favour (of another)
invocation: the act of invoking or calling upon some agent for assistance, a prayer asking God for help, forgiveness.
What is amused condescension?
31.
The great Achilles, eyes aswarm, is weeping. With a cry he falls on one knee, and leans out to clasp his father’s robe. (Ransom 174)
aswarm; filled esp with moving things; swarming (flower beds aswarm with bees)
30.
The fact is, he resents Automedon. His presence is both a reminder and a rebuke.” (169 Ransom)
rebuke: a reprimand or scolding (v. to scold or reprimand someone);
not the alliteration and the antithesis!
29.
“He is in consequence the most cautious and reliable of men, doing all he does with perfect consideration and punctilious rectitude.” (Ransom 169)
“That is the discipline of kings. But to achieve it I have had to be more rigid than others. A little too punctilious, I know, in all that is due to ceremony. A stickler, as they say. For form, for the rules.” (Ransom, 77)
punctilious: paying scrupulous attention to correctness in etiquette; attentive to detail;
rectitude; moral or religious correctness; correctness of judgement
again a nice swathe of nominals
28.
“It is this overabundance in him of an animal nature he has not yet learned to subdue that Achilles finds endearing in the youth, and which makes his lapses into hulking awkwardness so easy to forgive.” Ransom 171
28. He finished the cake but declined a second. Abstemiousness was native in him. He based a certain sense of his formal relationship to nature on his being not too dependent upon it; despite what the driver had said, and very pertinently too, of their being doubly tied both to the gods and to the heart.” (Ransom 11)
abstemious: moderate or sparing; esp in the consumption of alcohol and food;
pertinent; relating to the matter at hand; relevant
27.
“But this is no young man. His disappointment dissolves in another, deeper sorrow.” (Ransom 173)
to dissolve: to disintegrate or disperse; to dismiss (a meeting)
- note the alliteration.
24.
Young as I was, I knew mockery when I heard it, sneering contempt” (74 Ransom)
contempt: attitude or feeling of a person towards a person or thing that he considers worthless or despicable; scorn (contemptible: deserving or worthy of contempt; despicable)
26.
“He feels bold now, defiant. Sure of his decision. If he is to face Hecuba and prevail, he has to be. ” (Ransom 49)
prevail: to prove superior; gain mastery; be prevalent; to exist widely; be in force; appear as the most important feature
27.
He was waiting for the rage to fill him that would be equal at last to the outrage he was committing. That would assuage his grief, and be so convincing to the witnesses of this barbaric spectacle.” (Ransom 27)
assuage (his grief): to soothe, moderate, o r relieve, satisfy, give relief to , pacify, calm
26.
And despite the death-wound he had received, in a spirit untouched by the old rancour, with an almost brotherly concern, he spoke to Achilles with the last of his breath.” (Ransom 23)
rancour: malicious resentfulness or hostility; spite
25.
“He raises it to his lips, and she casts a piteous look upon him. Her eyelids are swollen with tears.” (Ransom 50)
piteous: exciting or deserving pity.
24.
“To be seen as a man like other men – human as we are, all of us – would have suggested that I was impermanent and weak.” (Ransom 53)
impermanent: not permanent; fleeting; transitory
23.
“She is bewildered. He has also frightened her. She resents having been brought so close to what she does not want to know or think about.” (Ransom 76/ Hecuba)
to bewilder: to confuse utterly; puzzle
22.
“Automedon has no recourse but to obey. The gods have defied him. His body is no longer an affront. He sits quietly in the contemplation of this. They are in perfect amity.” (Ransom)
amity: friendship, cordiality.
an affront: a deliberate insult. (can also be used as a verb: to affront: to insult, openly, to offend the pride or dignity of)
Nice range of nominals in the sentence. How many can you spot?
21. “Katharine would have unquestionably denounced him to the Thought Police if she had not happened to be too stupid to detect the unorthodoxy of his opinions.” (1984 George Orwell)
to denounce: to deplore, to condemn openly, or vehemently, to give information against, accuse
orthodoxy; conforming with established or accepted standards, as in religion, behaviour or attitudes; conforming to the Christian faith as established by the early Church.
