Boxi Learn › English › Stage 3 · Structure and Evidence
The skeleton of a long sentence
EN-3 Word order is informationX-2 Evidence outweighs opinion
What many people think
Long sentences are read by translating word by word from left to right.
The idea
Strip away the clauses and phrases and a long sentence still stands on its subject and main verb (and object); find the main verb first.
Explain it
Take a long sentence from something you read in English. Show a friend how you find its main verb, then its subject, then where each chunk hangs — and why the first verb you meet is often not the main one.
Try at home
Copy a long English sentence onto a strip of paper and cut it into chunks. Put the chunks aside one by one until only the skeleton is left, and read it aloud. Then swap sentences with someone.