“There was a direct, intimate connection between chastity and political orthodoxy.” (1984 George Orwell)
chaste; pure, decent, modest; and
orthodoxy; conforming with established or accepted standards, as in religion, behaviour or attitudes; conforming to the Christian faith as established by the early Church
“A thrush had alighted on a bough not five metres away.” (1984 George Orwell)
to alight; to step out of or get down from; to come to rest; settle; land
“It ducked its head for a moment, as though making a sort of obeisance to the sun, and then began to pour forth a torrent of song.
obeisance ; an attitude of deference or homage; a gesture expressing obeisance;
“Winston watched it (the bird/the thrush) with a sort of vague reverence. For whom, for what, was that bird singing?” (1984 George Orwell)
reverence, n. a feeling or attitude of profound respect, usually reserved for the sacred or divine; devoted veneration; an outward manifestation of this feeling, esp. a bow or act of obeisance; the state of being revered or commanding profound respect
“The music went on and on, minute after minute … never once repeating itself, almost as though the bird were deliberately showing off its virtuosity.” (1984 George Orwell)
virtuosity, n. virtuous – adj. characterised by or possessing virtue or moral excellence; righteous; upright
“Qualities that in a desperate expedition across the icy solitudes of the Polar region would have made him the leader, the guide, the counsellor, whose temper, neither sanguine nor despondent, surveys with equanimity what is to be and faces it, came to his help again.” (To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf)
Solitude: the state or situation of being alone; lonely
Sanguine: optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.
Despondent: in low spirits from loss of hope or courage.
Equanimity: calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation.
Have a go at the “neither… nor…” construction.
We usually use “with equanimity” – ie the noun phrase
20.
“It was a room of disorder and disarray. It was as if the wind which so often clamoured about the house succeeded in entering this single room and after whipping it into turmoil stole quietly away to renew its knowing laughter.” (The Boat, Alistair MacLeod)
Wow! note the alliteration and personification in these rhythmic sentences.
a clamour: a loud persistent outcry, as from a large number of people; a vehement expression of collective feeling or outrage; a loud and persistent noise; to clamour – v. to make a loud noise or outcry; make a public demand
19.
“Elizabeth was of a calmer and more concentrated disposition; but, with all my ardour, I was capable of a more intense application, and was more deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge.” (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)
Disposition: a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character.
Ardour: great enthusiasm or passion.
Smitten: be strongly attracted to someone or something
Notice the focus on opposites and the use of nominals.
18.
“She was dressed in mourning; and her countenance, always engaging, was rendered, by the solemnity of her feelings, exquisitely beautiful.” (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)
Mourning: the expression of sorrow for someone’s death.
Exquisite: extremely beautiful and delicate.
Solemnity: the state or quality of being serious and dignified.
Note the noun phrase: “The solemnity of her feelings”; “solemn” is the adjective
17.
“Scrooge took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern … and beguiled the rest of the evening with his banker’s book.” (Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol)
(melancholy: a constitutional tendency to gloominess or depression, a sad thoughtful state of mind, pensiveness
to beguile: to charm, to fascinate)
the repetition stands out – melancholy is both a noun and an adjective – adj – characterised by, causing, or expressing sadness, dejection. melancholic – adj. relating to or suffering from melancholy
Note the irony and alliteration – beguile; banker’s book
16.
The men were “gored, kicked, bitten, trampled on”. They made a bolt for the main road. “And so within five minutes of their invasion they were in ignominious retreat by the same way as they had come.” Animal Farm.
Note the string of past tense verbs and note the prepositional phrase: “in ignominious retreat”
(ignominy: public disgrace, shame, dishonour)
Nice adjective
15.
“Gertrude’s chin contracted and dimpled and her eyes puckered like burst apricots.” (Rosalie Ham, The Dressmaker)
(to pucker: to gather or contract; (a soft surface such as the skin of the face) into wrinkles or folds; a pucker: a wrinkle, crease or irregular fold.)
I like the alliteration and the freshness of the simile
14.
“Miss Dimm was extremely short-sighted … She’d always kept her hair in a short page-boy bob and worn a white blouse tucked firmly into a voluminous gathered skirt.” (Rosalie Ham, The Dressmaker)
(voluminous: of great size; quantity, volume, or extent, consisting of or sufficient to fill volumes, prolific in writing or speech)
Nice description of the teacher that condones the bullying of Myrtle Dunnage.
13.
“And above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers.” (Animal Farm by George Orwell)
Tyrannise: rule or treat (someone) despotically or cruelly.
Nice parallel adjectival phrases with the subject “we” controlling the sentence. (The adjectival phrases consist of antithesis!)
12.
“At one end of the barn, on a sort of raised platform, Major was already ensconced on a bed of straw, under a lantern which hung from a beam.” (Animal Farm by George Orwell)
“was ensconced” an adj:
Verb: to ensconce (oneself) in a comfortable, safe place.
A beautiful word to use in cosy circumstances
11.
“Dick’s literalness, his pragmatic approach to every subject, was the primary reason Perry had been attracted to him, for it made Dick seem, compared to himself, so authentically tough, invulnerable, ‘totally masculine’.” (In Cold Blood by Truman Capote)
Pragmatic: dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations; (practical, matter of fact)
Authentic: of undisputed origin and not a copy; (genuine, real, original)
Invulnerable: impossible to harm or damage; (strong, secure)
(Note the contrasting characteristics: opposites attract)
10.
“Mr Clutter seldom encountered trespassers on his property; a mile and a half from the highway, and arrived at by obscure roads, it was not a place that strangers came upon by chance.” (In Cold Blood by Truman Capote)
Seldom: not often; rarely (hardly ever)
Obscure: not discovered or known about; uncertain, unclear, unknown.
Note the syntax: two adverbials to highlight the remoteness of the place: the main clause has the subject “it” which controls all clauses.
Note, too the prepositional phrase: and “arrived at” by …
9.
“Gradually the plans (of the windmill) grew into a complicated mass of cranks and cog-wheels, covering more than half the floor… Only Napoleon held aloof”. (George Orwell, Animal Farm)
Note the alliteration
aloof: distant, unsympathetic, supercilious in manner, attitude or feeling
(supercilious; displaying arrogant pride, scorn or indifference)
8.
John Steinbeck: “She smiled archly and twitched her body. “Nobody can’t blame a person for looking”, she said.”
Archly: in an amused way that suggests you know more about something than someone else does:
Notice the body language and the tension between the characters. Excellent for creative writing.
7.
“Lennie’s eyes moved down over her body, and though she did not seem to be looking at Lennie she bridled a little.” (Curley’s wife meets Lennie and George, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck)
to bridle: (from bridle, the part of the harness of a horse around the head); the verb: to draw up the head and draw in the chin, as in disdain or resentment, to be resentful or annoyed)
The tension is palpable; this is the very beginning of Lennie’s end! It’s a smart foreshadowing tactic.
6.
“Atticus kept us in fits that evening, gravely reading columns of print about a man who sat on a flagpole for no discernible reason”. (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Discernible: to discern, to recognise or perceive clearly.
5.
Dickens: “He corroborated everything, remembered everything, enjoyed everything and underwent the strangest agitation.”- Scrooge in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
To corroborate: to confirm or support (facts, opinions) esp. by providing fresh evidence (really useful for argument analysis)
to agitate: to excite, disturb or trouble
Notice the tripling of past tense verbs, ending in a noun phrase
(good for argument / language analysis: to corroborate one’s view with significant evidence such as clinical trials)
4.
“Atticus grinned dryly. ‘You just told me,’ he said. ‘You stop this nonsense right now, every one of you.’ (To Kill a Mockingbird)
dryly: in a dry manner
I love the “grin” and the manner – dryly, An interesting combination that reveals a lot about character. (The right word saves a paragraph.)
Note for creative writing.
3.
Uncle Jack tells Scout: “Such conduct as yours required little understanding. It was obstreperous, disorderly, and abusive ..”
(To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee)
(obstreperous: noisy or rough, especially in resisting restraint or control)
(often used for dogs!)
2.
“She had always been too hard on me, she had at last seen the error of her fractious ways, she was sorry and too stubborn to say so.” (Scout of Calpurnia (her caregiver) To Kill A Mockingbird)
(fractious: irritable and unruly)
(a nice insight into Scout’s 8-year-old mindset as she tries to work out the tension between herself and Calpurnia, ironically owing to Scout’s aversion to stereotypical lady-like customs and her audacious manner)
1.
“You told me to never use words like that except in ex-extreme provocation, and Francis provoked me enough to knock his block off.” (Scout to Uncle Jack)
(to provoke: to anger or infuriate; to incite or stimulate)
provocation: something that causes indignation, anger)
Note the use of nominals – noun phrases – coupled with the colloquial expression to capture the simplicity and complexity of Scout’s thoughts.